Pony Club taught me a lot. However, Pony Club did nothing to counter-act my tendency toward hoarding. At a Pony Club Rally (show), kids are judged not just on their riding performance, but on their horse management skills as well. Part of good horse management is having what you need and knowing how to use it, so Pony Club requires each team of kids to have an assortment of items that may prove handy. It’s a long list containing everything from bug spray to an antibacterial/antimicrobial/antiseptic scrub. Pony Club takes a lot of grief over these lists from both the kids who can’t fathom why they’d need a one lb. roll of 12” absorbent cotton and from the parents who fund the extensive list of items. As for myself and my weird obsession with rule following, I loved “The List” and at one point could rattle off every item on it. Now, in addition to the items required by Pony Club for so many years, I have my own “List” of items that live in my trailer.
Top Left Hand Drawer – Spares and Repairs (thus dubbed by my mother, although her’s is filled with items that can be used to fix things and mine is filled with things to replace broken or lost items). Spare lead rope – check (although it’s always the more expensive halter that breaks), pair of stirrup leathers and irons – check (although I’ve never needed them on my saddle, the day will come. A stirrup leather can also double as a belt if you’re desperate). Extra billet guards – yep, now if I’d just put them on my saddle. Lots and lots of spare rubber bands for peacock stirrups. Fresh stirrup pads – for showing only, then the old discolored ones go back in. I’d like to add a spare tire, but it just won’t fit. Keeping a spare for your horse (i.e. set of your horse’s old horse shoes) is however, very do-able and a great idea.
Middle Left Hand Drawer – Horse First Aid
The most essential items in this kit are a stethoscope, thermometer with thong, clip and petroleum jelly and Schreiners (it’s an herbal wound care spray – awesome!). Other really good items, alcohol (wound cleaning – not drinking, although occasionally that’s called for too), 4” sterile gauze squares, 2” roll of gauze, Vet wrap, bandage scissors (you can’t have too many), 1” roll of medical tape, Bute, electrolytes, and liniment. I also like to keep “eye goo” handy. In my world, “eye goo” constitutes a non-steroidal triple antibiotic in a little bitty tube with a long snout so you can get it in their eye. The non-steroidal part is really important because you do not want to put steroids in an eye that might be scratched. Other people have suggested splinting material, Banamine, and other such items, but I figure if it’s that bad, I’m calling the vet. With what I’ve got I’ll be able to piece something together until they get to us. Speaking of piecing things together, drawer number three…
Bottom Left Hand Drawer – Bandaging
Okay, so my bandaging supplies actually take up more than one drawer. In drawer number three you’ll find four mid-sized puffy leg quilts and four stretchy wraps, but there is a whole other box full of wrapping goodies. It’s up in the gooseneck because I don’t use it very often, but it is a treasure chest of wrapping goddess goodness. It’s got sheet cotton and cheese cloth so I can make my own wraps, saran wrap for sweat wraps, flannels, a large spider wrap and additional material, should I need to make a smaller one. There is a roll of elasticon, some more vet wrap, an ace bandage or two and paper bags. Plus the bandage box contains handy extras like more tape, more bandage scissors, and safety pins – the great big ones. If it can be wrapped, we can wrap it!
Top Right Hand Drawer – Utility Kit
This is the most robbed drawer and the drawer that I have to double check the most often. It’s also probably the most used drawer and the least organized. The Pony Club Utility Kit includes a hammer, nails, screwdriver (I got one of those nifty ones with multiple heads stored inside), pliers, scissors (yes more scissors), knife, leather punch, thumbtacks (for which I have no use, but some people use them to hang up schedules, I use a dry erase board), duct tape (if you only carry one thing besides your horse in the trailer, duct tape is the thing to carry) and two pony club pins. As for the Pony Club pins, I obviously don’t need those anymore, but they are a good reminder to pack extras of small things that are easily misplaced or lost…like contacts, writing utensils and medical arm bands. I’ve added an extension cord or two, double ended snaps (for hanging buckets if you forget your cool bucket hangers), and hay string – a great big ball of hay string. I also keep my flashlight and fire extinguisher in the utility box. It keeps the fire extinguisher from rolling around and I always know where to feel around for the flashlight in the dark. I used to be very bad at remembering bungi cords for the fan, so there’s some in that drawer just in case. Finally, some more duct tape. No kidding, I think I have three rolls in there. You can never have enough.
Middle Drawer on Right - Tack Cleaning
This one is totally up for debate. Seems like everyone has their favorite items, toothpaste, Lexol, you name it. My tack cleaning kit is actually a kit within a kit. In the drawer you’ll find a cleaning hook and a drying basket, though I rarely get them out. You’ll also find two old gallon ice cream buckets with a lid. These are the heart of the tack cleaning kit. I can soak bits and stirrups in one and fill the other with my wash water. In the mean time, they hold my Castile soap, Never Dull, a baggie of dishwashing detergent, shoe polish and an assortment of sponges and rags. I used to carry a small bottle of oil, but it kept leaking, so now I keep my oiling supplies at home. Who’s really going to oil their tack at a show anyway??? When I get to the show, I can easily grab just the ice cream buckets and toss them in my trunk so my tack cleaning can be more portable.
Bottom Right Drawer – Human First Aid
I’m not sure I’ve ever used anything from the human first aid kit at a horse show. I have however robbed it on several occasions working around the barn. Putting a nail through your finger with an air-nailer calls for at least a band-aid. Besides band-aids, there is triple antibiotic cream, rubber gloves, sunscreen and bug spray. To me, the rubber gloves are pointless, I’d rather touch blood and guts than put them on, but for the safety/health conscious they are available. I’ve also tossed in some more ace wraps and a couple of those instant ice packs, plus my favorite human first aid item – new skin patches. I don’t know what they are actually called, but they breathe like skin, yet keep water and other irritants out. They are terrific on rubs and blisters and were a life saver when I spread-eagled an oxar and took all the skin off my back. Of course they weren’t in the kit then. We had to make a special trip to the store. Now they are a permanent fixture.
That’s probably way more than you ever wanted to know about the black drawers in my trailer that double as steps to the gooseneck. The moral of the long winded list, while duct tape and hay string will fix most things, if you want to travel with your horses with confidence and not beg and borrow when things don’t go as planned, you’re going to need a lot of stuff!
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