After Margaret and I had such a fun time at the fall hunter pace, we opted to go again this spring! This time, while I rode Rejoice again, Margaret rode her horse Jester and had a friend ride Ladyhawke. All Kennebec Morgans!! Jester and Rejoice have the same dam and Jester and Lady share the same sire. Unfortunately instead of a lovely late spring day, we had one of the first intensely hot and humid days of the year. It was definitely a bummer, but the ride was mostly in the shade of the woods and we had a great time! most of the fences were 3' coops but we found a small log and this hay to jump haha Until we didn't. 😑 We brought along a third friend who rode Margaret's older mare, Ladyhawke. She's a good rider but hasn't known Ladyhawke for very long and didn't realize how much of a cranky boss mare she could be at times. She kicked Jester right in the front leg just about halfway through the ride, and while the cut itself ended up not being a big deal in the
First, let me say THANK YOU for sharing your opinions on my shipping boots/leg wraps/naked legs post. I have still not made a final decision on what I am going to do with Miss Ellie's legs for traveling this year, but at least I have more ideas to consider. It isn't a clear cut issue, which is what makes it tough for me to decide what to do.
*
Being stuck in a never-ending cycle of winter sadness and sickness hasn't been fun; sadness because it won't stop sn*wing/icing and sickness in the form of a two-month head cold from hell. Thankfully my children had the milder form, yet my head cold turned into pneumonia, which is something I never want to experience again. I was so freaking sick!!
Feeling stir crazy and crappy makes me seek out random projects to complete. Bonus if it includes filling an online shopping cart and then waiting for a package delivery haha. I admit I did my fair share of internet surfing and impulse shopping this winter! I have done well at not spendingtoo much money but have instead organized closets, filled two large bags with used clothing to donate, printed off any and all show entry forms that are posted already, and dreamed up useful tasks for myself.
One such task has been to reevaluate the first aid kit in my trailer. While my barn first aid kit (more like a cabinet) is well stocked, the traveling kit definitely has not been looked at for...uhhhh...years. In fact, I haven't overnighted with a horse since 2013, when Dreamy and I spent four days at Equine Affaire. While I know I have the basics of leg wraps and ointments in there for anything that might occur on short day trips, I was not feeling confident that it was up to par.
And I knew with all certainty that it WAS NOT up to Pony Club standards hahaha.
Therefore, I made sure to search the Pony Club website for the official first aid kit list. Because if I am going to update this thing, I might as well do it properly so I don't have to add to it later on!
My travel first aid kit was always kept in a small Rubbermaid tote at the bottom of one of my two show trunks. The tote itself wasn't tall enough to store bottles, but I liked that the small size fit in the trunk well. But a few items had to be stored in other spots in the trunk, so honestly, it wasn't really ideal. I just never bothered to upgrade. So, the first thing I admitted was I really needed a different, slightly larger tote. Kinda felt sad because this ancient tote is hunter green (barn colors!) and said "Sparky" on the side (my first horse who I put down at age 32 after owning her for almost twenty-three years).
Yes, I was feeling nostalgic over a tote. 😂
Thankfully, I already had almost everything I needed according to PC. I did buy a new bottle of isopropyl alcohol, as I only have one that stays in the barn kit. From the above pic, you can see I needed a new roll of adhesive tape haha. I also bought these little bottles to save space on the Betadine scrub and Betadine solution, as the large bottles live in the barn and my first aid kit small versions were missing for some reason.
I also bought two new rolls of Vetrap, because the one in my traveling first aid kit looked like this and was as hard as a rock LOL!
So, here we have the Pony Club approved version of what a first aid kit should have. I have a few extra items (towels, sponge, Gas-X, SMZs, Absorbine Vet Patch, a tube of Banamine and a tube of electrolytes) that I carry already and will continue to do so. The stable/standing wraps stay in the show trunk itself.
So there you have it, one of my winter projects that was actually super useful and didn't cost much money hahaha.
*
Being stuck in a never-ending cycle of winter sadness and sickness hasn't been fun; sadness because it won't stop sn*wing/icing and sickness in the form of a two-month head cold from hell. Thankfully my children had the milder form, yet my head cold turned into pneumonia, which is something I never want to experience again. I was so freaking sick!!
Feeling stir crazy and crappy makes me seek out random projects to complete. Bonus if it includes filling an online shopping cart and then waiting for a package delivery haha. I admit I did my fair share of internet surfing and impulse shopping this winter! I have done well at not spending
One such task has been to reevaluate the first aid kit in my trailer. While my barn first aid kit (more like a cabinet) is well stocked, the traveling kit definitely has not been looked at for...uhhhh...years. In fact, I haven't overnighted with a horse since 2013, when Dreamy and I spent four days at Equine Affaire. While I know I have the basics of leg wraps and ointments in there for anything that might occur on short day trips, I was not feeling confident that it was up to par.
And I knew with all certainty that it WAS NOT up to Pony Club standards hahaha.
Therefore, I made sure to search the Pony Club website for the official first aid kit list. Because if I am going to update this thing, I might as well do it properly so I don't have to add to it later on!
Pony Club expectations |
Huh, this cloth tape hasn't been used in so long it turned yellow and isn't sticky any longer. |
Yes, I was feeling nostalgic over a tote. 😂
this box also had her name on it it was almost empty anyway, so I chucked the box and put additional sterile pads in a small baggie |
I also bought two new rolls of Vetrap, because the one in my traveling first aid kit looked like this and was as hard as a rock LOL!
It was definitely NOT going to work for anything but a replacement hockey puck lol |
The new tote, of course, needed a few stickers. I like that it is taller than the old tote, so everything fits well. And while it is not the barn color, it is a nice shade of TEAL! On Amazon it looked more baby blue, but I love teal!
view from the top of the tote |
ahh! I need to get on that. thanks for the reminder!
ReplyDeleteHaha I figured someone else needed a nudge in this area as well! ;-)
DeleteI’m terrible at this. I don’t have any first aid in my trailer at all. Need to get on that ASAP
ReplyDeleteOh good! I hope I have inspired you! And you can even make it PC approved haha. ;-)
DeleteSuch a good idea for a winter project! I'll done mine this weekend!
ReplyDeleteYes! It definitely gave me something to overthink about and spend money on that was totally needed and useful rather than my usual overthinking/spending habits haha. ;-)
DeleteOh yes - I've been staring at my kit thinking it needs an overhaul, but then that tends to spiral into I need to clean the whole flipping tack room NOW, which is an entire weekend type of job. Where does all the time go?!
ReplyDeleteUggg, right? I know what you mean. I tend to be the same way sometimes. If I can't do the entire thing, why do just a small piece? But maybe, at the same time, by doing the first aid kit you will be motivated to carve out time for starting on the tack room? :-)
DeleteGood winter project and thanks for the reminder! I need to clean out my showing toolbox - I think I randomly stashed stuff in there. I add to other things to my showing first aid: electrolytes and allergy pills - one horse gets hives randomly and doesn't do well in the heat. Last year I found a ziploc bag of elytes that leaked and the sticky powder was all over. *sigh*
ReplyDeleteOh yes! No fun when things leak all over! I forgot to mention I keep a tube of electrolytes and one of Banamine in the first aid kit, too, but they are stored in a warm spot for the winter instead of in the trailer to freeze.
Delete