Why Equine First Aid?
Welcome to my first blog post! I am super excited to begin a new journey with a new website dedicated to Equine Emergency First Aid.
Equine Emergency First Aid came about more out of necessity than anything else. I have always had a love for horses and had horses as a child. It wasn’t until years later that my eldest daughter’s passion for horses started us down a path of no return. My daughter began riding at 4 years of age, as time passed we became involved in an arduous regiment of lessons, horse shows, and hauling.
We live in northern British Columbia so hitting ‘A’ circuit horse shows in Calgary, Alberta or Langley, British Columbia involved a minimum of 12 hours driving with horses in tow.
By in large, horses and their care was a team effort, however my daughter was voracious about learning everything she could in regard to horses and their care. I was the driver and the grunt and she was the knowledge and talent.
Fast-forward a few years and my daughter heads to Queen Margaret’s School on Vancouver Island to finish high school and have easier access to the ‘A’ level horse world. Her ‘A’ level horse world required a more competitive mount so her much loved Appaloosa stayed home with a few other friends.
With my daughter down south, my access to her knowledge and assistance was gone and I was on my own. It was at this point that I began seeing information about Equi-Health Canada and their Equine First Aid Courses. After much contemplation, a decision was made and I headed down to Okotokes, Alberta to take the training to become an Equine First Aid Instructor. Initially, it was more about me having the knowledge to keep our horses safe and the knowledge of what to do if an accident occurred.
What an intimidating process to make the decision to get certified. I have a University Degree, but had not been to school for a long time and this was a complete departure from my wheelhouse. I felt like the world would have more knowledge than I did. Would I fail the course? Would I look foolish? As soon as I got my manual I stressed and I studied up until the day my course began.
The reality is, there are many people that will have more experience or more knowledge than I have, and I will have more knowledge and experience than many others. As time has gone on my knowledge and experience has continued to grow.
I have utilized my training in my own life with horses, which was the ultimate goal. I can recognize signs of colic, I can deal with a cast horse, I can identify possible founder, keep my horses as safe as possible, take vitals, bandage and ice. The list goes on and on. My confidence level has increased in regard to and in reaction to emergencies.
I am not a great sales person, I would make an awful realtor, and it took some time to begin to find work teaching courses. I am not going to lie, the first courses were nerve wracking and I forgot information. Thank heavens everyone got to take home a manual!
As I continue my journey, I tweak how I teach, I add more demos, such as, a visual on how much blood a horse can lose before death becomes imminent. I have added more photos to really hit home on pertinent information. I have learned to advertise and have created a website.
I have created Customizable Equine First Aid kits and have been asked to create kits for cows, dogs and cats.
I have connected with people in the horse world that I never would have known. I have been involved in donating Equine First Aid Kits, and supporting horse shows as an Equine First Aid Instructor. I have done guest spots with 4H and teen riding camps. In 2019 I was named the Equi-Health Canada Instructor of the Year.
This journey started with trying to arm myself with enough knowledge to keep our horses safe. It has grown into a passion that allows me to connect with other horse owners and provide them with some knowledge to keep their horses as safe as possible!
