Do you use one? I am trying to figure out a way to be better organized this year - both with my riding goals and my barn management. I use a weekly planner for the rest of my life, but I need something strictly for my riding and horse care. Something horse specific would be great, but I’m open to whatever works.
I would love to hear what other people are using.
So I don’t currently have one but have been looking at getting this one:
I also want to have a place to physically plan rides, track things, write down goals, etc., just can’t bring myself to spend $30 on it yet, but maybe after the January blahs pass I’ll order it 
For most all we just a regular wall hanging calendar that we write down dates of vaccinations (attaching vaccine labels), farrier visits (with for whom) any important date is also noted
Not sure if this qualifies, but for the past 3 years I’ve been using a spreadsheet with a tab for each horse. I started it to plan and track conditioning for my eventer. My husband jokes that spreadsheeting is one of my favorite hobbies, so it was a natural choice. I wouldn’t have the patience for long journaling.
I plan and track date, type of ride, and location if not home. I have a column for notes that I leave blank if there’s nothing remarkable about the ride, and additional columns as needed (Equiband time used, video taken, whether there was headshaking and if so what the weather was).
I like it because I can use Google Sheets on my phone to update very quickly, often even while I’m cooling the horse down. Having notes on the date I did something or exercise progression during rehab has come in handy several times. Also it’s free and it’s searchable.
If I don’t ride for some reason other than horse’s day off I’ll note weather, work, farrier day, etc.
I also have a column in the eventer’s tab for my own workouts (just type and duration).
I know myself and that I always start off with big intentions that fall off after a few months. Usually once the nice spring weather hits I get distracted and stop tracking things. So I’ve never purchased anything fancy, just use a regular planner or notebook with a cover that makes me happy. Dollar store purchases that I won’t feel guilty about a big “wasted” spend when I inevitably stop tracking things.
If you think a nice, fit for purpose journal will help you stay on top of tracking everything I say go for it!
This year I am not going to set goals like “improve my riding” or “lose 10 lbs” but instead am going to set goals like “ride for at least 100 minutes each week” and “exercise at least 20 minutes every day”. I am hopeful that I will stay on top of tracking these activities which will mean I will need a day planner to track them in… enter this years’ notebook planner and “matching” pens! Dollar store finds that my sister got me for Christmas this year.
I’ve done fine with dollar store notebooks. I get frustrated with any preformated journal of any kind.
25 yrs of journaling and sacred to me like the Dead Sea Scrolls. I’m not one to regret but wish I had the first 15 yrs. I didn’t journal then. Someday, if I make to old age, I’ll read these again and again and bring all these days back to life through the words.
That top journal was my week in France with Frederic Pignon and Magali Delgado at their farm and Magali’s parents stud farm in the evenings. 30 pages or so? But wow. So glad to have my memories from that down in print.
I like wire bound, a bit heavier stock so the pages have some substance, and every entry is a full date, i.e. Dec 31 2022. Not only is it what’s going on in training, challenges, medical, fun times, stress…whatever comes to mind. I try to make at least one entry a week unless something big is going on and then daily if I can. You’d be surprised how you go back looking for the history - especially a pattern on things medical/behavorial.
I use excel spreadsheets for the farm to do list and vehicle maintenance etc.
I started using Google calendar to track. I have each event scheduled with the time and use note section for any details I need to add.
Makes it easy to look back and see what we did.
I kept one back when I was actively riding and just used a regular ol’ notebook.
Alas I was never super-duper detailed/had much idea what to write in it. Still I’m glad I have what I do have, memories of my first horse who I lost. I dunno where/how I even got the idea.
Last year I used a weekly agenda from the dollar store that had a good amount of space to write in each day. But I’ve recently started tracking my rides with the app Equilab and now find it’s easier to add any additional notes in there. Like farrier appointments etc.
Another vote for Google calendar. I have one calendar for my personal/family stuff, one for the retired horse, one for the lease horse. Use the notes field to record observations, record vet and farrier appointments on days and times they happen.
I’m trying to get into daily or at least regular journaling. Are these only riding journals or everything in your life? Do you remember how you got into it when you first started or what motivated you to keep writing?
Just horses. You got me curious…just what was the first entry? I had to go look! It was medical. I’d bought a horse who was grumpy (didn’t want to be touched or have leg pressure) and went from vet to vet and couldn’t get to the bottom of it until…something like the 3rd or 4th vet that said, “bring me your saddle… have you had a good dentist in her mouth?.. let’s look at her feet”. Found a good dentist and found a nasty fractured tooth that had been bad so long it had calcifications around it down under the gum line. Got that tooth out and voila, HAPPY HORSE. I’d bought her because I felt sorry for her and she started me down the path of taking on unhappy horses thinking I could fix them and it worked until my latest…who I gave up on and is just a pasture pet with LOTS of entries. (sniff sniff)
I do graphic design and have been thinking of creating a digital one for download. I’m curious what features you’d like to see in a riding journal.
The simplified planner by Emily Ley is my favorite. She has fancy ones on her website but more affordable versions at walmart/target/etc. I use the weekly pages for work/school and the month overview for horse stuff.
BTW she also has an awesome podcast and books/audible that have a bunch of great tips for streamlining all your everyday stuff so you’ll have more time… for horses obviously 
I am finalizing a digital planner and riding journal that should be ready to test in the next few weeks and am seeking beta testers.
The planner works with note taking apps like Notability and GoodNotes, and is designed to keep all of your riding and horsekeeping info in one place.
If you have an iPad or Android tablet (or a laptop) and are interested, I would be happy to send you the planner/journal for free in exchange for your feedback.
I’m really excited about it, but I need people to test it and I don’t want to rely solely on the input of my barnmates and friends.
If you’re interested in beta testing, please PM me. I will give you a free beta test version, and if you provide me feedback, I will give you the finalized version for free.
Thanks!
Does it work on a phone?
I haven’t tested it personally, but yes, you can use apps like GoodNotes and Notability on an iPhone, and sync across multiple devices. And something like Notewise should work on an android smartphone. Any app that allows you to annotate a pdf should work.
By submitting your email, you agree to our Terms of Service and Privacy Policy. You may also receive promotional emails from The Chronicle of the Horse. You can opt out at any time.
For Customers
Company
Terms of Use
