Managing a horse show or a barn-load of horses can be a real challenge, especially for people whose expertise is in handling horses, not tracking them on paper. But thanks to software designers with an equine bent, barn owners, show managers and professional trainers can rely on their computers to do much of the work.
A number of programs designed to make managing horses and horse shows easier are available on the market today. Easy to install and use, these programs can make the difference between an office full of disorganized paperwork and a neat way of tracking all the horses in your barn.
Horse Show Software
Running a horse show can be a management nightmare if you aren’t organized. A program called General Horse Show Software, by Charlie Horse Ranch Timing Systems, Inc., helps show managers keep track of show-related information.
The program includes a rider database, a definition of the show (including names of events, divisions, date and other administrative data), and the ability to generate an announcer’s sheet for each event. The program allows show managers to input the rider’s score or time in the case of timed events and can calculate the high point awards for the day. A financial summary of the show that indicates money received helps show managers wrap up at the end of the day. Show data can also be exported to other software in the form of spreadsheets and databases.
The program requires Windows 98 or higher to run, and sells for $99.95. It is available from Charlie Horse Ranch Timing Inc. at (916) 275-3277; www.matchraceamerica.com/chrts.htm.
Boarder Management
Created by a horse trainer turned software designer, a program called EquiManager strives to make managing a barn full of horses easy.
EquiManager is designed to track the care of horses at a facility, and allows users to input detailed descriptions of the horses along with emergency contact information for each horse. Barn managers and trainers can also track medical, dental, farrier and vaccination schedules using this program.
Featuring three levels—Personal, Professional and Unlimited—EquiManager is customizable in that users only need to purchase aspects of the software that they need for their facility. Ad-ins include invoicing, expense tracking, pedigree management and a training log, among others.
System requirements for EquiManager include Windows 98 or higher. The basic program is available for $90 (includes horse management, complete health management, contact management, feed management, record management for up to 10 horses and standard reports), from e-Trailblazer Consulting, LLC, (973) 601-0075; www.equimanager.com.
For multi-tasking, the Animal Trac program includes all of your animal records, customer records and income and expense records. Other features include: animal transcripts, health and services, breeding, competition records, pedigrees to six generations, sales lists, customer records, income and expense tracking, supply and capital assets inventory, calendar, calculator, and inbreeding calculation.
Animal Trac is Windows based and starts at $112.50. Many upgrades are available. For more information, contact Starshine Enterprizes, 1-800-645-9149; www.animaltrac.com.
Equine professionals will also find a program called Horsetrak Business handy. Originally designed by a horse lover who wanted a software program to track his horse’s health records and activities, this program has been expanded for use by trainers and other professionals who need to keep track of a commercial equine business.
The program allows users to keep track of an unlimited number of horses, and provides functions to track pedigrees, horse owner contacts, health records, scheduled reminders, mare breeding records, stallion service records, hauling records, horses for sale and stallion collection records. A manager’s log and trip log are also included.
Horsetrak Business can be used with Windows 98 or higher. It is available for $110 (online download) or $120 (CD) from Horsetrak Software, 1-800-798-4422; www.horsetrak.com.
Facility Management
Horsemen’s Income Management & Record Keeping System offers record keeping help to facility owners. The program’s features include a daily activity planner; business billing and income recording; information files on clients, horses and service providers; horse health care management and breeding management.
Inventory management is another aspect of the program, and allows on-farm tax inventory reporting. Daily reports, and records and reports of farm-owned horse purchases and sales details are available.
To run Horsemen’s Income Management & Record Keeping, Windows 98 or higher is required. The boarding and training program is available for $449, and the breeding package for $699, from HiMarks, LLC, (816) 625-8533; www.himarks.net.
Help for Trainers
Professional trainers often have trouble finding time to do their paperwork. Equisense, a program designed specifically for trainers, can help busy professionals keep accurate and timely records on students and horses in training.
The program allows trainers to keep track of lessons given, as well as other services provided, such as rides, farrier visits, vet calls, etc. The program also creates reports on trainer revenue, lesson horse revenue, client lesson history and other areas that can assist trainers in making business decisions.
Equisense is also capable of creating invoices for boarders and lesson students, which can then be exported to QuickBooks. Board bills and show bills can be generated, and lesson schedules and horse services can be tracked.
