Rejoining pony club after a very long break! I cannot find my old records nor remember how i did them…
I am looking for recommendations on the best way to keep horse maintenance records on a spreadsheet. What software or app do you use? I have a google chromebook if that matters…
(i will be making an HB level record book)
Did you pull up the USPC record book template? I agree it’s not enough for an HB record book, but it will at least give you all of the categories and columns to add to your spreadsheet.
I am not help with software (I am only a D3 so the template provided by pony club worked fine for me).
I did find that googling - Pony Club HB Record Book - gave me all kinds of reference materials (put out there by various clubs) that will help you develop your own format more easily.
It was a long time ago for me, but we were told to develop our own format and be able to explain why we had chosen to do it that way. I chose to do a notebook with a spreadsheet for each horse with the months in columns and the vaccines/ deworming/ shoeing/ dentist/ coggins/feed etc. in rows, and then write in the date and any notes in the appropriate boxes. (i.e, for January and Flu/ Rhino I would write 1/27, serial no. 1234567; for February and Farrier I would write 4 new, no studs) This is still how I would choose to do it based on real world barn management experience-- the sheets can be easily photocopied and sent with the horse if it’s sold or changes barns. Use a separate sheet to log expenses. For conditioning I found it easiest to write on a calendar in the date boxes. (May 1st 10 minute walk hack,10 minutes trot, tried pelham but he hated it, stepped on himself and pulled RF shoe, try bellboots next time).
PC web site had a good template(s). I use individual sheets I downloaded from somewhere and keep them by hand (I know I know) . My kid keeps her PC records, I print off the vet records etc. I found a template from Jeffers or something and it has the vaccs, farrier, all the info and a place for notes. It holds 2 years worth on one page so was perfect for her D3.
Also a tip for making your binder to present to the examiners: use a 3-ring binder with tabbed dividers for each section. This makes it look nicer and makes it easier to find whatever they might be looking for. Also, don’t forget pictures of your horse! I was at a HB test where someone was going to fail due to no picture/description of the horse. Luckily, her mother was able to run out to a copy shop and print off some pictures from her phone and she was allowed to re-present the record book before the end of the test weekend, and passed.
A couple of the adult members in our club created spreadsheets in Excel and I just tweaked them for my needs and use that. If you PM me your email, I’m happy to send you the file. The examiners love my record books and now that I built it, it’s easy to keep going.
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