A farrier log only earns its keep if entries can be compared, and comparison fails when each visit is written up differently. The fix is a fixed format: one line per visit, the same eight fields in the same order every time, written on the day while the farrier's comments are still in your head. Eight fields are enough to catch the changes that matter between trims, and few enough that you will actually complete the line after every visit instead of letting the record lapse.
The eight fields, and what each one catches
Write the line in this order. First, the date of the visit. Second, the farrier's name, which matters when more than one farrier covers your yard. Third, the work done: a barefoot trim, shoes fitted, shoes reset, or remedial work, in plain words. Fourth, toe length, as measured or as the farrier states it. Fifth, a heel and angle note, such as heels lowered or angle unchanged. Sixth, cracks or chips, named by hoof, or none. Seventh, a balance or gait note: how the horse stood and moved, and anything the farrier flagged about how the feet are landing. Eighth, the photo reference for that visit, so the pictures can be found and matched to the line. Because the fields never change, a difference between two lines is a difference in the horse, not in your note-taking.
Photos from the same two angles
Take the photographs at every visit, after the work is done, from the same two angles: front-on at ground level and from the side, with the horse standing square on clean, level ground. Keep the distance and light roughly similar, and photograph all four feet in the same sequence each time, so this visit's front-left can sit beside last visit's front-left without guesswork. The eight-field line's photo reference field ties each set to its date. A crack being monitored, a toe creeping forward, or heels gradually running under all show up in matched photos weeks before they are obvious to a casual glance at the yard.
Reviewing between trims, not just recording
The log pays off in the minutes you spend reading down the lines, not only in writing them. Before each visit, read the last three or four lines and note what you want checked: whether the crack named two visits ago has grown out or spread, whether toe length is creeping up between visits, and whether the balance note keeps repeating the same wording, which usually means the same landing pattern persists. Share those observations with the farrier at the start of the appointment, while there is still time to adjust the trim. If a note worries you, such as a new crack with heat or a gait change, that is a conversation for your vet as well as your farrier, and the log gives both of them the timeline.
One packet for farrier, vet, and yard
Keep the log where the rest of the horse's records live, not in a separate notebook that stays in the tack room while the vet visits the field. Feeding, weight, and health notes beside the farrier lines often explain them: a change of grazing or workload can sit behind a change in hoof growth or wear. KinsLe's Pet Passport gathers your horse's records into one organised packet, so the eight-field farrier log, its photo references, and the wider health history can be handed to a new farrier, a vet, or a yard manager as a single, complete story of the horse's feet.