Emergencies happen – the trick is knowing what to do.
Cory Conley was in Fergus at the Centre Wellington tack and trade show April 29 letting people know about the equine first-aid course offered through Horse In Hand.
Conley, of Hornings Mills, explained the business is primarily an equine emergency first aid course. A one day course gives a student certification for three years.
“What we do is get together with a group of horse owners and we have horses on site.”
She explained participants listen to a morning presentation and watch a demonstration.
After lunch, participants are taken through a set of scenarios to be prepared if there is an injury in their equine world.
“We have an anchor facility in Caledon [where her associate Bill Kempers is from], but a lot of people like to have us come to their barn because it is easier for a specific group to meet there. We work where ever the horses are and the interest is within Ontario
The one-day course provides classroom and hands-on applications with horses, that covers lacerations; casting; how to flush foreign bodies out of eyes; what to do about hoof puncture wounds, thrush, scratches, abscess, white line; digestive emergencies such as colic, collapse, choke; how to take your horse’s vital signs to assist the veterinarian in response; how to detect and ease pain in a horse’s back; how to weigh a horse so it does not get an overdose or be under medicated (without a weight tape).
Participants also receive a first-aid manual that includes: what’s abnormal and normal (a vital signs chart), when to call for assistance, wounds, bandaging, collapse, shock, poison, burns, lameness, nail puncture, interference, wrapping legs, colic, choke, eye injuries, nose bleed, stings and bites, heat stroke and first-aid supplies needed.
All attendees will receive a certificate of completion and vital signs normal-abnormal barn card.
For more information email horse-in-hand@acn.net or call 519-925-9636.
