How do you keep track of your horse’s health record? Some of you are probably quite organized. You are the ones who have a filing system where your vaccination records, worming schedules, shoeing details, supplement delivery schedules and vet recommendations are all at your fingertips.
Then, there are people like me. I consider myself ahead of the game if I remember to write down the date of my next farrier visit on my calendar. My spring shots are done sometime in the spring and fall shots happen sometime in the fall. De-worming is done quarterly (which is a whole other topic) and I rotate dewormers but by the next one in advance so I don’t have to remember what to buy!
Recently, I discovered that there are several on-line software programs that can help you keep track of this important data. I evaluated three, which ranged from free to $95/year. I only looked at on-line programs as I prefer not to download software onto my computer unless it’s absolutely necessary (downloading software can sometimes introduce viruses or the software can cause compatibility issues with other programs on your computer).
From my quick perusal of the options, it appears that unless you are a barn manager with a stable full of horses and need to integrate invoicing into your program, the free software, Rendaivu, offers sufficient features and is a good place to start. For each horse you have the option of:
- Creating a profile for each horse that includes purchase info, insurance policy numbers, contact information for your vet, farrier, etc.
- Tracking training information, performance records, pedigree, health records, etc.
- Note: The Health Records page includes places to track blood work, hoof care, deworming, dentistry, general health care, leg care and vaccinations.
It also gives you a convenient central location to keep track of all your equine-related costs (that part is optional, as I’m sure many of us don’t really want to know the absolute bottom line!).
I’ve just started using the program and find it to be intuitive and simple to use. I realized I needed help as I was losing track of which week I gave my horses their IM joint injections, which defeats the purpose of keeping them on a schedule!
Other on-line programs that I’ve found are:
Horselogs (Cost: $3.99/month or 49.95/year or $129.95/life)
EquineMax (Cost: one time charge of $95 for up to 10 horses; $165 for unlimited horses)
Thanks for the great resource. I’m going to try it!
Glenda
FYI Rendaivu also allows you to create an organization or a farm to which you can manage a stable full of horses. Barn members can join the organization and have easy access to lesson schedules, vet/farrier schedules and so much more.
Each organization has a private message forum and private messaging. Barn managers can also send clients invoices and manage them as well as track feed/hay inventory with an automatic daily reduction in inventory based on what the horses are eating.
There is a whole new area of Rendaivu yet to be discovered 🙂 Its amazing and I love it. We have a barn of 20 boarders and everyone uses it and loves it!!
Thanks for the great writeup! As Mary noted, a large part of Rendaivu is about stable management (invoices, scheduling, etc.). While horse records are an integral part of Rendaivu, the heart of the program has a large selection of features for stable owners / managers. We advise you watch the Tour videos for more information about what you can do.