In the February 2008 issue of Horse & Rider magazine we offered a chart of handy tools to add to your horse-care kit. Stock up some of the following supplies, then print out these homemade first-aid recipes and keep them with your first-aid kit for quick reference.
Saline Solution
- 1 tsp table salt
- 1 quart water
- Mix in clean container until salt is completely dissolved.
Double-strength saline solution
- 2 tsp table salt
- 1 quart water
Mix in clean container until salt is completely dissolved.
Scab softener
- 1 16 oz. bottle mineral oil (baby oil is okay)
- 1 16 oz. bottle 3 percent USP hydrogen peroxide
- 1 1/2 oz. bottle tincture of iodine
Combine all in large container. Do not close tightly. Mixture will bubble slowly and expand and can cause a messy explosion.
Epsom salt soaking solution
- 1/2 cup Epsom salts
- 1 gallon warm water (like a hot bath)
Mix until salts are dissolved. Soak affected body part by immersing in a container (such as for a hoof), or by applying a wet dressing.
Poultices
- Mix Epsom salts with enough warm water to make a paste.
- Mix 1/2 cup Epsom salts + 4 cups miller’s bran; mix with enough water to make a paste.
- Kaopectate? mixed with enough flour or miller’s bran to make a paste.
- Sodium bicarbonate (baking soda) mixed with enough witch hazel to make a paste.
- “Sugardine”: Table sugar mixed with enough Betadine? to make a paste.
Leg sweat
Mix Furacin? liquid or ointment with an equal amount of medical-grade DMSO.
Recipes from Hands-On Horse Care From Horse & Rider, by Karen E.N. Hayes, DVM, MS; Edited by Thomas C. Bohanon, DVM, MS, and Sue M. Copeland.
