Horse Temperature Monitoring Chart
Spot a horse running above its own normal while there is still time to keep it apart. It suits new arrivals in isolation and in-contact horses during an outbreak.
EQ-27 2 pages
Equine records · EQ-28
New Horse Herd Introduction Log
A free printable horse introduction log: readiness checks, the herd, a staged plan from over the fence to the full herd, and daily notes of behaviour and injuries.
Download Free · no sign-up
2 pages. Choose your paper size — both versions are laid out identically, so neither one gets shrunk to fit.
Print it and write on it
Fill it in type and save
The fillable versions have real form fields — open them in any PDF reader, type into them and save. Printing help.
What this sheet is for
Introduce a new horse step by step and keep a daily record of how the herd responds. A horse kept off the hay shows up on paper before it shows in its weight.
Who it is for
Horse owners, livery yard managers and rescue centres bringing a new horse into an established group.
How to use it
- Work through the readiness list before the horses meet, starting with any isolation period.
- List the herd and choose the calm horse the newcomer meets first.
- Write the date each stage is planned and the date it actually starts, moving on only when the current one is calm.
- Each day, note what you saw: kicks and bites, any horse kept off food, water or shelter, injuries and what was done.
- Write the date the group settled, and anything to do differently next time.
What is on the sheet
2 pages, in this order:
Page 1
Printed under the title: Plan a new horse's introduction to a herd in stages, then record what the horses actually do each day until the group has settled. No timetable is printed: the horses set the pace.
Write-on lines: New horse · Arrived · Field · Responsible person
Before the first meeting
- Isolation or quarantine period finished
- Vaccination and worming history known
- Shoes off where possible, or decision noted
- Calm first companion chosen
- Forage fed before each turnout together
- More hay piles than horses, spread well apart
- Extra water point in the field
- Someone on hand to watch the first turnouts
The herd — as you know them now
Table, 4 rows: Horse · Age and sex · Shod? · Place in herd · Meets new horse · Notes
Stages — move on when a stage is calm; go back a step when it is not
Also printed: Stage · Planned · Started · With · How it went · date · which horses · 1 Meet over a safe barrier · 2 Out with one calm companion · 3 Joins the full herd · 4 Settled: eating and resting together
Page 2
Daily observations — write who kicked or bit whom; if a horse is hurt, call your vet
Table, 20 rows: Date · Stage · Behaviour seen · Kicks, bites · Kept off · Injuries · Action · By
Write-on lines: Date settled · Signed · Anything to do differently next time
Questions
How long should an introduction take?
No figure is printed, because it depends on the horses. Some groups settle quickly and some take weeks; the daily log shows whether things are getting calmer. If a horse is hurt or will not settle, ask your vet or a behaviour adviser.
Why record which horse was kept off food, water or shelter?
Because a newcomer pushed away from the hay or the water can look settled while losing condition. Writing it down each day shows whether it is easing, and whether more hay piles or another water point are needed.
Related sheets
Grazing Rotation and Field Record
Track field rest and poo-picking, the two things that do most for horse grazing and that nobody records.
EQ-17 1 page
Horse Vaccination Record
Keep a vaccination history with batch numbers, which is the record a competition venue, a livery yard or an insurer will ask to see.
EQ-03 1 page
Horse Weight and Condition Record
Track weight and condition across a year so seasonal gain is caught in spring rather than discovered in summer.
EQ-06 1 page
