Stable management software — free for up to 3 horses
Horsepower is stable management software for livery yards, riding schools and private yards: every horse's records, vet and farrier reminders, the shared yard calendar, feeds, turnout, livery billing and lesson booking — in one app on iPhone, Android and the web. It's free for up to three horses, and everyone you invite is free. Below: what good stable management software should cover, how the main options compare, and how to choose.
- Free — £0, forever: 1 yard, up to 3 horses.
- Pro — £9.99 a month: up to 20 horses, every record type, treatment reminders, livery billing.
- Max — £19.99 a month: unlimited yards and horses, multi-user collaboration, priority support.
What stable management software should cover
Most systems list the same features. The differences show up in the details underneath them, so the third column is the one worth reading.
| Area | What it does | What to check before you buy |
|---|---|---|
| Horse records | Passport, microchip, breeding, height, weight, rug size, photos and documents — the paper folder, digitised and searchable. | Can you attach a PDF — a passport scan, an insurance schedule — or only type fields? |
| Health & treatments | Vet, farrier, dentist and physio history with due-date reminders. | Does the next due date roll forward automatically when you log a treatment, or do you re-enter it by hand and eventually stop? |
| Shared calendar | Rides, lessons, visits, shows and recurring yard jobs. | Can everyone on the yard see it, or is it really the manager's diary with a login? Do weekly commitments repeat? |
| Feeding | Per-horse feed plans and feed-room stock. | Can a Saturday helper read the plan and get it right without ringing you? |
| Fields & turnout | Which horse is in which field, rotation and resting. | Does it record where a horse actually is today, or only where it usually goes? |
| The team | Owners, liveries, sharers, helpers and practitioners with their own logins and the right level of access. | Are extra people charged per seat? That is where the price of a livery yard system quietly doubles. |
| Billing | Livery charges and extras tracked as they happen, then invoiced. | Does it push into your accounts package, or just produce a PDF you re-key? |
| On a phone | The half of the job that happens in the field. | A native app or a website in a browser? And does it cope with one bar of signal in the bottom paddock? |
Do you need it, or will a spreadsheet do?
For one person and one horse, a spreadsheet and a calendar reminder genuinely work. The value compounds with every extra person involved, because a spreadsheet and a group chat fail the same way: the information lives with one person. The spreadsheet is on the office computer, the "has Bella had her hay?" answer is buried forty messages up, and the vaccination card is in a drawer. The moment helpers, sharers, liveries or a second yard are involved, shared records beat relayed messages — and the first missed booster or double-fed horse costs more than a year of software.
Seven questions worth asking before you buy
These are the ones that decide whether you are still happy in two years. None of them are about features.
- What happens to my records if I stop paying? Some systems lock the history to force a renewal. Ask whether your data stays readable, and get the answer in writing.
- Am I charged per horse, per yard, or per person? Per-person pricing looks cheap for one manager and expensive by the time the yard's riders, sharers and farrier all need a login.
- Can I get my data out, and in what format? A CSV export you can open is the difference between changing your mind later and being stuck.
- Who can see what? A livery should see their own horse, not the yard's finances. Check the permission levels actually exist rather than being promised.
- How do my existing records get in? An importer, or an afternoon of typing per twenty horses. This is the single biggest reason yards stay on software they have outgrown.
- Is the price published? A good deal of this market makes you book a demo to find out. That is a choice, and it tells you something about how the sale will go.
- Who is behind it, and how is it funded? Venture-backed tools get sold, rolled up and re-priced. Ask who owns it and what happens if they exit.
What does it cost?
Roughly £10 to £50 a month for a typical yard, though the shape varies: some charge a subscription per yard, some price by herd size and number of logins, a few still sell desktop software outright for a few hundred, and several publish no figures at all. The what a yard app costs page sets out Horsepower's prices and what the main alternatives charge, with the two traps — per-seat pricing and losing access to your own history — spelled out.
Moving your existing records across
The honest answer is that nobody enjoys this, and it is why yards stay put. Three things make it survivable. Start with the horses and their treatment history — that is the part you cannot reconstruct from memory, and everything else can be filled in as you go. Run the new system alongside the old one for a month rather than switching on a Monday, so a bad fit costs you an afternoon instead of your records. And do the move in the quiet season, not the week before a vaccination deadline. Coming from Stable Manager (stables.cloud)? Horsepower's built-in importer brings your horses, fields, treatments and members across in one go.
