Are you licensed or approved by the Swedish Board of Agriculture (Jordbruksverket)? Then you have a statutory duty to keep records. Enter your profession and approval number under Profile — you will then get the record function with pre-filled templates and the information the law requires.
If you are not, you can still write working notes. They are for your own use, but they are not statutory records.
Note on language: records may be kept in Swedish, Norwegian, Danish or English, but key decisions about care and treatment and the closing notes must always be written in Swedish, Danish or Norwegian (chapter 3, section 6 a of SJVFS 2023:19). Template suggestions in Equikura are always in Swedish.
Swedish terms are kept throughout this guide. The rules apply in Sweden only, and you will meet the same words in documents from Jordbruksverket and the county administrative board. English translations are given in brackets.
Section 01
Are you djurhälsopersonal?
Djurhälsopersonal (animal health personnel) is a defined legal category: people with a licence or an approval under the Act (2009:302) on activities in animal health care. It covers six professions:
- Legitimerad veterinär — licensed veterinarian
- Legitimerad djursjukskötare — licensed veterinary nurse
- Godkänd hovslagare — approved farrier
- Legitimerad fysioterapeut — licensed physiotherapist approved by Jordbruksverket
- Legitimerad tandläkare — licensed dentist approved by Jordbruksverket
- Legitimerad sjuksköterska — licensed nurse approved by Jordbruksverket
Belonging to the category means three things: you have a duty to keep records, you are under supervision by the county administrative board (länsstyrelsen), and you can be examined by the disciplinary board (Ansvarsnämnden för djurens hälso- och sjukvård).
If you work as a farrier
You may work as a farrier both with and without approval. The difference is substantial.
| Godkänd hovslagare | Without approval | |
|---|---|---|
| Animal health personnel | Yes | No |
| Record-keeping duty | Yes | No |
| Sedated horses | May work with | May trim and shoe |
| Treatment restrictionbehandlingsförbudet | Not covered | Covered |
| Examined by | Ansvarsnämnden | General court |
Hovslagare is a protected professional title. Anyone who was already using the title when the protection came into force may continue until 31 August 2030 without approval. From 1 September 2030 only approved farriers may call themselves hovslagare.
Professions not covered
Osteopaths, equine massage therapists, feed advisers, grooms and rehabilitation trainers are not part of djurhälsopersonal. This is not a judgement of the work — it is what the law says. The treatment restriction applies.
Section 02
Setting your profession
- Go to Profile
- Under Animal health personnel, select your profession
- Enter your approval or licence number
- Tick the declaration
- Save, then sign out and in again
The last step is needed for your new role to take effect in the app.
Equikura does not verify the information against any register. You certify yourself that it is correct, just as veterinarians do with their veterinary number. The responsibility is yours.
You can remove the status at any time. Records you have already written are unaffected — they document what applied at the time, and they should continue to do so.
Section 03
What a record must contain
The requirements are set out in chapter 3, sections 8–10 of SJVFS 2023:19. The information must be included where it applies to the visit.
Base information (section 8)
The keeper's name, address and telephone number, the holding's registration number (anläggningsnummer), species and species category, sex, age and the animal's identity. Most of it is taken automatically from the horse's details.
At every visit (section 9)
| Information | Where you write it in Equikura |
|---|---|
| Date of the visit | Set automatically |
| Anamneshistory, including the reason for the visit | Anamnes |
| Clinical status | Status |
| Examinations and measureswhy, how, when and by whom | Reason for treatment and Type of treatment |
| Diagnosdiagnosis and any differential diagnoses | Diagnos |
| Plan for further measures | Other notes |
| Communication with the keeperabout differential diagnoses, treatment options, prognosis and the plan | Other notes |
| Advice to the keeperincluding discharge advice | Other notes |
| Name and title | Set automatically from your account |
When medicines are used (section 10)
The medicine's name, strength and dosage including the length of treatment, the route of administration and, where relevant, the injection site. If a food-producing animal is treated, the withdrawal period must also be recorded.
The record must be written in direct connection with the visit, or as soon as possible — normally within one day (chapter 3, section 2). This applies to routine work as well — a standard shoeing requires a record just like anything else.
Holding number
You do not need to investigate the number. It is enough that you ask the keeper. If they cannot answer, mark that in the app — it then shows at any inspection that the question was asked.
Section 04
How to keep records
New record on the start page takes you to a list of horses. Select a horse and the record tab opens.
Choose a template
Seven templates are available for farriers: routine shoeing, barefoot trim, lost shoe, therapeutic shoeing, foal orthopedics, check with no action, and referral to a veterinarian. The template fills the fields with suggestions that you edit after the visit.
The templates are suggestions. Read them through and correct them — it is your record and your responsibility.
Dictate instead of typing
The fields Status, Reason and Type of treatment have a Dictate button. Useful when your hands are occupied.
Dictation is deliberately not available for Anamnes and Diagnos. The audio is sent to the browser's speech service for recognition, and those fields often contain information about the keeper. For the same reason, avoid personal data in the Other notes field when dictating.
Corrections
If you have written something wrong you may correct it — but the original must not be hidden. Equikura keeps both the original text and the correction, with a note of who made it and when.
This is not bureaucracy for its own sake. A record where changes are invisible is hard to trust, both for you and at an inspection.
Section 05
Retention and provider registration
How long are records kept?
At least five years counted from the last entry in the record, or longer if another regulation or a specific decision requires it (chapter 3, section 7 of SJVFS 2023:19). This covers the record and any underlying documents.
The retention period is stated in the data processing agreement (point 12). Even if you end your subscription, records you are legally required to keep are not deleted — processing is then limited to storage only.
Provider registration
If you run your own business as an approved farrier, you must register your activity with Jordbruksverket as a care provider (vårdgivare). This is done in their e-service Registrera vårdgivare och djurhälsopersonal.
If you are employed, you do not register yourself — your employer does.
The registration is separate from Equikura. We remind you of it, but it is done with Jordbruksverket.
Section 06
Frequently asked questions
I am an approved farrier but do not want to keep records in Equikura
That is fine. The duty is yours, the tool is optional. But the record must be kept somewhere, and it must be possible to show at an inspection.
I do not have my approval number at hand
The number is in the decision you received from Jordbruksverket. If you cannot find it, contact them at veterinarfragor@jordbruksverket.se or +46 771 223 223.
What happens if I select the wrong profession?
Change it in your profile. All changes are logged with a timestamp, which is deliberate — it must be possible to see what applied when a record was written.
Can I see who wrote a record?
Yes. Every record carries the name, title and approval number of the person who wrote it. The details are frozen at the time of writing and are not changed afterwards.
My approval has been withdrawn
Remove the status in your profile. Earlier records remain unchanged — they correctly document what applied at the time.
I am a hoof care provider without approval — can I use the service?
Yes. You can write working notes, manage customers and horses, book and invoice. The difference is that your notes are not statutory records, and the platform marks them accordingly.
Can I keep records in English?
Partly. Under chapter 3, section 6 a of SJVFS 2023:19 records may also be kept in Norwegian, Danish or English. Key decisions about care and treatment, and the closing notes, must always be written in Swedish, Danish or Norwegian. The care provider (vårdgivare) is responsible for this.
The Equikura interface can be set to English — labels, menus and this guide. Template suggestions are always in Swedish, whichever language you have selected.
Further reading
From Jordbruksverket
Working in animal health care (Swedish) →
The regulations in full: SJVFS 2023:19 as amended by SJVFS 2025:20 (reprint), saknr D 33.
Questions about Equikura: info@equikura.se