Passport, identity and arrival assessment
Records for a Clydesdale horse begin with legal identity and an honest arrival picture. Check the passport against the horse: name, age, sex, colour, microchip number, and markings including the broad white face and stockings common in the breed, then photograph him from both sides, front and behind. File seller, transport and previous keeper details with the arrival date. Record height and weight using a tape, plus body condition scored by hand over ribs and quarters, because a heavy draught frame hides condition differently from a riding horse. Note how he travelled, how he settled in the stable or field, first eating and droppings, and any marks, swellings or shoe condition seen on day one, dated and plainly worded.
Feeding, weight and work records
Feeding records for a Clydesdale should reflect a large forage-based horse, not a scaled-up riding ration. Log hay or haylage weight or nets per day, grazing hours, hard feed type and measure, and salt or mineral provision, noting every change and why. Weigh-tape him regularly and record condition with the measurement, since draught horses gain and lose across a big frame before it shows. If he will drive, ride or work, keep a simple work log: type, duration, ground and how he recovered, plus harness or saddle fitting checks. Note appetite, droppings and water intake changes in the same diary. Over months, that combined feed, weight and work record is what lets you, a vet or a nutrition adviser adjust his management on evidence.
Farrier, feather and leg care log
Leg records deserve their own section for a Clydesdale from the first week. Book and log farrier visits with dates, whether he is shod or trimmed, shoe size if known, and comments on hoof quality, cracks or thrush. Keep a feather care log: how often the long hair on his lower legs is washed, dried and checked, and the state of skin beneath it at each check, noting scabs, swelling, itching or pastern irritation in plain dated entries. Clydesdales are prone to leg skin trouble hidden under feather, so a written baseline of 'clean, dry, no swelling' entries makes a later change provable. Record stable bedding type and field mud exposure too, because those facts explain leg findings better than memory.
Health, dental and vet file
Health records for a Clydesdale from day one should be complete, dated and transferable. Register him with an equine vet and file vaccination, worming, dental and any previous treatment history supplied by the seller, flagging gaps honestly rather than assuming cover. Keep a signs log for coughing, nasal discharge, reduced appetite, altered droppings, lameness, itching or behaviour change, each with date, what you observed and who you contacted. Record routine vet and dentist visits as they happen with outcomes in the professional's terms. Add emergency contacts and directions to the yard at the front of the file. A draught horse's size makes every procedure a team effort, and a clear file shortens the briefing before anyone handles him.
Tack, handling and people records
Handling records complete a Clydesdale file started properly on day one. Note how he ties, loads, stands for the farrier and vet, behaves in traffic or harness if known, and any quirks such as leaning, barging through gateways or sensitivity around ears. File tack and harness inventories with sizes, rug weights and where equipment is stored. List the people who handle him, emergency helpers, farrier, dentist and feed supplier contacts, and yard rules that apply to a very large horse around visitors. Review the file at each season change and add a summary page. Kept in KinsLe, Pet Passport holds this Clydesdale's passport, care and health records together as one packet that follows him between yards and keepers.