Good Records, Good Care · 6 min read
The Records Every Horse Owner Should Keep (and Why)
Seven records, in order of how badly you'll wish you had them on the worst day, framed as care rather than admin.
If you keep nothing else, keep these. I've organized them by how badly you'll wish you had them on the day you need them.
1. A health & veterinary log
Every visit, every vaccine, every "we'll keep an eye on it." Date, what happened, what the vet said, what it cost. Why: the day of an emergency, this is the difference between a fast decision and a dangerous guess.
2. A farrier record
Dates, cycle length, what your farrier noted, any changes: pads, shoes, trims. Why: hoof problems are slow-motion patterns. You can only see them with dates. Harvey is in a full set, which is what a Thoroughbred off the track generally needs and not something you simply undo because barefoot sounds nicer.
3. A weight & body condition note
Even rough. A tape weight and a one-line condition score, monthly. Why: gradual loss or gain is invisible day to day and obvious on paper. I keep this for Marshall more carefully than for anyone, because at 21 a slow decline is exactly the kind of thing that hides in "he seems fine."
4. A medication & supplement list
What, how much, why, since when. Why: a new vet needs this in sixty seconds, and you will absolutely forget the "since when." I have, more than once.
5. A cost ledger
Board, farrier, vet, feed, the surprises. Why: you cannot care well for an animal whose true cost you avoid looking at. This is its own whole subject, and I write about it constantly, because nobody warned me.
6. Ownership & identity documents
Registration, Coggins, insurance, microchip, any sale agreement. Why: sale, lease, travel, and claims all require them, always at the worst possible moment. Harvey came with all of these, which is more than most horses get. Marshall came with none of them and still has none, and rebuilding a paper trail from nothing is doable but not a job you want.
7. A training & work note
Doesn't have to be a diary. Even "what we worked on, how he felt" is enough. Why: soundness and behavior changes show up here first, before they show up anywhere else.
You do not need software to start. You need a single place that isn't your memory. A note app, a spreadsheet, a physical binder, pick one and put one thing in it today.
I keep all seven for both of my horses, in very different states of completeness. Marshall's record is twenty-one years deep because I lived it, and almost none of it is written anywhere but in me. Harvey's is immaculate on paper and silent on the one thing that turned out to matter. Different failures, same fix. The system can get better later. The habit has to start now.
Morgan
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