System requirements include Windows 98 or higher. Each individual module (Lesson Scheduling, Services, Boarder Billing, Show Billing, Export Data to QuickBooks) is $299. The entire package is available for $1,000. The program is available from Ontime Systems, Inc., (813) 624-7093; www.otsysinc.com.
Another program designed to help trainers manage their workload is BusinessPro. The program allows trainers to keep comprehensive records on each horse in their care, including records for vets, farriers, training, show and endurance and trail. An expense report and register are part of the program, and can be modified for the user’s specific needs.
To assist with administrative duties, the program provides flexible, printable records for procedures of operation, and organizes information according to day, week, month, quarterly and special events. A client time docket also helps with billing time related services, as well as trip mileage and customer invoicing.
The program, which is compatible with Windows operating systems, is available for $200 from Pica Publishing, 1-800-279-2001, ext. 209; www.picapublishing.com.
Breeders Assistant
The comings and goings of a busy breeding facility are easily recorded with the Equisoft Small Farm Assistant, a program designed specifically for horse breeding facilities of 50 head or less.
Equisoft allows breeders to maintain farm records, track costs per day, store pedigree information (including recall of family relations), invoicing, and exercise charts. Details on each horse at the facility can be kept using this program, as well as charts for each animal on training activities, care status, breeding records and other daily activities and employee information. Veterinary care can also be recorded for each horse, as well as the horse’s treatment history. Reports can be generated for a variety of subjects and activities.
Equisoft Small Farm Assistant requires Windows 95 or 98, and is available for $400 to $750 depending on size of the farm, from Equisoft, (815) 629-2789; www.equisoftusa.com.
Online Service for Show Pros
Equine professionals that specialize in showing horses need their own specialized software to help them keep track of clients and horses.
While most equine software is downloaded or installed in the computer, a program called ESteed is maintained in the Internet. Horse show facility owners, managers, trainers, and instructors subscribe to the service, access it through a website, and keep track of their clients and horses with the assistance of ESteed personnel.
ESteed provides service through the use of five modules: Stable Administration, which maintains a foundation of information about the stable, employees, horses, riders, vendors and horse owner, as well as association information; Stable Calendar, which is available to owners and riders through the Internet for viewing; Horse Calendar, which allows owners and trainers to view a horse’s training, breeding, exercise and maintenance schedule; Show Entry, which allows instructors to enter clients in shows; and Reports, which provides access to various reports generated about owners, riders, trainers, horses and activities.
The service works via a monthly subscription and can be used by anyone utilizing Internet Explorer, Netscape Navigator or AOL browsers. Pricing varies depending on the average number of horses in a stable. ESteed is available through Nthuse, Inc., (650) 851-2339; www.esteed.com.
Simple Software for Horse Owners & Managers
According to OCA Technologies, Inc., manufacturers of the HorseBiz program, anyone with one to 500 horses can use this recordkeeping software.
The program allows users to build pedigrees for each horse, keep track of show costs and results, training costs, veterinary care and costs, year-end awards, non-show activities, breeding activities and costs, feed costs and types, farrier schedules and costs, and inventory. Reports can also be generated by the program, and include the subjects of breeding, stallion, show, events, farrier, veterinarian and activities.
The cost of the software program is $60 for the version suitable for Windows 98 users, and $100 for the version suitable for higher Windows operating systems. HorseBiz is available through OCA Technologies, Inc., (281) 560-9900; www.chevalpub.com.
A simple and easy-to-use program designed for horse owners and stable managers is The Horseman’s Recordkeeper.
Designed for those who may not have much experience on the computer, the program allows users to input the horse’s registered and barn name, stall location, registration number, breed, sex, color, birthdate, sire, dam, owner and medical history. Using this information, horse owners and facility managers can keep track of the animals in their care with ease.
The Horseman’s Recordkeeper is available in DOS; a Windows version is currently under development. The DOS version of the program is available for $53.50 from Alpha-Omega Data Services Ltd., (403) 948-0792; www.thehorsepaddock.com.
Another program designed for both horse owners and facilities managers is Visual Horse. This software allows users to create feeding schedules; record health, training and performance schedules; manage and track horse expenses; record four-generation pedigree charts; contract templates, an event scheduler and reminder; a horse boarding billing system; printable horse and facility reports; and the ability to track inventory of tack and supplies. Other items include a finance calculator and a picture screen saver.
The Visual Horse requires Windows 98 or higher and sells for $89. The program is available from Visual Horse, (360) 754-4362; www.visualhorse.com.
