BarnManager

Pros

I think it;s the start of an ultimate tool for the horse Business. It has a great base platform to ease your daily record keeping

Cons

It still has a lot of work in order to become what it can be, but for now it does the job. The app version needs improvement

Pros

Provided that you have employees who are consistent in using the software, it's so helpful to have all the information in one place. With employee turnover, and simply all the different persons who are required to keep the barn running, its key to have a reference. If you can reference horse history for your farrier/vet/owners etc, this is not only saving time but increasing knowledge and overall awareness for the wellbeing of your animals as well as your organization.

Cons

I have heard often that people, and myself included, weren't taking the time to update information and files, given the chaotic and physical demands of the job. Few barns have a designated office person sitting at a desk all day. The new mobile app is making this more accessible!!

Pros

The biggest benefit to this software is the cloud-based storage of information. I think one of the major limitations of stable management to date is the lack of organization and communication between different members of the staff and stable partners (veterinarians, therapists, etc). A cloud-based management system fills this significant management gap by keeping the entire stable team connected with real-time information regarding each horse. I think the possibility of `data-mining this information in the future has exciting implications for optimizing revenue, removing cumbersome practices within the stable, and better understanding healthcare practices.

Cons

The major limitation is the unintuitive nature of some features. In the equestrian community, individuals who have very limited time perform much of the day-to-day management. Thus, anything they perform must be very user-friendly and efficient. I know some stables have tablets for staff, but ideally, most staff would prefer to work off smartphones, so an easy to use smartphone app is needed. Further, a better way to sort through horses is needed. For example, one groom may only need data on a few horses, instead of having to scroll through data on many horses. Also, I find the program can be cumbersome. It is unclear what information is vital to have versus nice to have. A way for individual stables to highlight key information may make the staff's job either. Another nice feature to have would be to work with some big feed company to include information about their diets, such that for the feed tab staff can simply select feeds from a drop-down menu.

Pros

I love being able to keep track of all the horses. The archives are great for horses that go out on lease. I still have all their information but don't have to have them in the day to day records.

Cons

The new software still has some kinks and I am still learning how it works. As of now horses are not in alphabetical order. I would like to be able to click and pick which vet, farrier ect as you could in the original. Also the owner section seems to have a glitch. You can not scroll through and pick an owner.

Pros

Being able to put all the information in and having different sections for everything. Having the program on everyone's phone so no matter where someone is they can access horse information.

Cons

Not being able to make notes on each horses profile. Would like to be able to print out lists when horses are due to be shod or when they had vet work done and what type.