I have been super buys lately because my daughter is getting married next week! So while I haven’t had any excess down time, I thought I would bring forward a few blog posts that are helpful, and important for any horse owner. And That’s what today’s post is.

Making Your Own Equine First Aid Kit

When you have a horse, the will inevitably injure themselves. It doesn’t matter how careful you are, there will be scratches, cuts, and sometimes more serious injuries. And I am a planner, which means I want to make sure I have everything I could need, just in case. If you have a horse, you really should have an equine first aid kit whether it’s in your barn, tack room, trailer, or anywhere your horse lives.

Getting Started

It may seem like a big task to put together a first aid kit, but it isn’t. If you have a container to store everything in, that’s the first step. It doesn’t have to be fancy. You can use a grooming tote, a repurposed tool box, or even a Tupperware container.

I have several first aid kits in my tack room, one in my feed room, one in the trailer, and a lot of back up supplies inside of my home. It’s probably because I’m a nurse, but I want to be ready just in case something happens.

After you have a container set aside to store all of your first aid supplies in, you need to start buying the stuff you will need to fill the container.

First Aid Supplies

Here are some of the items I feel it is important to have in your first aid kit.

• Vet wrap
• Different sized ace wraps (2”, 3”, 4” 6”)
• Different styles of tape (plastic, medical, elasticon)
• Duct tape
• Bandage scissors
• Head lamp
• Stethoscope
• Thermometer
• 4 x 4 gauze
• 2 x 2 gauze
• Cast padding
• Kerlix gauze (cling roll gauze)
• Abd pads, or maxi-pads
• Set of polo wraps
• Emergency halter and lead rope
• Rolled cotton
• Cling rolled gauze
• Different size band-aids
• Nitrile gloves (1 box)
• Alcohol
• Sterile water
• Vetericyn wound wash
• Vetericyn wound and skin care
• Corona cream
• Epsom salt
• Silvasorb wound gel
• Peroxide
• Nitrofurazone Dressing
• Wonder dust
• Chlorhexidine Disinfectant Solution
• Tweezers
• Pill crusher
• Bute powder
• Horse treats
• Paste dewormer
• Swat fly ointment
• Fly spray
• Jelly lubricant
• Humane twitch
• Alcohol prep pads
• Mastisol
• Different sized syringes (5,10,20,60 ml sizes)
• No bow pillow wraps
• Different size towels
• Clip board with important phone numbers (as well as your horse’s weekly vital signs)

This is a very comprehensive list of everything you really should have in your first aid kit for your horse, and yourself at the barn.

You don’t have to buy everything at once. You can pick up an item or two when you make an order from your favorite place to shop online. You can buy a lot of this stuff at tack stores, or even drugstores, but it will be more expensive. I have found the easiest way is to spend $10.00 to $15.00 a month to really build up my first aid supplies.

Keeping Your First Aid Kit Ready

One more thing to think about is when storing your first aid supplies in extremely cold or hot weather. Where we live, it gets below freezing for several months of the year. When I am getting my barn ready for the colder weather, I gather all my first aid items and bring in the items that can freeze. Because if you do have an emergency, and you can’t use what you need, that can turn an already stressful situation from bad to worse. So, plan ahead, and keep your first aid items together, and ready for use no matter what the weather could be.

Equine Medical Record

Another important item to have is a medical record for your horse. I keep this in my barn on a clip board along with my vital sign sheet for my horses. It’s easy to find, and access. In case of an emergency, I have all the information I need. And I thought it may be helpful for you too, so I made a Medical Record form that you can download and print off. This way you can have your own record for your horse!

You can print your own Equine Medical Record here.

DISCLAIMER: This article contains affiliate links, which means that if you click on one of the product links, I’ll receive a small commission.