b'Arizona Ask the VetREAL COUNTRY FIRST AID KITthe magazine I f youre a new horse Gauze bandage such as Kling.owner, theres a simple Some type of cold pack, for days when cold hosingtruth that youre likelya new injury just isnt possiblechemical packsin the process of discovering: a horse is an accidentthat create instant cold are available, althoughMike Barna looking for a place to happen. Cats might have ninein a pinch you can use a bag of frozen peas from Publisher lives and dogs a nose for getting into trouble, butyour freezer.ArizonaRealCountryMagazine@gmail.com horses are in a class all their own. It seems theyre Drawing salve.always coming in from the field with a knee the size An antiseptic wound cream like yellow furacin andof a cantaloupe after a well-placed kick from anothera spray-on wound treatment such as furazolidoneErika Smith Royal horse, or tearing their hides open on a protrudingor Topagen.nail you swear wasnt there yesterday, or getting their Hydrogen peroxideits bubbling action is useful Editor corneas scratched in an altercation with a Palo Verde.for cleaning dirt out of fresh wounds and for dealing erika963realcountry@gmail.com If you havent memorized your veterinarians phonewith thrush, but dont use it routinely on a healing number by now, trust me, you will. wound as it will inhibit the healing process. An antiseptic scrub such as Betadine orMisty Voitovski A couple of years of horse ownership makes most ofNolvasan (chlorhexidine).Creative Director us experienced at wrapping legs, hosing wounds, and Latex gloves.giving injections. Along the way, we tend to acquire A flashlight.cabinets full of lotions and potions, rolls of bandages A bottle of saline solutionuseful for cleaning out Contributing Writers in every conceivable length and size, and various jarswounds in delicate places like around the eyes. Lee Anderson, Charlie LeSueur,of stuff for treating minor crises. Yet with all the A roll of sterile cotton.clutter, when we do need something specific for an Pre-moistened alcohol swabs (you can find theseJim Olson, Robert Piekow,emergency, we often cant find it! at your pharmacy, individually wrapped)goodBill Roberts, Alan Rockman,for cleaning small wounds or creating a cleanerBob Roloff, Hank Sheffer,Any first-aid kit should include a card with emergencysite for injections.phone numbersyour veterinarian, your farrier, the A bottle of rubbing alcohol, for sterilizing Buddy Uldrikson, Michele Wilson closest veterinary and human hospital, a horse rescueinstruments.or ambulance service, the fire department, and the Forceps or tweezers, for removing splinters.police. Its important to have an inventory, as well, Epsom salts (magnesium sulfate)mix with warm that you can tape to the inside lid of your kit. Type awater to soak an abscessed foot.801 W. Wickenburg Way list of every item in the kit, so youll be able to see at a Iodine shampoogood for various skin conditions, glance if it contains what you need. When you use upas directed by your vet.Wickenburg, AZ 85390 an item, cross it off the listthen be sure to replace A quick-to-apply poultice such as Animalintex it! Otherwise, over time, youll end up with a mostly(which can be used hot or cold).(602) 254-6644 empty container that will do you no good at all. Thick sanitary napkins or disposable diapers, for Remember, too, that many drugs and ointments haveapplying direct pressure to a bleeding wound.ArizonaRealCountry.com expiration dates. Write those dates on your inventory A hoof pick.checklist to make sure youre not keeping vials of A farriers rasp and nippers, for removing a shoe if useless medications. you need to (ask your farrier if he has cast-off ones he can donate to your cause).You can buy a prepackaged first-aid kit designed A hoof knife.for horses or you can assemble one yourself. Store Duct tapeuseful in an emergency, and especially your kit in an airtight, waterproof container togood for hoof wraps, as its water-resistant, moldable, keep the materials sterile and ready to usea largeand fairly durable.fishing tackle box or sewing box, with lots of little Follow Arizona Realcompartments, are options, or you could use a tight- Here are a few items that might not fit in your sealing plastic kitchen container.first-aid kits container, but which are helpful to Country for news, events,have around:Get some bright red tape A clean fly mask, to protect an injured eye.giveaways and more! and mark the lid with aAn Easyboot or poultice boot, to keep a hoof or cross that will let even acoronet injury clean.stranger in your barn know A couple of clean buckets its contents, then stock designated only for first-aid use.Arizona Real Country is owned andit with:Material for a splintPVC published by Barna Broadcasting A rectal veterinary thermometer pipe, one to two feet long, split LLC. No person, organization or partythe plastic digital kind is saferlengthwise, can be used on can copy or reproduce the contentaround the barn. top of a leg wrap to support a on our website and/or magazine or Latex or rubber gloves. leg that has suffered a fractureA pair of safety scissors withor severe tendon strain until any part of this publication withoutrounded ends. your veterinarian arrives. (Ask a written consent from the editors Another pair of small, sharp scissors,your veterinarian for advice on panel and the author of the content, asfor suture removal. how to safely apply a splint before the applicable. The publisher, authors and A stethoscope. emergency occurs.)contributors reserve their rights with Self-sticking bandages such as Vetrap.A spider bandage, useful for wrapping awkward regards to copyright of their work.Gauze squares at least three inches by three inches. areas like knees or hocksit consists of a largeVaseline or another type of lubricating jelly. rectangle of cotton material, torn along two edgesMedical adhesive tape. to form 20 or more little tails. The tails are knotted continued on page 7ArizonaRealCountry.com August 2019 5'