Why do I have a blog?

I am starting this blog for a few reasons.

First, I actually enjoy writing and one of my (many) ideas for supporting-myself-while-doing-something-I-love has been to write a book.  I’ve started a few times.  Writing a book proves to be very difficult, so maybe this will be good practice for my eventual book!

Second, I’m going to try to blog mostly about information that I think will be helpful for trainers and barn managers.  I would like to help the organizational  part of the horse industry, which is why I created Stable Secretary (http://www.stablesecretary.com).  Stable Secretary is barn management software that makes it easier to do record keeping for the horses in your stable.  You can use it to easily keep track of vaccination records, worming records, farrier records, service records, dental records, joint injection records, medication records, and other health records.  Stable Secretary also facilitates other aspects of running an equine business by making it easier to make invoices, store contact info for clients, vendors, and others.

I know firsthand that working in a barn is really hard!  Right now, in addition to continuing to improve Stable Secretary, I’m a part-time  trainer and a full-time mom.  I’ve been a full-time trainer, assistant trainer, barn manager, office manager, groom, judge. You name it, I’ve probably done it… While I still LOVE it, I know how grueling it can be to be away from home, family, friends, and to give up any sort of personal life.  It’s pretty normal to work 6 days a week, 52 weeks a year, and to have a workday from 6am til 6pm.  That makes for a pretty crazy work-leisure balance – maybe 95% work 5% life.  But we hang in there because we love it. Being outside all day, working with horses, and doing something that you care deeply about is motivating.   I’d like to use this blog to provide resources and advice to try to make those workdays more organized and efficient so that horse trainers and barn managers can spend some time doing non-horsey things – family, hobbies, spa days, and social events, for example!  

What will I write about?

I’m going to write about ways to make barn management easier – better tracking of vet records, service records, invoicing records, customer records. 

I’ll also try to provide resources on topics like logistics for shows;  routine and special horse care;  working with vets, farriers, vendors; managing and growing your horse business; taking good care of clients and staff; and whatever other topics come up.

What do you want to hear about?  Please leave a comment – share your 5 biggest BARN MANAGEMENT CHALLENGES?