Starting Supplies

I have a journal in which I asked this question (autumnheart's Journal) but I have recieved no responses and I would really like to know. Can anyone provide me with a thorough list of EVERYTHING I need to start of with my own horse, (boarding somewhere, not at home)? All supplies, tack, grooming stuff? I'm not sure of what all I need and I would like to research the items and estimate the costs. Thanks in advance. :)

I'll try to list the bare minimum of what you need. I'm sure I'll miss something. As you get going, you'll find more things you need, not to mention all the things that are just cool or handy that you're bound to want.

Health:
First aid kit, including ointment, wound dressing, betadine, bandages, cold pack, liniment
Wormers
Vaccines
Both wormers and vaccines can be easily purchased and you can administer them yourself.

Grooming:
Firm bristle brush for the coat
Mane/tail brush or comb
Curry brush
Soft brush for face
Hoof pick
Depending on the conditions, if your horse will be standing in mud, unrine, or manure, you'll probably want some kind of hoof protectant to prevent soft hooves and thrush
Fly spray
Some kind of carrier to put it all in and carry around

Don't forget the cost of having your farrier come out every 6-8 weeks.

Feeding:
Grain bucket, water bucket, hay net. If you're boarding, this may all be supplied
Treats, especially carrots
Grain is usually not included in board
Salt block
Vitamin supplements if it's recommended in your area

Tack:
Halter
Lead-rope - I like cotton, since it doesn't burn my hands
Saddle
Pad
Headstall
Bit
Reins
Lungeline for groundwork (again, I like cotton)

If you're just researching what it will cost, and you don't have a local tack-shop, then Dover Saddlery online has a good selection that would be easy for you to price out.

And thumbs-up to you for doing your research before getting your horse, so you don't get surprises.

Uh oh. Forgot the helmet. Must not forget the helmet.

Get your VET out to give first shots and teach YOU how to give them. I was taught how to give intermuscular and introvenous from my first Vet in a Horse Health Care Course. I was never successful with the rump shots, and I don't recommend them even if it is in a series of Procaine Penicillin--does anybody use this anymore?
The horses spine does NOT run the length of his neck, or just underneath the mane and if you give a shot into the spine you will injure your horse.
Just FYI.
You won't be able to buy rabies if you need to give that shot without a prescription from your Vet. MY Vet told me 2012 might be the first year for them.
I DO keep a couple of current vials of tetanus antitoxin in my fridge in case of injury, and I can give that to my horses. I gave my own shots for 14 years.

I think this is a state-by-state thing. My understanding (though I'm sure at least some places have changed in the 20 years since I needed this!) is that in some states (including NH at the time) it's basically unregulated, you just order it, in others no one but a vet could get it, even with a prescription. Or maybe it's just a matter of shipping, and you can buy it locally - but the Omaha Vaccine listing says that state laws don't even allow them to ship to 30+ states. I also understood when we gave it that it gave us peace of mind, but in the unlikely event that our horse was bitten by something and the authorities became involved, legally it was as if it were unvaccinated (because we didn't have that signed paper from the vet).

At some point we had a bad experience with the only large-animal vet in the area and from then on we gave vaccines ourselves (and thank goodness never needed another vet until the day over a decade later when one of our horses colicked and died - vetless, though my mom did try to get one out ). We used the instructions from an early issue of _Equus_ magazine which showed the safe area. We were a bit squeamish - when I first brought my husband (then fiance) to my parents' house, Mom & I shoved the syringe in his hand, held up the article pictures for him to see, and had him do it from then on.

Anne

Please, please, do NOT buy vaccines, much less administer them if you've never done it before! Use the vet. You have to know how to administer shot or you can face huge vet bills later on if you give it incorrectly or there are any complications. BTW, many barns require vaccinations (and coggins) to be done before you move the horse there and you have to provide a prove they were given (which can only come from the vet). Same with worming: some barns have a strict schedule and wormer rotations (if any, I do fecal count, but then I don't board).

As for the rest: first aid kit, grooming kit, fly mask, and halter + lead rope are the basic. As for tack the best to buy saddle after you get a horse (because you have to fit a saddle).

Thank you everyone for your help so far; this has been great!

Yeah, sorry, I shouldn't have responded & pulled things farther off topic as I did, because of course you're completely right.


We were in a completely different situation than the OP, having owned our horses for a decade, keeping them at home, on 24/7 pasture, just the 2 of them far from the very few other horses in town in a relatively sparsely populated part of the state.

And our "first aid kid" consisted of a tub of bag balm and whatever was around the house (for people). But we barely needed the bag balm.

Anne

I forgot to mention that if there is a bad batch of serum and YOU administer it instead of your Vet, you have no legal recourse, in the case of illness from that vaccine or death.

Actually nope. If they sell something over the counter and you keep your receipt, etc - you have a case. You will of course need an affidavit from the vet that performed the necropsy.