Stock up on first-aid supplies to put in your first-aid kit to have for emergencies. Print out these homemade first-aid recipes and keep them with your first-aid kit for quick reference.
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[READ: Horse Wound-Care Guide]
Saline Solution
- 1 tsp table salt
- 1 quart water
- Mix in clean container until salt is completely dissolved.
Purchase your first-aid kit items on Amazon to make sure you always have supplies on hand. With many options, try 1000mL Sterile Saline Solution, Triple Antibiotic Ointment, Epsom Salt, Epsom Salt Poultice, IceTight 24-Hour Poultice, Furacin Ointment, and DMSO.
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.
[READ: Poultice Primer]
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.
