Start with the horse in front of the carer
Open the plan with the horse himself: name, age, colour, height, and a photograph, because a carer covering three fields needs to know which bay is yours. Add the temperament notes that keep people safe — he is wary of strangers on his right side, he barges at the gate when hungry, he must be tied short while his feet are picked out. Then the geography: which stable is his, where his rugs hang, where the feed, the first-aid kit, and the headcollar that actually fits him live. An old horse's plan earns its keep in these specifics, not in general advice about horses.
Feed, written so anyone can copy it
Quantities are where amateur plans fail, so write them like a recipe. Hay by weight or by named bale sections, hard feed by the exact scoop that lives in the bin, and his mash described step by step: which bucket, how much water, how long it soaks before it is safe to feed. State feeding times, the order fields are fed in if he is not alone, and what he refuses when he is off colour — an old horse who leaves his mash but eats hay is telling a different story from one who leaves both. Note his water routine too: whether the trough is automatic or filled by hand, and how much drinking is normal for him on a cold day versus a hot one.
Daily checks, rugs and turnout
List the checks that matter for this horse, in the order a carer would do them: run a hand down each leg for heat or filling, pick out all four feet, watch him eat his first mouthfuls, and glance at the droppings in his stable for number and consistency. Rug instructions need weather thresholds, not judgement calls — write the temperature or conditions at which the heavy rug goes on, and when he is better without one. Turnout needs the field named, his companion named, the gate he rushes, and the time he expects to come in, because an old horse standing forgotten at a gate in the rain is a plan that failed on paper before it failed in the field.
When to call, and who
Put the numbers at the top of the first page, not the bottom of the last: your mobile, a backup person who knows the horse, the vet practice, and the farrier. Then describe the signs that should trigger a call about this horse specifically — pawing, rolling, or looking round at his flank; a horse down who will not rise; feed refused at two consecutive meals; or the colic-watch signs your vet has asked you to report. Close the plan with a walkthrough: feed and rug him once with the carer beside you before you ever leave. Sharing that plan through a KinsLe Care Pass gives the carer the same routine and key details in their hands for exactly as long as you are away, and no longer.