The vet arrives at the stable at 3am. Horse has colic. The first question: “When did it last eat? What feed? Did it move? Normal stool?”.
You stare blank. Last stool you saw around afternoon feeding, but you can’t remember exactly. Feed? Standard, but did the supplier change — you don’t know. Training — yesterday, moderate intensity, but exactly what?
That moment costs twice. Once — because the vet has to guess and proceed cautiously. Twice — because the horse has lower odds of fast diagnosis.
A horse journal solves this. In this article I show what to record, in what format, and why some things are critical while others are just “nice to have”.
Why a horse journal isn’t pedantry
Three concrete situations where the journal decides:
1. Colic at 3am
The vet arrives and the first question will be about the last 24 hours. Without a journal — you guess. With one — you answer in 30 seconds.
2. Horse is lame, no obvious reason
Yesterday OK, today lame. Transport incident? Bad shoeing? Last week’s work? Without history — diagnosis takes days. With a journal — you often spot a pattern (e.g. “third time in 6 weeks lame on the front-left after riding indoor” → footing issue).
3. Selling the horse
Buyer asks for health, vaccination, farrier history. Without a journal — you dig in three notebooks, two vet conversations and memory. With one — PDF export in 30 seconds.
This isn’t pedantry. It’s professionalism.
7 things worth recording daily
Daily entry must be fast — 1-2 minutes per horse. Otherwise nobody keeps it up.
1. Appetite
Scale 1-5 or simpler: full / partial / none.
Why it matters: a drop in appetite is the earliest signal of 80% of health issues (colic, fever, inflammation, pain). Horse that usually eats out leaves half → flag.
Entry: “Appetite: full” or “Appetite: 3/5 (left 1/3)“.
2. Manure and urine
Awkward, but critical.
- Manure: did it pass (morning and evening), color, consistency, amount
- Urine: did it pass, color
Normal: 6-12 piles a day, apple-shaped, greenish-brown. Urine: light yellow, 4-7 times a day.
Alarm: no manure > 8 hours (colic!), very runny (diarrhoea, infection), very dark urine (dehydration, kidney issue).
Entry: “Manure OK, urine light” or “Manure: 1× morning, none since 2pm — observe”.
3. Behavior and posture
Horse usually cheerful, today apathetic? Standing in the corner, not engaging? Usually greets you, today doesn’t approach?
Behavior is a quick comfort indicator. Note deviations from normal.
4. Pulse and respiration (when something feels off)
Not daily, but when you suspect anything.
Norms:
- Resting pulse: 28-44 bpm (adult horse)
- Resting respiration: 8-16/minute
5. Training / riding
What did the horse do today, how long, intensity.
- Light: 30 min walk, lunge, paddock
- Moderate: 60 min all gaits, basic schooling
- Intense: jumping, advanced dressage, sprint
- None: rest day, injury, weather
6. Feed
Standard or anything unusual.
Most days: just “Standard”. But note:
- Hay batch / supplier changes
- Adding / removing supplements
- Leaving feed
- New manger / taste change
7. Medications / supplements
Every drug or supplement given.
- Name
- Dose
- Time given
- Reason (if ad-hoc, e.g. pain)
Entry: “Phenylbutazone 1g, 8am, mild lameness right hind”.
This is also a legal requirement if the horse competes (FEI, national federations — drug withdrawal periods). Without records you might unintentionally give something that disqualifies the horse from a show next month.
4 things to record periodically (not daily)
These you do weekly / monthly / every few months.
8. Weight and BCS
Once a month.
- Weight: on a scale or weight tape
- BCS: 1-9 scale (1 = emaciated, 5 = ideal, 9 = obese)
Trend over time shows if the horse is gaining / losing. A single reading means nothing.
9. Farrier visit
Every visit.
- Date
- What was done (trim, shoeing, correction, special solution if a problem)
- Hoof condition (photos help a lot!)
- Farrier’s comment
10. Dental visit
Once a year, or when there’s a problem (picky eater, weak condition, lunge resistance).
11. Vaccinations, deworming, exams
Every vaccination, every deworming, every lab test.
This is a list you must have for the horse passport (FEI, national bodies). Without complete vaccinations the horse can’t compete or cross borders.
