A Quarter Horse's emergency sheet has to cover two horses in one: the animal standing in the field, and the athlete whose feed, exercise, and soundness are being actively managed. A carer who only holds a vet's phone number is underprepared for the second one. The sheet should list who to call and in what order, what this horse's normal readings and routine look like, which changes mean the vet gets called now rather than in the morning, and what the carer is authorised to set in motion alone. Written properly, it turns a worried stand-in into someone who can give the vet a useful first report.
Contacts in the order they will be used
Your number heads the list, with your unreachable times stated, followed by a local backup who knows the horse and can attend and decide. Then the equine vet practice, with the out-of-hours number or service written out in full. Then the farrier: Quarter Horses in work often carry shoeing set up for their job, and a lost shoe or a foot problem mid-stay is a farrier call, not a wait until you return. Add your transport contact and vehicle, the referral hospital your vet uses, and one practical helper, a fellow livery or neighbour, for the moments that simply need another pair of hands and eyes.
The workload picture the vet will ask about
Record his current level of work, what he is fed in direct relation to it, and how his routine changes on rest days, because a vet assessing a dull or off-feed working horse will ask exactly this. Note any lameness history, which leg, what your vet found, and what management is in place, such as boots, specific warm-up, or surfaces to avoid. Give his normal resting temperature, pulse, and respiration so the carer can report numbers rather than impressions. If he is on a joint or condition plan set by your vet, write down what is given, when, and by whom, with no gaps for the carer to improvise around.
Triggers that should not wait
Tell the carer plainly which signs mean an immediate vet call for this horse: colic behaviour such as pawing, rolling, flank-watching, or refusing feed; a leg that comes in hot, filled, or non-weight-bearing; a shoe half off with nails exposed; breathing that stays raised at rest; or a sudden change in a horse who is normally bright and food-driven. Quarter Horses are stoic workers, and a carer waiting for clearer signs can wait too long. Equally, note his normal resting habits so an ordinary afternoon doze is not mistaken for illness.
Authorisation, agreed with the practice beforehand
Write down that the carer may call the vet and approve emergency first response and transport, and confirm with the practice in advance that they will take instructions from the named carer while you are away. Say what the backup contact may decide if you cannot be reached, and leave the sheet signed. Add where insurance details and his records are held. Horses in work generate decisions quickly; the carer should never be slowed down by uncertainty about whether they were allowed to make the call.
One handover, current for this trip
Contact lists go stale: numbers change, shoeing changes, workloads change. KinsLe's Care Pass hands your Quarter Horse's sitter temporary, clear access to his up-to-date contacts, vet details, and care routine while you are away, so the version the carer relies on is the one you prepared for this stay, not last season's sheet still pinned in the tack room.