Photo Courtesy EquiMedic USA

We’ve all seen the pictures on the evening news of hypodermic needles showing up and floating up in harmful places–street gutters, beaches and road side ditches.  As horse owners we should all be asking ourselves how many of those nasty sharps started out on that journey in our horse barns and stables across rural and suburban American.

The implications of improperly disposed needles can be staggering. Not only can a nasty puncture wound to humans, pets and wildlife be incurred, in doing so, these needles can carry dangerous vaccines, medications, pathogens and antibiotics into the body and blood stream. Death, disease, sickness, and the loss of the effectiveness of antibiotics and medications can and has occurred.

How do you dispose of your needles? Do you own a legal sharps container? How do you dispose of your hypodermic needles and possibly those scalpel blades that you occasionally use at your horse operation? Many horse owners give their own vaccinations or inject various antibiotics, analgesics, pain killers or relaxants to their own horses on an occasional or regular schedule. 

There is only one right answer to this question: a very inexpensive bright red "Sharps Container." These can be purchased from any number of sources including equine first aid companies, veterinary supply catalogs, and of course, your local veterinarian; you might even be able to purchase one from your local medical clinic or hospital. A small one quart sharps containers can be purchased for under $4