Autumn grazing: reviewing your arrangements
When the field, turnout routine or forage supply changes, keep the facts and the advice you receive together. Make any revised arrangements clear to the people caring for your horse.
In brief
- Record what has changed in the field, routine or supply.
- Keep observed conditions separate from forecasts and assumptions.
- Use the grazing and feeding changes agreed for your horse, with their source and date.
On this page
Identify what has changed
Compare the current arrangements with what is actually happening. Keep the changes relevant to your horse and the people responsible for its care.
- A different field, turnout area or access arrangement.
- Changes to the turnout routine or the person responsible.
- A different forage delivery, batch or feeding arrangement.
- Changes to water access or the equipment used to provide it.
- Dated observations about your horse that you want to discuss.
Record when each change was noticed and who reported it. A planned field move and a completed move should remain distinguishable.
Keep conditions and conclusions separate
If weather is relevant to a discussion, state whether the information is a forecast, a measurement or something observed at the field. Keep the date, time and location where known.
A forecast is not a measurement of the sugar in your field. Keep weather information as context for discussing the existing plan, without converting it into grazing minutes or a waiting period.
A month on the calendar does not establish the nutritional value of a particular field. Keep questions about grazing and supplementary forage for the vet or nutritionist advising on your horse’s feeding.
Keep the revised agreement complete
Record the advice you receive, who gave it and when. Include the specific field, any agreed timing or access changes, related feeding instructions and the person responsible.
For a temporary arrangement, record the starting point and any end or review date that was actually agreed. Do not treat a review date as an automatic instruction to stop or return to the previous routine.
If a practical arrangement cannot be carried out, contact the person responsible and clarify the next step. Keep the agreed alternative with the current instructions.
Make the current version identifiable wherever carers use it, and retain superseded instructions with the records they relate to.
Record what happened
Keep actual turnout, feeding and water checks separate from the plan. Record the time and person where known; leave an unknown outcome as unknown.
If you notice a change in your horse, describe it with its date and context. Keep the observation separate from any explanation offered later.
Laminitis can occur at any time of year, according to the British Horse Society. An autumn or winter date does not rule it out. British Horse Society: Laminitis