The Stable Secretary Blog

Managing Winter Horse Care with StableSecretary

Winter brings cold, wet weather that means the headache of skin conditions, adding and removing blankets, coordinating show travel, keeping up with clipping, and a whole lot more for all the horses in your care. To keep up with the individual requirements of every horse, communication, scheduling, and organized records are key!

Keep Organized Records

Blanketing Preference – Because blanketing is based on so many factors, once you know what a horse prefers you can track this information in the record-keeping section of the StableSecretary tool. This will ensure horses are appropriately blanketed by everyone on your staff. 

Skin Conditions – A side effect of less sunlight, colder weather, and mud – a flare up of skin conditions. Rain rot, scratches and general dermatitis of the skin are all bacterial infections that multiply on moist skin. Remove blankets and groom horses frequently to ensure winter skin conditions are not getting out of hand. Be especially cognizant of mud on the legs to help prevent scratches or dermatitis. If you have a horse with skin issues or a cut or scrape under a blanket, note this in the record keeping section of your StableSecretary account so everyone on your team can keep an eye on the issue and treat it accordingly.

Clipped Horses –  If your horse is more comfortable clipped or needs to be clipped to accommodate winter work and showing, making a note of when a horse is freshly clipped can help managers know if they should blanket differently than usual and prepare trainers for an especially exciting first ride after. This also will be helpful if your horse has substantial hair growth over the season so you can time your clips to keep him comfortable. 

Showing – If the horses you manage show throughout the winter season, all the more reason to lean on StableSecretary! Scheduling tasks for employees to prep and groom each horse prior to competition is one of the many ways the tool can simplify your show season. With important information like travel waivers, coggins, and insurance documents attached to the horse’s profile, it’s easy to trailer to an off-property location to compete or to manage shipping multiple horses out of state for the winter show season. 

Scheduling

For some managers, winter means shipping horses to competition venues for extended periods of time while also keeping track of horses who stay at home. Overseeing staff and horses at both locations can feel like a juggling act, which is why scheduling is so important. Using the StableSecretary calendar can help you manage which staff is responsible for accomplishing specific tasks and to keep track of important horse care dates.

For trainers, this tool allows you to better organize your day by scheduling out which horses will be ridden at what time and the work they should be executing that day. Not only will it keep you on track, but you then have a record that you can use for invoicing clients. 

Team Communication

If you have several members of staff responsible for caring for your horses, keeping updated information in one place for everyone to access is key. StableSecretary gives you and your team access to all of your stable’s information anytime, anywhere to ensure everyone is up-to-speed.

Get started today to better manage your winter care routine!