First Aid Kit for Horses

Items you should ALWAYS have on hand from Christina Brown

Vet related..

A thermometer I prefer digital but glass is ok if you have a string & clothes pin
Bute & banamine ...I keep bute tabs and banamine paste (you can also get flavored bute powder from Darryl)
A 60 cc dose syringe
Asprin (either human or horse 3 325 mg & 2 80mg human make the horsey dose for my guy *I use ascripton the maloxx coated kind)
Tribrissen (enough for 7 days of treatment...better to have it and not need it than to try to get it on short notice around here)
A couple tubes of triple antibiotic ointment (at least 1 with pain reliever)
A tube of triple or gentocin eye ointment...non steroid ointment (never put an ointment with a steroid *anything that ends in sone* unless the vet stains the eye first...you can melt their eyeball out of their head if its an ulcer)
Aa tube of electrolytes
A tube of probiotics
A can of furox spray
A jar of petrolium jelly
A jar of furicine ointment
A jar of dmso gel
A jar of icthamol
A box or bag of epsom salts
A couple pints of mineral oil
A couple quarts of alcohol
A quart of witch hazel *I also keep alum which mixed with witch hazel makes a great leg tightener*
A pint of hydrogen peroxide
A betadine or iodine scrub
Antibacterial soap
Nolvasine solution or cream
A thrush treatment (your choice...I use the new absorbine thrush remedy that also treats white line)
A container of a styptic like wound bleed stop powder
A couple pints of saline solution (either mix your own 1 teaspoon per quart of water or buy the sterile saline that is sold for contact lens')
A jar of desitin (I also keep zimms crack cream for dry heels)

stuff you get to have around other than creams & drugs
Towels...I keep lots
Several containers of rolled gauze at least 3 inches wide
A roll of wad cotton
2 or 3 rolls of vetwrap
Standing cottons and bandages
A roll of duct tape
Scissors
A good knife
Bot knife or stone
A couple clean buckets (both for feeding/watering and having a cleanable container for wound care)
A tub that can be used to soak feet

Foaling specific needs
A shot of oxytocin (and vet directions on administration)
A shot of banamine (iv/im as opposed to oral)
2% iodine for umbilical stump dipping
Nolvasine solution for stump dipping (studies show that if you dip in iodine beyond the first 48 hours it can lead to umbilical stump drying which can seal bacteria in...so you do 48 hours of iodine then switch to nolvasine for an additional 8 to 10 days)
Pepto and/or probiotics for the first foal heat scours
Desitin to coat the butt/tail area during said scours
Some string (to tie off umbilical cord stump if excessive bleeding occurs or to tie off if you have to cut because it didnt break)
A baby bottle if for any reason the foal doesnt get up within the 2 hour window so you can milk out the mares colustrum and get it to the foal
A tail wrap for mare during birth
We kept a stainless steel large measuring cup so we could milk the mare into it...then pour it into a baby bottle. The calf bottles seemed to big so we would buy sheep or goat bottles.
Know your contact info for collustrum banks (sometimes your vet will have some collustrum stored on hand) in case you have an igg conflict with the mare/foal...or if your mare did not produce or streamed out the collustrum prior to foaling....know your contact info for nurse mares or how to obtain the goods necessary to get the foal nursed if your mare rejects the foal.
Always alert your vet just prior to foaling so that if an emergency arises they are ready to come out. Time is of the essence during foaling....red bag...improper presentation...breech birth....foal gets hung up at shoulders or hips. You dont have much time when things go wrong at foaling time.
Its timely and well advised to have your vet come out within the first 24 hours after birth to check the foal and do an igg test to make sure that immunity was properly transferred to the foal. Save the placenta and let the vet check it as well. Volumes can be learned about the mares uterine health when you let the vet examine the placenta. If you plan on insuring the foal...insurance companies will not write policies without this igg test.

Watch for Christina's foaling articles coming soon.