As 2019 comes to a close we will celebrate the holidays and then start planning for 2020. A time for housekeeping and organization. Every year as we start the new year and lay out our New Years’ Resolutions we undoubtedly are thinking about our goals with our horses and our upcoming competition year.
We are in a new era of barn management due to the amazing technology available to us today. Many of the organization systems we used in the past to manage our horse barns are becoming obsolete with the advent of computers, smart phones and tablets.
One of the New Years’ Resolutions many of us will make for 2020 is better record keeping for our horses and barns.
In spite of the best intentions, very few of us are able to remember everything involved in taking care of our horses on a daily basis. Having a system of record keeping that allows you to make quick notations and keep adequate records of all pertinent information related to the health, care, and keeping of your horse will enable you to stay on top of things, whether it’s remembering the timing of deworming treatments or when your horse had its last tetanus booster.
Below are the types of information that horse barn owners must keep track of.
- Contact information for veterinarians, equine hospitals, farriers, trainers or anyone else involved with your horse
- Appointments with your veterinarian
- Baseline vital signs
- Vaccinations
- Parasite Control
- Dental Examinations
- Farrier work
- Medical incidents
- Blood work
- Medications
- Diagnostic images provided by your veterinarian
- Joint injections
- Breeding records
- Competition and training events
- Feeding schedules, daily rations and supplements
- Behavioral episodes such as sudden bouts of head tossing, etc.
- Pedigree information
- Registration numbers
- Insurance documents
- Lease agreements
Now that we have computers, smart phones and tablets we can keep that information with us all the time. No longer the records in the office in the house while you are in the barn or at a horse show.
With EquestFile, the barn manager is able to build a horse profile in the software program. All the above listed important horse data can be entered in the software, shared with other barn employees and the owners of the horses. Documents such as lease agreements, coggins, performance records, can all be uploaded in the software so you have those documents with you at all times. The documents are shareable and can be emailed or texted to other concerned people.
Additionally, when your horse has an accident or illness the details of the incident can be input into the software including the symptoms, diagnosis, treatment plans and resolution of the illness. Radiographs and vet clinic discharge instructions can be uploaded and shared if necessary. With this technology, when you are away at horse show you will have access to illness or injury details should the symptoms reoccur.
Further, sales or training videos can be uploaded and shared with prospective buyers or to the horse owners to show the progress of the horse that they have in training with you.
EquestFile offers printable reports. For example, those tasks that were done the previous week or what healthcare services are due. Additionally, a horse information report with all relevant horse information can be generated and printed out or emailed to a recipient who maybe leasing or purchasing the horse.
Organizing your horses and barns with this new technology of barn management, while seeming overwhelming at first will be a huge time saver for you in the long run. Just imagine, when not having to go find the notebooks or files every time you need a horse’s registration number or want to know when the last time the hocks were injected.
Leave a Reply