Horse Barn First Aid Kit Checklist: Must-Have Items for Safety
Updated: Jan 30

Could you handle a medical emergency at your barn, on the road, or during a lesson? Ensuring your first aid kits are properly stocked might make all the difference in a crisis. This guide provides a comprehensive checklist to help you stock first aid kits for every situation—barn, truck, trailer, and more. The beginning of the year is the perfect time to take stock of what’s in your first aid kit(s) and replace or restock anything.
Types of First Aid Kits Every Horse Owner Needs
First, let’s talk about what types of first aid kits you should have. Does your business deal with people? Examples include teaching lessons, boarding horses, or running camps. Ensure you have a good first aid kit for people at the barn. Do you travel to serve your customers, like farriers and bodyworkers? A truck first aid kit for people is key for you. Do you keep horses at your farm or facility? Then a horse first aid kit is likely one of your top priorities. How about hauling? If you have a trailer, consider having a trailer first aid kit, too. If you’re like me, running a riding instruction business with several horses on the property and a trailer set up that is especially prudent in time of emergency, you may have or need all 4 of these!
Grab a pen and paper (or your favorite notes app in your phone). We’re making a list.
Step 1: Check Expiration Dates on All Items
Check the expiration dates on everything you have in each of your kits. If an item has expired, toss it. If it’s something that should continue to be in your first aid kit, add it to your list.
Step 2: Take Inventory of Remaining Supplies
Consider what you have remaining. Is there anything that is starting to run low? It would behoove you to put it on your list so you don’t run out.
Step 3: Use Comprehensive Checklists to Fill Gaps
Take a look at the checklists below (in no particular order), which include key items for each of your first aid kit types. Add anything that may be missing to your list.
Some things are listed more than once. You won’t have access to your barn first aid kit, for example, when you’re on the road so you will need those items in your trailer first aid kit, too. Also, you may not want to share a thermometer between yourself/people and your horse(s). Depending on the item, you can either buy multiples or split up what you buy between the various relevant first aid kits.
First Aid Kit for People at the Barn
___ Antibiotic wound ointment like Neosporin
___ Antiseptic wipes
___ Sterile, non-adhesive pads
___ Stretch gauze
___ Band-Aids (Variety pack)
___ Advil
___ Anti-Itch Cream
___ Burn Cream
___ First Aid Splint
___ Aloe Vera gel
___ Tweezers
___ Non-latex disposable gloves
___ Scissors
___ Instant cold pack
___ Emergency blanket
___ Eye wash solution
___ Thermometer
First Aid Kit for Horses at the Barn
___ Stethoscope
___ Thermometer
___ Petroleum jelly
___ Antibiotic wound ointment, like Corona
___ Wound powder
___ Mild soap, like Dawn or Ivory
___ Tweezers
___ A headlamp
___ Sterile, non-adhesive pads
___ Stretch gauze
___ Cotton sheets
___ Vetwrap
___ Antimicrobial scrub, like Betadine
___ Rubbing alcohol
___ Saline solution (or salt to make one)
___ Quilted Pillow/Leg wraps
___ Antiseptic bandage
___ Ready-made Poultice
___ Diaper (for hoof abscesses
___ Safety razor or small battery-operated clippers
___ Horseshoe puller and rasp
___ Duct tape
___ Various plastic syringe sizes (for mixing oral medications given, flushing wounds, etc)
___ (Prescription) A sedative, like Ace with a syringe and needle or Dormosedan gel
___ (Prescription) Phenylbutazone (“Bute”)
___ (Prescription) Flunixin meglumine (Banamine)
___ Non-latex disposable gloves
___ Bandage scissors
___ Small towels
___ A bowl or bucket (for clean water)
First Aid Kit for People in the Truck
___ Antibiotic wound ointment like Neosporin
___ Antiseptic wipes
___ Sterile, non-adhesive pads
___ Stretch gauze
___ Band-Aids
___ Advil
___ Anti-Itch Cream
___ Burn Cream
___ Tweezers
___ Non-latex disposable gloves
First Aid Kit for Horses in the Trailer
___ Stethoscope
___ Thermometer
___ Petroleum jelly
___ Antibiotic wound ointment like Corona
___ Wound powder
___ Mild soap, like Dawn or Ivory
___ Tweezers
___ A Headlamp
___ Sterile, non-adhesive pads
___ Stretch gauze
___ Cotton sheets
___ Vetwrap
___ Antimicrobial scrub like Betadine
___ Saline solution (or salt to make one)
___ Various syringe sizes (for mixing oral medications given, flushing wounds, etc)
___ Safety razor or small battery-operated clippers
___ (Prescription) A sedative, like Ace with a syringe and needle or Dormosedan gel
___ (Prescription) Phenylbutazone (“Bute”)
___ (Prescription) Flunixin meglumine (Banamine)
___ Non-latex disposable gloves
___ Bandage scissors
___ A small towel
Add Contact and Emergency Info
Consider keeping the following in both your barn and trailer first aid kit, too:
A chart of horse vitals, for reference
Your contact info
General emergency contact info [LINK TO BLOG THAT HAS]
Any of your horses’ prescription instructions
Your emergency and non-emergency Veterinarians’ numbers
Check out this handy horse vitals chart our local vet clinic hands out to their customers.

Ask for Professional Guidance
If you are not sure about how to give intramuscular (IM) or subcutaneous (SQ or SubQ) injections, ask your vet to show you how next time they are out to give your horse a wellness check. SQ injections are not common in horses, but may be needed for those who suffer from allergies, in particular.
Consider Natural Disaster Scenarios
Consider any additional prescriptions your horses or you have. If you live in an area prone to natural disasters, consider keeping a small supply of that prescription in your truck or trailer first aid kits. Let’s say you have to suddenly evacuate (like we have to here due to fire risk). You don’t want to beat yourself up for forgetting to grab your horse’s prescription in a time of stress or have to prioritize tracking a new prescription down in light of the other priorities occurring in such a situation.
Bonus Tips to Enhance Preparedness
If you host people in your business, like with lessons, consider asking about prescriptions or reminding customers to bring their prescription with them when they come to your facility. We struggle with wasps every summer, for example, and I would hate for a kiddo who is allergic to them to not have the prescription they need to manage an allergic reaction from a sting. I also advocate for all instructors and trainers to be First Aid/AED certified, so that you are appropriately equipped, should an emergency arise.
Preparedness can make all the difference in protecting the health and safety of your horses, clients, and yourself. What unique items do you include in your first aid kit?
Hugs and Happy Riding,
Kristin
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Learn more about author Kristin Bowers.
Blog posts from Equestripreneur are not meant to replace individual professional advice, which will best inform personal circumstances.
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