Re: RC: Re: First Aid Kit Save the Day!

[CMKSAGEHIL@aol.com]

In a message dated Sat, 11 Aug 2001 12:49:30 PM Eastern Daylight Time, mtnriderII@webtv.net (Mary Sutliff) writes:

> I would like to see a list for trips into the back country where we are
> likely to be several DAYS from the truck and hours more from the nearest
> vet.  We once had a horse get a cut from a rock that sliced through the
> coronet band on her hoof.  It bled quite a bit and  drew hornets by  the
> droves.  We ended up standing her in the creek and then fashioned a
> bandage from vet wrap and a clean tube sock.  We were four days from the
> truck and a days drive from home.  After the first day I gave up on the
> bandage - it wouldn't stay on - and just let all the creeks we had to
> cross clean it out naturally.  We cleaned it with water AM and PM and
> she was never lame.  When we did get her home and had the vet out he
> said it would heal fine and it did.  Pretty ghastly looking and scary at
> the time. 

Your example illustrates how successful one usually is with common sense and Mother Nature.

If I were to be gone several days, the one injectable drug I would carry would be Banamine.

Beyond that, what I said earlier about a pack of bandage material would apply, and if I were to use any one sort of wound dressing, it would be a drawing agent for puncture-type wounds--I personally like to mix tamed iodine with epsom salts, and both are easy to carry.  An eye ointment is not a bad idea, as a scraped or scratched cornea can be pretty miserable left for days.

Most cuts and scrapes are handled just fine by being kept clean.  Some do best bandaged--many do not.  Pressure wraps temporarily can stop bleeding, but once stopped, the wound is often best left open if suturing is not an immediate option.

Mother Nature is still one of the best veterinarians in the business...

Heidi