Working with your veterinary surgeon

Yard managers and newly-promoted senior grooms.

• ◆Brief a vet concisely and clinically
• ◆Negotiate routine and emergency call-out arrangements
• ◆Document discussions and decisions
• ◆Manage owner expectations around vet bills

1. 01.

   The clinical handover

   SBAR for horse yards — situation, background, assessment, recommendation.

   • ·Adapting SBAR (used in human medicine) to the equine yard
   • ·Pre-call checklist — vitals, history, what you've already tried
   • ·Reading a vet examination back to staff and owner
   • ·Following up with written notes within 24 hours
2. 02.

   Building the relationship

   Routine visits, written agreements, out-of-hours.

   • ·What belongs in a written vet agreement — and a sample template
   • ·Routine yard visits: dental, vaccinations, sheath cleaning, body scoring
   • ·Out-of-hours protocol — clear decision criteria for when to call
   • ·Annual review meeting — what to bring, what to come away with
3. 03.

   Cost conversations

   Owner consent, billing transparency, insurance liaison.

   • ·Owner consent thresholds — when to phone before authorising
   • ·Plain-English cost briefings owners will actually read
   • ·Liaising with insurers on behalf of the owner
   • ·Bad-debt protocol when owners cannot pay

Bring a copy of your current written vet agreement, or the email thread you've been using in lieu of one.

Submit a revised written vet agreement and a sample SBAR call note within 14 days.

• §RCVS 'Practice Standards Scheme' — equine module
• §BEVA 'Engaging effectively with clients' practitioner notes
• §Defra 'Code of practice for the welfare of horses, ponies, donkeys and their hybrids'