Derek's nose-to-tail walk-through: what he looks at before a horse goes to work, and how knowing its normal gives you something to compare against.
See what's insideA module in The Old-School Horseman
Know Your Horse
Before you can spot a problem, you need to know what this horse looks like when nothing is wrong. This module walks you through building that baseline and keeping it up.
One idea comes out of Derek in almost every conversation we record: learn the individual horse. Know Your Horse turns that idea into a routine you can follow in your own barn.
What you'll learn
- How to watch a horse long enough to know what's ordinary for him, before you decide anything
- The everyday habits worth writing down: how he greets you, eats and drinks, rests, passes manure, stands and moves
- His attitude and temperament on a normal day, in the stall and out of it
- How to write a baseline that you, your vet, your farrier or whoever covers for you can actually use
- How to keep it current as the horse ages, changes jobs or changes barns
What's inside
- Baseline worksheetA guided page for recording this horse's normal habits, behavior and routine.
- Weekly trackerA quick daily tick sheet so you see the same things in the same order every day.
- Change logWhere you write down what changed, when, and what you did about it.
To add: confirm the final list of worksheets and trackers in this download.
Why a baseline matters
A horse can't tell you something is off. What he can do is act a little different: leave some grain, stand differently, come to the door a little slower. Those changes are easy to miss unless you know what normal looked like yesterday and last week. A written baseline turns a vague feeling into something you can point to.
The goal isn't to diagnose anything. It's to notice sooner, and to call your vet with specifics instead of "he just seems off."
Where it came from
Recorded conversations with Derek about how he gets to know a horse and what he keeps an eye on every day.
To add: Add when and where this module's recording happened, and a short line from Derek in his own words.
Who it's for
Anyone responsible for a horse. If you only buy one module, make it this one. The others all compare against the baseline you build here.
From Derek's barn
The gear that goes with this lesson, each with Derek's reason. See the whole Tack Room.
Grooming box
To add: The curry comb and brushes he uses every day
Grooming box
To add: What he keeps on hand for nicks, rubs and scrapes
Barn and stable
To add: The thermometer and basics in his barn first-aid kit
More from The Old-School Horseman
What a rider feels from the saddle: hands, reins, movement and reactions, and why every horse rides like an individual.
See what's insideUnderstand why everything in the feed bucket is there, write the program down, and build it around this horse instead of copying someone else's.
See what's inside