The whiteboard that only one person understands
The turnout board in the tack room has field names down one side and horses' names in coloured pen, with arrows, crossings out and a note saying "NOT top field until Weds". The yard manager knows exactly what it means. A new groom on her second week does not, and turns the geldings out into the field that is being rested.
Meanwhile, liveries text to ask which field their horse is in today, because they want to check on him at lunchtime, and whether their horse can go out with the new mare because they get on well over the fence.
Why turnout is hard to keep straight
Turnout decisions depend on several things that change at different speeds. Groups change when horses arrive, leave or fall out. Fields close and reopen with the weather and the grass. Individual horses have their own arrangements agreed with their owners.
- Groups are agreed in conversation and written on the board later, or not at all.
- Field closures and rest periods are known to the manager but not always to staff.
- Owners' requests, such as individual turnout or limited hours, are scattered in messages.
- Winter restrictions change the whole picture for months.
- There is no history, so nobody can say when a field was last rested or grazed.
Mistakes at the field gate
A horse turned out in the wrong group or the wrong field can mean kicks, a scramble to catch horses, or a field that was meant to recover being churned up again. Those incidents upset owners and take up a morning.
Without a history of field use, planning is harder than it needs to be. Decisions about resting fields, harrowing, topping or reseeding are made from memory. And every time the yard manager is away, the risk of a mistake goes up, because the knowledge is not written down anywhere anyone else can read it.
A turnout record for staff and liveries
We build a simple turnout record that replaces the whiteboard with something anyone on the yard can read.
- Your fields and paddocks are set up with names and, if you want, a simple map.
- Turnout groups are recorded with the horses in each and the field they use. Changes are made by the yard manager and dated.
- Field status is shown clearly: open, resting, closed because of weather, with the date it changed and a note.
- Owners' turnout arrangements, such as individual turnout or reduced hours, are recorded against each horse as agreed with the owner.
- Staff see today's turnout plan on their phone or the tack room screen, with a clear warning if someone tries to record a horse going into a closed field.
- Liveries can see which field their own horse is in today.
- A history of field use builds up automatically, so you can see how long each field has been grazed or rested.
| Record | What it holds | Who sees it |
|---|---|---|
| Fields | Name, map, current status | Everyone |
| Turnout groups | Horses in each group and field | Staff; liveries see their own horse |
| Owner arrangements | Agreed turnout rules per horse | Staff and that owner |
| Field history | Dates grazed, rested, closed | Yard manager |
| Changes | Who changed what and when | Yard manager |
Every turnout decision, whether groups, fields or rest periods, is yours. The system writes it down clearly and makes sure everyone sees the same plan.
Turnout that does not depend on one person
The new groom opens the morning plan and sees the geldings go to the lower field, the top field is resting until Wednesday, and one horse goes out alone. There is nothing to decode. When the manager has a day off, the plan is the same.
Owners check where their horse is without texting anyone. And at the end of the season, you can look back at how each field was used, which makes planning next year's rest and grazing more straightforward.
Is turnout held together by the whiteboard?
- Only one or two people really understand the turnout board.
- Horses have gone into the wrong field or group by mistake.
- Liveries text to ask where their horse is.
- Field rest periods are tracked from memory.
- Owners' turnout arrangements are not written down in one place.