Write a sequence, not a summary of your habits
A stand-in fails on ambiguity, not effort, so write the sheet as numbered steps in the exact order the job happens: catch, rug change, lead out, gate, final check. 'Turn him out in his blue rug if it's cold' forces three judgements a stranger cannot make the way you do. Replace it with the rug's colour, weight description in plain words, and where it hangs — 'the navy rug on the second hook, the one with the neck cover' — plus the condition that decides it: rain forecast, a clipped coat, an older horse who feels cold sooner. If two horses share a field, say which goes out first and who must not be left alone.
The rugging steps in fastening order
Spell out the fastenings as you actually do them: rug positioned slightly forward then slid back so the hair lies flat, chest straps first, then cross surcingles with a flat hand's width of clearance, then leg straps linked through each other so they cannot rub, tail flap and fillet string last. State what wrong looks like — a rug slipped sideways, a strap hanging loose, a strap twisted — and what to do about it: remove and refit rather than tug it straight. Include the two-minute daily check under the rug: rubs on shoulders and withers, heat or sweat meaning the rug is too warm, a horse who is cold behind the ears and tucked up meaning he needs the warmer one.
Turnout details that only you know
This is the section most sheets miss entirely: the field by name or description, the companion he goes out with and the one he bullies, the gate that sticks unless lifted, the corner where the ground turns to deep mud, the trough that needs the ballcock freed, the electric fence unit that must stay switched on. Note his catching personality honestly — walks up, or needs feed in a bucket and no direct eye contact — and the route hazards between stable and field. A stand-in who knows the horse sometimes spins at the yard gate will be ready for it; one who does not may lose him.
Bringing in, and the evening version of the job
Write the return trip too, because it is not simply the morning reversed: rugs checked and changed if wet through, mud left to dry on legs rather than washed in cold water, hooves picked out, a quick feel of legs for heat or swelling, hay and water levels for the night. State your rule for a rug soaked through — swap to the dry spare on the named hook — and where wet rugs get hung so they are not put back on damp the next morning.
Fallbacks, photos, and a contact ladder
End the sheet with decisions pre-made: if a shoe is loose, if a strap is broken, if the horse is lame, sweating at rest, or not eating — who to call first, who second, and what the stand-in should do while waiting, written as plain instructions rather than 'use your judgement.' Attach phone photos of the horse correctly rugged, the correct field gate, and the rug hooks; a picture resolves in seconds what a paragraph argues about. Keep one printed copy at the yard and the same version with the stand-in.
That sheet is precisely what KinsLe's Care Pass is built to hand over, giving a trusted stand-in temporary, clear access to the horse's routine and key details while you are away.