Ridgetop
Herd Master
Here are some of the hints that came out:
The mastitis tube trick for treating puncture wounds is one I got from Erick Conard who uses it in his Anatolians when they have a serious disagreement. Here is another one from my old vet, RIP. About 5 years ago my 30 year old mare fell down a gully while trying to reach green grass on the other side of a fence. She got up and walked up the road home, but had a deep puncture in her armpit. We thought we had found all her cuts and doctored them with iodine. Three days later she had a bad infection an we trailered her to the vet. She was in horse hospital for several days then they sent her home with instructions to hose off the area several times a day. I had a new vet come to the house to check her since it did not clear up, kept draining. He was an old guy, used to be a farrier, and taught me some good tricks which I have added to my list of emergency and cheap doctoring med kit.
He used an old Water Pic (yes, the dental thing) and had me fill it with diluted iodine wash then stick the nozzle in the hole which was 3-4 inches deep, and wash out the pus that kept forming. I had to do this 3 or 4 times a day. The first day we used a twitch but after a couple days she stood quiet while I crawled under her belly to work on her. A lot more work went into it but she healed up just fine. He also used an old coffee grinder to grind the antibiotics and Bute so I could drench her since she wouldn't take the whole dose in a mash.
Later another acquaintance told me that she had a horse run in on a stake and get a big puncture in her chest that wouldn't stop bleeding. She washed out the wound with disinfectant and packed the puncture with a tampon smeared with Neosporin till the vet could get out. He didn't want to sew up a puncture, so just put the horse on antibiotics. She kept doing the tampon thing to keep the wound from closing on the top and getting infection underneath till it started healing from the inside out. Horse healed fine.. I keep tampons and kotex pads in my emergency kit now since they work so well as thick absorbent pads for wounds. Also stock the kit with lots of vet wrap that I pick up whenever on sale.
So many household things you can use in an emergency - we also sewed up a ewe's prolapse with my grandmother's old curved carpet needle and dental floss.
From Donna R. Raybon: Hydro therapy is what my vet called it. Used the spray nozzle on the hose and several times a day hosed out the wound until I saw pink flesh. Managed a horse farm for several years and had a world of wounds to doctor mostly due to owner's grandchildren forgetting to shut doors/gates.
Another one was using a baby diaper as a 'wet to dry' bandage. Used the diaper as a pad, then vet wrapped it up. That was not on a puncture, but on large areas where proud flesh was a threat.
Badmitton or tennis racket for bumblebees that nest in hay. I love bees, understand their vital importance to our food supply. However, they are the very devil when defending their nest in hayloft. In early spring, use racket to wack and they never establish a nest. These are not 'wood bees' (which don't threaten to sting you .)
Electric coffee grinder that you can find for a couple dollars at thrift stores. Great for grinding meds, etc...
Electric tea kettle. Hot water at your finger tips as long as your barn has electricity. Again, a few dollars at thrift store.
Gas X tablets for bloat. Look for active ingredient of simithicone. In a pinch liquid fabric softener will work, too.
Stanley lock blade knife for trimming hoofs. You want the 'sheep's foot blade.) Available for about $10 at hardware stores. NEVER use a pocket knife without a locking blade!!! If blade folds up on you (and without a locking blade it will!) you get badly cut.
Baby monitor!! Oh how I loved mine during winter time kidding season!! I could lay in my warm bed and be awake in an instant when I heard that very distinctive 'I am in labor' grunt a doe gives.
Tums to treat/prevent milk fever.
GREAT IDEAS!
I know all you have good stuff to contribute to this and we all can use it. Especially those of us without a good large animal vet who is knowledgeable about small stock. We usually doctor our own animals since who can afford a vet call for everything? Better if you can take care of the small stuff yourself. I try to save my vet $$ for the stuff I can't do.
Let us hear what you keep in your emergency medical kit and how you use it!
The mastitis tube trick for treating puncture wounds is one I got from Erick Conard who uses it in his Anatolians when they have a serious disagreement. Here is another one from my old vet, RIP. About 5 years ago my 30 year old mare fell down a gully while trying to reach green grass on the other side of a fence. She got up and walked up the road home, but had a deep puncture in her armpit. We thought we had found all her cuts and doctored them with iodine. Three days later she had a bad infection an we trailered her to the vet. She was in horse hospital for several days then they sent her home with instructions to hose off the area several times a day. I had a new vet come to the house to check her since it did not clear up, kept draining. He was an old guy, used to be a farrier, and taught me some good tricks which I have added to my list of emergency and cheap doctoring med kit.
He used an old Water Pic (yes, the dental thing) and had me fill it with diluted iodine wash then stick the nozzle in the hole which was 3-4 inches deep, and wash out the pus that kept forming. I had to do this 3 or 4 times a day. The first day we used a twitch but after a couple days she stood quiet while I crawled under her belly to work on her. A lot more work went into it but she healed up just fine. He also used an old coffee grinder to grind the antibiotics and Bute so I could drench her since she wouldn't take the whole dose in a mash.
Later another acquaintance told me that she had a horse run in on a stake and get a big puncture in her chest that wouldn't stop bleeding. She washed out the wound with disinfectant and packed the puncture with a tampon smeared with Neosporin till the vet could get out. He didn't want to sew up a puncture, so just put the horse on antibiotics. She kept doing the tampon thing to keep the wound from closing on the top and getting infection underneath till it started healing from the inside out. Horse healed fine.. I keep tampons and kotex pads in my emergency kit now since they work so well as thick absorbent pads for wounds. Also stock the kit with lots of vet wrap that I pick up whenever on sale.
So many household things you can use in an emergency - we also sewed up a ewe's prolapse with my grandmother's old curved carpet needle and dental floss.
From Donna R. Raybon: Hydro therapy is what my vet called it. Used the spray nozzle on the hose and several times a day hosed out the wound until I saw pink flesh. Managed a horse farm for several years and had a world of wounds to doctor mostly due to owner's grandchildren forgetting to shut doors/gates.
Another one was using a baby diaper as a 'wet to dry' bandage. Used the diaper as a pad, then vet wrapped it up. That was not on a puncture, but on large areas where proud flesh was a threat.
Badmitton or tennis racket for bumblebees that nest in hay. I love bees, understand their vital importance to our food supply. However, they are the very devil when defending their nest in hayloft. In early spring, use racket to wack and they never establish a nest. These are not 'wood bees' (which don't threaten to sting you .)
Electric coffee grinder that you can find for a couple dollars at thrift stores. Great for grinding meds, etc...
Electric tea kettle. Hot water at your finger tips as long as your barn has electricity. Again, a few dollars at thrift store.
Gas X tablets for bloat. Look for active ingredient of simithicone. In a pinch liquid fabric softener will work, too.
Stanley lock blade knife for trimming hoofs. You want the 'sheep's foot blade.) Available for about $10 at hardware stores. NEVER use a pocket knife without a locking blade!!! If blade folds up on you (and without a locking blade it will!) you get badly cut.
Baby monitor!! Oh how I loved mine during winter time kidding season!! I could lay in my warm bed and be awake in an instant when I heard that very distinctive 'I am in labor' grunt a doe gives.
Tums to treat/prevent milk fever.
GREAT IDEAS!
I know all you have good stuff to contribute to this and we all can use it. Especially those of us without a good large animal vet who is knowledgeable about small stock. We usually doctor our own animals since who can afford a vet call for everything? Better if you can take care of the small stuff yourself. I try to save my vet $$ for the stuff I can't do.
Let us hear what you keep in your emergency medical kit and how you use it!