Make a Pictorial Horse Pedigree

A pictorial record of your horse's pedigree is a fun project to work on when the weather keeps you from riding. If your horse is registered its pedigree will be printed on its registration papers, usually going back at least four generations. Often an Internet search will turn up information on members of your horse's family tree. An extended pedigree can sometimes be found through the breed association or professional pedigree researchers. Old breed magazines are also good research tools. You can often find vintage breed journals on Ebay or other auction websites. Don't cut up those vintage issues. Make color copies, either on a scanner or a color copy machine at an office supply store. Dates of birth, breeders' names, and even colors are usually recorded on your horse's pedigree. These clues can help you in your search for pictures and information.

Once you've collected articles, pictures, and other information organize them in order of the generations. When you put them in the scrapbook make cut lines to explain their relationship to your horse. Add newspaper or magazine articles about any of the horses in your horse's pedigree. If you are artistic decorate the pages with your own artwork, or use stickers and stencils. Arts and craft stores have many products designed just for making scrapbooks. Look for equine related borders and other decorations. Hoof prints are easy to draw with markers, add some stickers of horses, saddles, or barns to spruce it up.

The last pages of your scrapbook should be reserved for your horse. Take pictures of you and your horse as you enjoy your life journey together. In addition to special events like horse shows be sure to include photographs of everyday routines like your horse grazing in the pasture, farrier or vet visits, a nice head shot of your horse looking out the stall door, and galloping with its pasture mates. This is an on-going project that you will treasure for years to come.