Whether you have a one-person staff at your equine facility or you have multiple barns, clients, riding instructors, veterinarians and farriers, you need to have a plan for what to do if a person or service provider cannot perform their normal duties.
You need to know what you will do when you or one of your key employees is unable to perform his or her duties. You also need a contingency plan if you have an unexpected financial shortage. What is your plan if your regular hay or feed supplier can’t come through with your horses’ food?
What happens if one of your riding instructors is out of town or sick and can’t give her lessons on Saturday? What if your normal farrier is unavailable and you have a shoeing emergency? What if that one person who mucks stalls and mows the fields quits suddenly? What if your feed and hay supplier has a problem (warehouse or stack fire, transportation delays, etc.) What do you do?
Stable Management published a series of articles on Contingency Plans in early 2017 that could help you figure out ahead of time what to do if you have an unexpected problem in your business, such as a key person is incapacitated or unavailable. As we all know, an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure!
Series on Contingency Plans
- Contingency Plan for Equine Vet or Farrier
- Your Contingency Plan as a Barn Manager
- Contingency Plan for Unexpected Financial Problems on a Horse Farm
- Have a Contingency Plan for Your Hay and Feed Supplies
- Contingency Plan for a Solo Equine Business Owner
Don’t be caught short because you didn’t plan for a problem.
