Recording Horse Health and Information

It is very important to keep up with all the various wormings, shots, farrier visits, and breeding information on all the horses. Until now I had been relying on my Outlook task reminders and calender, but with the number of horses now in my care I decided that that was not enough. For one thing, I am not the only one caring for them anymore. I need to have some way for every person to see and/or to log what happens to each horse. In this day of computers, it would seem that that would be the way to go, but the information needs to be available in the barn where the horses are. I don't think I want to risk my laptop in that environment.

So I came up with a book for each horse. I purchased 1" binders that have a label on the spine. The name of the horse is on the label and inside there are five dividers: Information, Worming, Farrier, Medical, and Breeding.

The Information section has a sheet I made up with the horse's name(s), DOB, sex, color, breed, sire and dam, owner information, and a table to record height and weight. Behind that are copies of important papers stored in sheet protectors. I keep the originals in my office. These might be registration papers, coggins, approval papers, awards, or anything else that I think might be useful.

The Worming section has a schedule I designed so that the type of wormer and date given could be recorded as well as results and dates of fecal testing. While it is true that most of the horses get the same wormer at the same time, there are a few variations and I think it is a good idea to have a record on each horse.

The Farrier section is just a worksheet to record the date of the farrier visit, whether it was a trim or shoes (and#), and a place for notes. This is good for the farrier, especially if he is working on something specific on a horse, and also for the vet.

The Medical section has a page for recording immunizations, and another for general medical information. This way there is a history for you and the vet and if a horse is sick and needs monitoring it is a good place for each person to record temp, medication, or anything else that should be kept track of on that horse. Instructions from the vet, lab results, and other medical info is filed behind the medical information sheet with the most recent first.

The Breeding section is a worksheet to record all the findings necessary for breeding so that a history can be kept for future reference. I also keep the breeding chart the vet uses in a sheet protector so that I don't have to transcribe all his notes onto my worksheet. Any additional information from the vet, labs, or breeding stations are filed behind this.

Over the years I think this will become a valuable source in the care and breeding of my horses and if I sell any it will be a great tool for the new owner and her vet and farrier.