Horse Care First Aid Kit and Worming

A well-stocked equine (and human) first-aid kit should be kept in a place where it is easily accessed. Any used or out-of-date items should be replaced as soon as possible.

First-aid kit should include:
Thermometer
Petroleum jelly (to use as lubrication for thermometer)
Salt (for saline solution)
Cotton wool (for cleaning wounds, not dressing them)
Animalintex/poultice dressing. Even disposable nappies/diapers can be cut and used as a poultice as they draw moisture out of wounds
Gamgee, to be used as padding underneath bandages
Sharp, clean scissors, reserved for first aid kit only
Clean bucket, reserved for first-aid kit only, for washing out wounds
Clean sponge, reserved for first-aid kit only
Antiseptic cream/powder
Bandages - 4x stable bandages, possibly the 'veterinary' type too
Poultice boot
Latex/medical gloves, unused
Clean towel
Soap and nail brush to scrub your hands
Suitable box/container for all of the above, to keep them clean and tidy.

When a horse has access to a field, paddock and or pasture the owner would be wise to invest in a Horse Owner's Field Guide to Toxic Plants Book. Prevention is by far the better and safer option than attempting to cure a sick horse. If you are aware of poisonous weeds, you are able to pull them out.

Worming:
Your horse or pony should be wormed regularly, between every 8-13 weeks depending on the brand of wormer. Ask your vet for a worming programme.

Wormers come in the form of a paste or gel in a syringe, or a powder or granules, in a sachet. The sachet wormer is normally mixed in with the horse's feed. The syringe is used to squirt the paste/gel onto the horse's tongue.

You should also regularly (at least once a week) remove droppings from your horse's field to reduce numbers of worms.

There are several different brands of wormer, using different types of active chemical - which in turn kill different types of worm. You may have to use a different wormer at a certain time of year, to combat a specific worm, for example redworm.

Active chemicals found in different Horse Wormers:
Fenbendazole
Moxidectin
Ivermectin
Pyrantel
Membendazole
Oxibendazole

Dental care:
The horse or pony must have its teeth checked by a vet or professional qualified dentist at least once a year, as the teeth can wear down and create sharp edges which may cause problems when eating/being ridden. If the teeth are sharp, the vet/dentist will rasp them until they are smooth.