Sharing care: responsibilities, instructions and updates
Make the care arrangements clear to everyone involved: who is responsible, which instructions apply and what has actually happened.
In brief
- Agree the responsibilities with the people taking them on.
- Keep current instructions identifiable, including temporary changes and who agreed them.
- Keep messages, accepted responsibilities and recorded care outcomes separate.
On this page
Agree who is doing what
Name the horse, the care involved and the person responsible for each part. Include the dates or occasions covered by your agreement. Riding arrangements and care responsibilities can be different.
- The care each person has agreed to carry out.
- Any conditions you have agreed for handling, turnout or riding.
- Who to contact about a question or a change.
- Who can provide cover, and how to confirm that they have accepted it.
A proposed arrangement remains a proposal until the person taking it on has agreed.
Keep the current instructions clear
Choose where everyone can find the current instructions. Give them a date and identify who supplied or agreed them. Keep the original professional instructions alongside any summary.
For a temporary change, record what changes, when it applies and any agreed end or review point. If the next step is unclear, keep it as a question for the person responsible.
When instructions change, tell the people affected and identify the new version. Keep earlier instructions with the care records they applied to, clearly marked with their dates.
Separate the message from the outcome
A message can request a change or explain an instruction. It does not show that someone has accepted responsibility or carried out the care. An opened message does not establish that its meaning was understood.
When recording care, describe what happened, who carried it out and when. If the record is added afterwards, keep the care time separate from the time it was recorded.
A missing confirmation leaves the outcome unknown. Check with the person involved before treating the care as completed or deciding to repeat it.
Hand over changes and unfinished care
If someone cannot cover their agreed care, identify the replacement and confirm that they accept it. Give them the instructions that apply to that occasion.
Agree which updates you need and how to share them. Record unfinished care, unresolved questions and who will follow up.
Include your agreed emergency contacts and arrangements for when the owner cannot be reached. Discuss these with the people named in the plan.
