SKILLS VERIFICATION FORM

Horse and Rider First Aid & Emergency Planning

For the purpose of demonstrating your equine first aid knowledge and skills you will video tape yourself performing the skills listed below.   Remember your safety and the safety of others around you is key during any emergency.   Before assisting any animal assure that it is safe to do so.

Once completed you can send your visual presentation via any disc format that will play on any computer or request a link to upload it to the Equinology Share File Site.

Externship details should include your full name, contact details and email.

√	Equine Vital Signs For this section you will need the following supplies: halter, lead rope, rectal thermometer, stethoscope and watch.
	Before beginning your demonstration, please have the horse securely tied or have an assistant hold the horse.
	Calmly approach the horse.
	Demonstrate taking taking the horses temperature.   Gently lift the horses tail and insert the thermometer into the rectum.   If you are using a digital thermometer, leave it in until it beeps.   If you are using another type, leave in rectum for 1 minute.   After removing the thermometer, state your findings and the normal range.
	Demonstrate taking a pulse with a stethoscope.   Stand on the left side of the horse and place the stethoscope on the chest behind the the elbow.   Listen for 15 seconds, multiple by 4 and state your results. Or listen for 30 seconds, multiply by 2 and state results.   Please state the normal pulse rate for horses.
	Demonstrate the two alternate methods of checking the pulse rate without a stethoscope. First by feeling for a pulse under the jaw and then by palpating a pulse at the back of the pastern.   State your results.
	Demonstrate checking the respiratory rate of the horse for 1 minute and state your results.   First aim the video at the horses nostrils and count the respirations for 1 minute, state your results.   Second, aim the video at the horses left chest, count the respirations for 1 minute and state your results.
	Check the mucous membrane color by lifting the upper lip and observing the gum color. With the lip raised, check the capillary refill time (CRT) by pressing on the gum, release the pressure and observe the time it takes for the gum color to return.   State your results and what you would expect to find for a normal, healthy horse.
	Checking the hydration status of the horse.   First lift the lip and note whether the gums are pink and glistening, observe the eyes and note if they appear moist, perform a skin pinch test and note when the skin returned to normal or remained tented.
	Check the gut sounds.   Using a stethoscope, listen in all 4 quadrants for 15 - 20 seconds.   State your results before proceeding to the next quadrant.
	General appearance and attitude of the horse.   State whether the horse is acting normal, eating normally and moving normally.   This is your general impression of the horse at the time.
√	Colic Symptoms & First Aid For this section you will need the following supplies: halter, lead rope, rectal thermometer, stethoscope and watch.   For the purpose of this section your horse has the following symptoms:   he is pawing at the ground, does not want to eat his regular meal, over the last 1/2 hour is lying down and rolling, then gets up and walks around and has repeated this 3 times.
	Before beginning your demonstration, please have the horse securely tied or have an assistant hold the horse.
	Calmly approach the horse.
	Begin by describing the common colic symptoms you would expect to see in horse that may be related to colic.
	Demonstrate taking the horses vital signs.
	Briefly describe the the scenario as if you were speaking to your veterinarian.   Note how long the horse has had symptoms, the signs you have observed, the vital signs and any pertinent history regarding change in feed, if the horse is in foal, etc.
	State any first aid care you would provide while waiting for the veterinarian to arrive.

√	First Aid Skills For Bleeding Emergencies For this section you will need the following supplies: halter, lead rope, bandage scissors,   nonstick telfa type pad, 4X4 gauze pads, roll of brown gauze, roll of cast padding, kling type gauze roll, cotton roll or sheet cotton, vet-wrap, elastic tape.   For the purpose of this section your horse has a 2 inch cut over the left cannon bone, bleeding moderately and you suspect he will need sutures to heel properly.
	Before beginning your demonstration, please have the horse securely tied or have an assistant hold the horse.
	Calmly approach the horse.
	When the veterinarian will be seeing your horse shortly and the wound is bleeding moderately, applying a bandage to control the bleeding should be your first course or action.
	First place a sterile non-stick pad over the wound and secure this by wrapping the area with cast padding.
	Next wrap the area with with the kling type gauze roll, now wrap with the sheet cotton.
	Wrap the area securely with the brown gauze.
	Wrap the area snuggly with the vet-wrap and secure the top and bottom of the bandage with elastic tape to prevent the bandage from slipping and to keep dirt and foreign objects from getting under the bandage.
	Check above and below the bandage for signs of swelling, this could indicate the bandage is too tight and you may need to loosen the wrap and you should loosen the bandage and re-secure it.   Do not remove the original of telfa pad and cast padding when adjusting the bandage.
√	Placing a Support Bandage on the Leg For this section you will need the following supplies: halter, lead rope, bandage scissors,   roll of brown gauze, roll of cast padding, cotton roll or sheet cotton, vet-wrap or a polo wrap.    This type of bandage my be used for injuries to soft tissue injuries to the legs or possible fractures to support the leg while waiting for veterinary care.
	Before beginning your demonstration, please have the horse securely tied or have an assistant hold the horse.
	Calmly approach the horse.
	First wrap the leg with sheet cotton.
	Next, secure the sheet cotton with the 6 inch brown gauze.
	Place either vet-wrap or a polo wrap tightly around the affected area.   The leg must be wrapped tightly to give support, but not too tight that the circulation is decreased.
	Check above and below the bandage for signs of swelling, this could indicate the bandage is too tight and you may need to loosen the wrap and you should loosen the bandage and re-secure it.

√	Placing a Support Bandage on the L Rear Leg For this section you will need the following supplies: halter, lead rope, bandage scissors,   roll of brown gauze, roll of cast padding, cotton roll or sheet cotton, vet-wrap or a polo wrap.    This type of bandage my be used for injuries to soft tissue injuries to the legs or possible fractures to support the leg while waiting for veterinary care.
	Before beginning your demonstration, please have the horse securely tied or have an assistant hold the horse.
	Calmly approach the horse.
	First wrap the leg with sheet cotton.
	Next, secure the sheet cotton with the 6 inch brown gauze.
	Place either vet-wrap or a polo wrap tightly around the affected area.   The leg must be wrapped tightly to give support, but not too tight that the circulation is decreased.
	Check above and below the bandage for signs of swelling, this could indicate the bandage is too tight and you may need to loosen the wrap and you should loosen the bandage and re-secure it.
√	Hoof Abscess or Foreign Body in Hoof For this section you will need the following supplies: halter, lead rope, marker, non-stick pad, vet-wrap, easy boot, soap, scrub brush.   For the purpose of the demonstration, there is no foreign body in the hoof.
	Before beginning your demonstration, please have the horse securely tied or have an assistance hold the horse.
	Calmly approach the horse.
	If no foreign body in the hoof, scrub the bottom of the foot with soap and water.
	Make an X with the marker where the abscess or other puncture in the foot may be.
	Secure the non-stick pad with vet-wrap.
	If you have an easy boot put it on.   Alternative to the easy boot is to cover the sole and hoof with duct tape.