Trainers' record keeping

[kenwoodallpromos]

Anyone know what information on horses' training is kept my trainers/stables and how the records are kept? I assume they keep a record of expenses, medical, and training patterns and times for the owner and for themselves; in a logbook or maybe some small time trainers do not keep them as well. /
Also, when a horse is claimed or shipped , what records go with the horse? / I.m wondering if there are less ar lax records kept in situations which may cause a horse to not perform as well when changes occur, like a new trainer not knowing much about the animal. Or with foreign shippers.

[VetScratch]

Unless a barn has an army of horses, conditioning records for review and planning are usually pretty simple calendar-based charts maintained in tack rooms inside notebooks or on erasable boards. Shorthand notations indicate what each horse has done (walked, galloped, worked, raced, etc.) and lay out an activity plan for forthcoming days to get ready for the next racing opportunity (where several possibilities may be annotated by extracting info from condition books). Sometimes, shorthand codes are used to make it easier to coordinate (and verify) the activities of veterinarians and exercise riders when they show up (or are expected to show up). Such conditioning charts are subject to constant revision, based on day-to-day observations and events.

Record keeping (if any) for more complex stuff will vary from barn to barn: precise mixing/recipe instructions for individualized feed supplement programs, prescribed therapy regimens, inventory stocks for feed and supplies, etc.

Some barns nickel and dime owners with fully itemized and descriptive billing systems; others just bill their day rates and their earned percentages from purse revenues. However, blacksmith fees are usually billed by trainers. As for veterinary fees, I think owners should insist on being billed directly by veterinarians and refuse to honor any "vet" procedures/prescriptions billed by trainers. I also think it is a foolish business practice for owners to authorize trainers to pay themselves from the owners' accounts with the horsemens' bookkeeper.

When a horse gets claimed, new barns cannot expect any help from the previous connections. Whatever you may need to know about equipment, medications, health, and idiosyncrasies needs to be observed or "investigated" before you claim a horse.

[kenwoodallpromos]

Thank you for the full report! It helps me understand the backside better.
I find it very interesting that the new barns only know what they observe about a claimed horse! Maybe that is even a plus when good barns improve a claimed horse and start from scratch!! I assume a good barn will know when other barns' horses with potential alter or skip normal routines. /

Do you happen to know if shippers are less subject to claim because other trainers may not know the horse? I'm thinking some So Cal horses I see shipped to Northern Ca without a real racing advantage may have been shipped and dropped to get in a race without as much chance of a claim, like off a layoff?