Livery Yard Digital Management: A Practical Checklist for Yard Owners

Paper diaries work until they do not — when a liver is abroad, a groom is off sick and three horses need box rest instructions before 7 a.m. A single digital yard hub reduces phone calls and stops critical jobs falling between the cracks.

YardForge bundles course design with yard operations tools. This checklist maps what to digitise first and which app areas cover each job.

Daily essentials

| Task | What to record | YardForge area | |------|----------------|----------------| | Morning feeds & meds | Who had what, when | Horse profiles + care reminders | | Turnout / stabling | Which horses out, which in | Yard manager status board | | Arena bookings | Who is jumping when | Arena schedule (signed-in yards) | | Urgent notices | Farrier late, field closed | Noticeboard with pin + read receipts |

Weekly rhythm

Staff rotas and cover — use staff tasks with due dates and templates for mucking out, hay runs and poo-picking.
Lesson plans — instructors save grids in the designer and share 3D links with clients.
Hack safety — publish favoured routes on the rides map so new liveries know gate codes and firm ground after rain.

Horse health logging

Vets ask "when did this start?" — if the answer is a shrug, you lose time and trust. Log:

Temperature, appetite and droppings (see what to record).
Farrier and dentist dates with reminders 48 hours ahead.
Medication courses with end dates.

Care reminders can trigger email nudges when the Firebase email extension is configured on your project.

Billing and transparency

Livery invoices spike disputes when extras are invisible. Generate PDF invoices from the billing area, itemise hay, bedding and training, and keep a single source of truth for what each horse costs per month.

Course design still matters

Even yards that do not host shows benefit from digital course planning:

Coaches build schooling tracks in the designer instead of dragging poles in the dark.
Validate distances with the stride calculator before riders arrive.
Store favourite exercises as reusable courses (Pro plan: 50 courses).

Getting started in one afternoon

Add every horse on livery with owner contact and feed chart.
Post this week's arena times on the noticeboard.
Create three recurring staff tasks (hay, water, poo-pick).
Import one schooling grid from a template and share the 3D link in the liveries WhatsApp group.

What not to digitise on day one

Do not attempt full migration of ten years of paper records. Start with live operational data — who needs doing today. Historical competition results and old invoices can wait.

Explore: Horse health logging guide · YardForge pricing · Training guides for staff