Veterinary Care

HorseBook tracks all veterinary and routine care for your horses — from vaccines and farrier visits to dental work and emergency health events. This guide covers adding records, managing expirations, and tracking health issues.

Medical Record Types

HorseBook supports eight types of medical records:

Type	Description	Common Expiration
Vaccine	Vaccinations (influenza, tetanus, West Nile, etc.)	Varies by vaccine
Coggins	EIA test (required for travel and events)	12 months
Dental	Dental exams and float procedures	6-12 months
Farrier	Hoof trimming and shoeing	6-8 weeks
Deworming	Parasite treatment	Varies by protocol
Health Certificate	Certificate of Veterinary Inspection for travel	30 days typically
Insurance	Mortality, major medical, or loss of use policies	Annual
Other	Any care not covered by the above categories	Optional

Adding a Medical Record

On Web

Go to the horse's profile
Navigate to the Medical section
Click Add Record
Select the record type
Fill in:
- Date of service
- Provider — select from your contacts or enter a new provider
- Details specific to the record type (e.g., vaccine name, tooth number for dental)
- Cost (optional)
- Expiration date (if applicable)
- Notes — any additional observations
Save the record

On iOS

Open the horse's profile
Tap Medical
Tap Add Record
Select the type and fill in the same fields
Save

By Scanning

You can also create medical records by scanning vet invoices or documents:

Scan the invoice using the iOS camera or web Smart Upload
AI extracts the provider, services, costs, and dates
Review the extracted records
Confirm to save

See the Scanning Workflow guide for detailed scanning instructions.

Setting Expiration Dates

Expiration dates are how HorseBook knows when care is due again. When you set an expiration:

The date appears on the record
A calendar event is automatically created as a reminder
The dashboard flags the item as attention-needed when the expiration approaches

Auto-Calculated Expirations

For some record types, HorseBook suggests an expiration automatically:

Coggins — 12 months from test date
Health Certificate — 30 days from issue date

You can adjust the suggested date or clear it if the record doesn't expire.

Manual Expirations

For other record types, set the expiration based on your vet's recommendation:

Vaccines — varies by vaccine and protocol (annual for most, semi-annual for some)
Dental — typically 6-12 months depending on the horse's needs
Farrier — 6-8 weeks for most horses
Insurance — policy renewal date

Tip

Set expiration dates on every routine record, even if approximate. This powers the auto-reminder system and keeps your dashboard attention items accurate.

Auto Calendar Reminders

When a medical record has an expiration date, HorseBook automatically creates a calendar reminder. The reminder appears:

On your calendar view
In the dashboard's upcoming events
As an attention item when the date is near

You don't need to create reminders manually — setting the expiration date handles it automatically.

Tracking Health Issues

Health issues are separate from routine medical records. They track adverse events, illnesses, and injuries that need monitoring over time.

Common Health Issue Types

Colic — episode details, severity, treatment, outcome
Injury — wound or trauma description, treatment, recovery
Lameness — affected limb, severity grade, diagnosis, treatment
Illness — symptoms, diagnosis, treatment protocol
Allergic reaction — trigger, symptoms, medication given
Other — any health concern not covered above

Recording a Health Issue

Go to the horse's profile
Navigate to the Medical section
Click/tap Add Health Issue
Fill in:
- Type of issue (colic, injury, lameness, illness, etc.)
- Date first observed
- Symptoms — what you noticed
- Severity — mild, moderate, or severe
- Treatment — what was done (medications, procedures, rest)
- Veterinarian — who you called or who treated the horse
- Outcome — resolved, ongoing, or referred
- Notes — any additional context
Save the record

Updating a Health Issue

Health issues often develop over time. You can update an existing issue to track progress:

Add follow-up notes as the situation evolves
Update the outcome when the issue resolves
Record additional treatments or vet visits

Important

Health issues remain visible in the horse's medical timeline permanently. This creates a valuable history for your veterinarian and for insurance purposes.

Viewing Medical History

Each horse's medical section shows a complete timeline of all medical records and health issues in chronological order. You can filter by:

Record type — see only vaccines, or only farrier visits, etc.
Date range — focus on a specific period
Status — active vs. expired records

The dashboard also aggregates attention items across all horses, so you can see at a glance which horses need care.

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