How the main options compare
The categories people usually weigh up, from the vendors' own published pages at the time of writing — prices and features change, so check before you buy. A dash means the vendor doesn't say. Each linked comparison has the full feature-by-feature detail.
| Option | Price | Free tier | Phone apps | Charges per person | Worth knowing |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Horsepower | Per yard: free up to 3 horses, £9.99/mo to 20, £19.99/mo unlimited | Yes, forever | Yes — iOS & Android | No — everyone invited is free | |
| Riding-school systems, e.g. EC Pro | £0–£155/mo plus a fee on every booking | Yes, with booking fees | Yes | No | Strong on lessons and a website included |
| Livery-billing tools, e.g. LIVERYLive | Per horse per month | – | – | – | Strong on livery invoicing |
| US barn software, e.g. BarnOps | From $79/mo | No | – | – | Strong on staff time tracking |
| Desktop software, e.g. Equine Genie | $349–$499 one-off | No | No — one computer | – | You own it outright |
| A spreadsheet and WhatsApp | Free | Yes | Sort of | No | Fine for one person and one horse |
Want the whole field side by side? The best yard management app guide puts 28 apps in one table and says what each is best at.
Stable, yard, barn, equine or equestrian management software?
The same software, different words. Yard management is the everyday UK phrase and stable management system the formal one; US barns say barn management software or horse boarding software; tenders and larger operations say equine management system or equestrian management software. Searching any of them turns up the same dozen products. Running a particular kind of yard? There's a page for each: livery yard app, riding school software, and barn management software for US boarding barns.
How Horsepower approaches it
Horsepower is stable management software built around the way real UK yards run (US barns are equally at home — imperial units throughout if you want them). It covers records, treatments and reminders, a shared calendar with recurring events and open requests anyone can pick up, feed plans, field maps and turnout, GPS ride tracking, team messaging, illustrated How-To guides, custom forms, practitioner logins — and livery invoicing, sent from Horsepower or drafted into Xero or QuickBooks. Native iOS and Android apps, and the web works everywhere. It's free for yards with up to three horses, and members are always free — you only pay for the yard, never per livery. Your records stay readable if you cancel.
Start free · Compare the main apps · What a yard app costs
Common questions
Do I need stable management software for a small yard?
If it's one or two horses and one person, maybe not — though a free tier makes it worth having for the treatment reminders alone. The value compounds with every extra person: the moment helpers, sharers or liveries are involved, shared records beat relayed messages.
What does stable management software cost?
Typically £10–£50 per month depending on yard size, though some vendors price by herd size and number of logins, and several publish no figures at all. Horsepower is free up to three horses, £9.99 a month up to twenty and £19.99 for unlimited, with no per-member charges — see what a yard app costs.
What's the difference between stable, yard and barn management software?
Nothing meaningful — "yard management" is the common UK phrase, "barn management" or "horse boarding software" the US one, and "stable management system" or "equine management system" the formal ones. They all describe the same category; if you run a US boarding barn, the barn management software overview covers the same ground in those terms.
Can I move my existing records into it?
Look for an importer before you commit — re-typing twenty horses and their treatment history is the main reason yards stay on software they have outgrown. Horsepower imports horses, fields, treatments and members from Stable Manager (stables.cloud) in one go, and running the new system alongside the old one for a month is a cheaper way to find out it doesn't suit you.
What happens to my data if I cancel?
That depends entirely on the vendor, and it is worth asking before you sign up rather than after. Some lock the history behind a renewal. Horsepower keeps your records readable after a cancellation — the subscription buys editing and the yard features, not access to your own history.
Do I have to pay for everyone on the yard?
Not with every system, and this is where costs diverge most. Per-seat pricing is fine for one manager and expensive once riders, sharers, helpers and your farrier all need a login. Horsepower charges per yard and invited members are always free.
Does it work on a phone in the field?
Check whether it's a native app or a website in a browser, and whether it copes with poor signal — a good deal of yard work happens where there is one bar. Horsepower has native iOS and Android apps alongside the web app, on the same login and the same data.
Is there free stable management software?
There are free tiers rather than free products. Horsepower's free tier covers a yard with up to three horses indefinitely — records, calendar, galleries — and isn't a trial that expires. Larger yards move to a paid plan when they outgrow it.
Livery yard app overview · Barn management software (US terms) · Yard forms & templates · Connect your AI (MCP) · The honest best-app guide · Full comparison pages · Try Horsepower free