Stable pharmacy / medicine chest for horses

A stable first-aid kit is one of the most important pieces of equipment for every horse owner. It should be easily accessible in an emergency and regularly checked for completeness and shelf life . It is primarily used to treat harmless, minor injuries such as grazes and insect bites or slight swellings and, in an emergency, is also there for first aid until the vet arrives.

Colic

Many horse owners and riders have already experienced it or are afraid of it: colic. Colic itself is not a disease, but refers to symptomatic pain in the abdomen that can arise due to various causes. Depending on the cause and severity of the colic, it can be fatal in the worst case. This makes it all the more important to recognize and act quickly.

Signs of equine colic include restlessness, atypical behavior, profuse sweating, unwillingness to eat, refusal to drink, diarrhea or no defecation at all, wanting to roll around frequently, begging unusually often or the horse looking at its belly and kicking it.

If such symptoms are present, the vet must be called immediately! Until the vet arrives, the horse should be kept moving and led at a walk if possible. If the horse has cold sweat, put a sweat blanket on it. It should not eat anything, but keep offering it water. Check the vital signs from time to time between leading the horse and make a note of the values and changes so that you can report them to the vet.

Skin injuries

If a wound is bleeding heavily, contact the vet immediately and apply a pressure bandage , just as we do with humans.

If the wound is small and only bleeding slightly, it can be cleaned with clean water and then disinfected. Pay close attention to whether there is a small foreign body in the wound, remove it with disinfected tweezers and shave off the hair around the wound, depending on the location and coat. Finally, apply a wound healing ointment . Even with minor injuries, the horse should continue to be monitored closely and if there is no rapid improvement or the condition of the wound worsens, a vet should also be consulted. In the case of skin injuries in sensitive areas (eyes, ears, nostrils, anus, genitals), it is always advisable to call the vet and consult with him.

Leg swelling

If your horse has swelling on its legs, cool them with water and check carefully to see if there is a wound somewhere in addition to the swelling. If there is no wound, you can apply a cooling gel or cooling ointment. If there is no improvement soon or the horse shows other symptoms (e.g. lameness), call the vet.