← First time horse owner checklist

The first thirty days

Checklist for a new horse: arrange, take it slowly, and learn his normal

Halster

Horse

Arrival

Previous owner, number

Previous vet, number

The paperwork

Passport checked (microchip matches, food-chain status read) and transferred into my name within 30 days (UK/IE); US: bill of sale, Coggins, registration papers; AU: PIC for the property
History obtained: vaccination dates, last worm count and product, farrier cycle, feed chart, particulars
Insurance decided (yes/no) and arranged
Purchase agreement and pre-purchase exam report kept

Weeks 1–2: apart and quiet

Separate paddock or stable, own buckets and tools, two to three weeks
The same feed as with the previous owner; hay mixed in slowly
Temperature taken daily in the first week
Fence line, water and shelter walked together once

His normal (week 1)

Temperature evening 1

evening 2

evening 3

Pulse at rest

Breathing at rest

Weight (tape)

Photos taken: side, hooves, front (date)

What I saw (eating, droppings, drinking, how he stands when I arrive)

Weeks 2–3: the professionals

Worm egg count sent before joining the others in the field
Farrier: met, cycle agreed: every ____ weeks
Teeth checked if more than a year ago
Vet: met, records handed over if anything is going on
Feed changed step by step (only after two weeks, in quarters)

Weeks 3–4: together and out

Met over the fence, then one quiet companion, then the group
Grass built up (schedule)
First ride short and on familiar ground; saddle checked
Stable card hung up; yard owner and liveries know what he does and doesn’t get
Care calendar filled in with the dates from the passport or records