What the vet wants to see at a colic call
When the vet shows up at an unusual hour, prep this before they ask:
- Appetite last 24h
- Manure last 24h (last time)
- Urine
- Training last 24-48h
- Feed (any changes)
- Pulse and respiration now
- Behavior (apathy, restlessness, lying down)
- Last vet visit and what
- Current meds / supplements
If you have it in a phone app — show in 1 minute. Vet diagnoses faster, horse gets help faster, visit costs less.
In practice: In Hovera the horse journal is a single timeline — all entries chronologically, with a filter (health only / rides only / meds only). Vet gets a link and sees the same as you. See in product →
Format: paper, Excel or system
Three options.
Paper (notebook in the stable)
Pro: zero tech, anyone can write. Con: can’t search, easy to lose, hard to share with the vet. Use case: 1-3 horses, private owner.
Excel / Google Sheets
Pro: searchable, edit from desktop, easy to share. Con: need to remember to fill, phones handle spreadsheets badly, no alerts. Use case: 5-15 horses, single manager with a laptop.
System (web/cloud)
Pro: quick entry, accessible to the team, automatic alerts (vaccination in 30 days!), vet export, chronological timeline. Con: subscription (~€15-40/mo), needs 30-min staff onboarding. Use case: 10+ horses, professional operation.
Above 15 horses a system pays for itself in the first month — time saved on “where was that note?” exceeds the subscription many times over.
Daily entry template
If starting on paper or Excel:
DATE: 06.05.2026
HORSE: Bajka
Appetite: full
Manure: OK morning and evening
Urine: norm
Resting pulse: 36
Behavior: norm
Training: 4pm, light, 45 min, instructor Anna, indoor arena
Client: Kasia (5/8 pass)
Feed: standard
Meds: none
Notes:
- Slightly stiff first 5 min (post-rest day, normal)
- Good form, client happy
Upcoming: farrier 15.05, vaccination 22.05Entry takes 90 seconds after a ride. In a system — 30 seconds (most fields are dropdowns).
Common journal mistakes
Mistake 1: Trying to record everything at once
First weeks — enthusiasm. After a month — burnt out, journal empty.
Fix: start with 7 basics (daily). Add periodic ones (weight, farrier) after 3 months. Advanced (pulse pre/post training) after 6 months.
Mistake 2: Recording only when something happens
“I write only when there’s a problem”.
Useless — because you have no baseline normal. You can’t tell if today’s manure is smaller than usual if you never record normal.
Fix: record daily, even “all OK”. Then the deviation is instantly visible.
Mistake 3: Everyone writes differently
Anna writes “appetite 3/5”, Marek writes “left a bit”, Karolina writes “didn’t finish”. Three entries, same fact.
Fix: standardize vocabulary. In a system — dropdowns. On paper — list of allowed words on the wall.
Mistake 4: Journal only for yourself, not for the vet
OK until you get sick / on holiday / sell the stable. Then nobody understands the abbreviations.
Fix: write as if for an outside vet. Full drug names. Concrete numbers.
Mistake 5: No photos
Text isn’t enough for some things — hoof state after farrier, back rub, cut, post-training posture.
Fix: take phone photos, attach to the entry.
The journal as a business tool
The journal is also a management tool:
For boarding: journal = monthly report for the owner. PDF — “your horse in May 2026: 18 ride sessions, 3 farrier visits, 2 vet visits”. Owner sees what they pay for.
For schools: school horses’ journal shows workload. Bajka worked 28 hours in May, Niko 12 hours. Next month — flip.
For breeding: mare / foal journal is documentation that PASB / breeders’ associations require.
For sale: buyer wants history. 3-year journal = 30% higher price.
Hovera and the horse journal
In Hovera the journal is a central element of the horse profile. Every ride is auto-logged as an entry. Staff add a health note from the phone in 30 seconds. Vet gets a link and sees the history.
Plus alerts: “Bajka — vaccination in 14 days”. “Niko — farrier hasn’t been for 8 weeks” (norm is 6-8). Never miss a date.
All Hovera plans (Solo and up) include the horse journal.
Or see the journal in product: Horse journal in Hovera →