We generally use it for 30min or an hour, depending on the needs of the horse (is it in work, getting turnout, etc). Sometimes they might go on twice a day as needed. Two different programs in the same facility use it. Here is our general system:
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Assigned times of day for each program. This might vary day to day, but it means we very rarely have mixed groups walking together, so no one horse gets lost in someone else’s shuffle.
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One person manages the horse rotation. If they need to leave or do something else, they delegate another person. No confusion about who is responsible for adding/removing horses.
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Whoever is managing the walker makes note of the time for each group, and generally writes it down and/or sets a phone alarm.
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Horses go on in a sensible order, so it becomes obvious if someone has been left over from a previous group. This can be based on stall location, how long they are walking for, etc. I’ve been at some farms where they have a posted schedule with a time slot for each horse. No guess work.
With all of that being said, even the best system is susceptible to careless mistakes, and it sounds like this was a careless mistake. I’m glad your horse didn’t suffer too badly from it. How you proceed from here will depend on your level of comfort with their competence and how it has impacted your trust. For me, the skirting around the truth would have been the biggest issue for me. Mistakes happen, and your anger at that mistake was perfectly justified. IMO they should have been immediately upfront about who/why/how, instead of leaving you to dig for the truth.
