Licence for hiring out horses (including riding establishments)
Under The Animal Welfare (Licensing of Activities Involving Animals) (England) Regulations 2018, anyone hiring out horses for riding or instruction in riding as part of a commercial business must obtain a licence from their local authority.
On this page
— The Animal Welfare (Licensing of Activities Involving Animals) (England) Regulations 2018
— Applying for a licence
— Conditions, standards and guidance
— Licence fees
— Inspections
— Refusal, revocation, suspension or variation of a licence
— Statements of fitness and adding new horses to the licence
— Licensed establishments
The Animal Welfare (Licensing of Activities Involving Animals) (England) Regulations 2018
A licence is required for a business of keeping horses to let them out on hire for riding, or for use in providing instruction in riding for payment, or both. Premises where the horses are kept for miltary or police purposes, or a university providing a veterinary course, are exempt.
Establishment proprietors must have a current certificate of public liability insurance.
Each premises will be risk rated at inspection and will be given a star rating from 1 to 5, which will also determine whether the premises is granted a licence for 1, 2 or 3 years. A veterinary inspection is required annually, whatever the duration of the licence.
The full text of The Animal Welfare (Licensing of Activities Involving Animals) (England) Regulations 2018 is available to read online.
Applying for a licence
Before filling in the online application form:
- download the Horse List (Word document)
- download the Horse List continuation sheet (Word document) if needed
You will need to fill in the horse's name, the age, height, gender, colour, breed, what the horse is used for, plus the microchip and Universal Equine Life Number.
You will be asked to upload the completed Horse List (and any continuation sheets you've used) while completing your form. We may also ask you to send us a copy by email prior to inspection.
Complete the online Hiring out Horses licensing application form - you can register with our website or use the 'Guest' button, which does not require you to sign in.
Please note that an application for a licence renewal must be received more than 10 weeks before the current licence expires. Failure to do so may result in the licence not being renewed in time and, thus a period where the business can not operate.
Please contact us if you have any queries:
- Email: eh@winchester.gov.uk
- Telephone: 01962 848097
Conditions, standards and guidance
The Animal Welfare (Licensing of Activities Involving Animals) (England) Regulations 2018 came into force on 1st October 2018.
You must comply with all of the minimum standards listed in the Hiring out horses: statutory guidance for local authorities document to achieve a licence and and as well as a physical inspection of the premises, evidence of all relevant paperwork and qualifications will need to be seen at your inspection.
Licence fees
Our licence fees for Hiring out Horses for 2024 / 25 (as revised in accordance with the Regulations) are:
- Up to 5 Horses £408.00
- 6 to 10 Horses £421.00
- 11 to 20 horses £471.00
- 21 horses and over £533.00
You are still responsible for the veterinary fees for every inspection. We will invoice you for this cost separately after the inspection.
Once your licence has been granted, you will still require an annual horse check by a veterinary inspector and we will contact you to arrange this. You are still responsible for paying all veterinary fees but no application fee for the horse check.
Should the licensee apply for a reinspection, this must be done in writing, setting out the work that has been completed and the reasons for the reinspection. The full fee is payable for a reinspection.
Fees are for application and, once an application has been made, are unlikely to be refunded unless there are exceptional circumstances. Requests for refunds will be considered by the Environmental Health Manager.
Inspections
Inspections are carried out by a veterinary surgeon or practitioner, who is on a register approved by The Royal College of Veterinary Surgeons (RCVS) and is specifically trained in riding establishment licensing.
There will normally only be one inspection for each licence granted but further inspections may be made to check that licence conditions have been complied with, if a complaint is received about the premises, or if there is any concern about the condition of the premises, or the welfare of an animal at the premises.
For new applicants, there may be works or paperwork to be completed following inspection before a licence can be granted. These will need to be completed as quickly as possible and, in the event that the applicant has not completed required works within a year of inspection, the licence will automatically be refused.
Unlicensed premises may also be inspected in accordance with the Animal Welfare Act 2006.
Please contact us if you have any queries:
- Email: eh@winchester.gov.uk
- Telephone: 01962 848097
Refusal, revocation, suspension or variation of a licence
A licence will be refused:
- if the applicant is under 18
- if the applicant has been disqualified from holding an animal licence or keeping an animal, or has had a licence revoked under Section 15 of the Regulations
- if conditions of the licence are not met.
The applicant may appeal to a First-tier Tribunal if the Council refuses to grant or renew a licence.
A licence may be varied, suspended or revoked by the Council for the following reasons:
- the licence conditions are not being complied with
- there has been a breach of the Regulations
- the information supplied by the licensee is false or misleading, or
- it is necessary to protect the welfare of an animal.
Any significant change to the premises may require a variation to your licence. The licensee may request a variation or the Council can impose one. This will involve a small charge. Please contact us on eh@winchester.gov.uk if you think a variation may be needed.
The licensee may appeal to a First-tier Tribunal if the Council has varied, suspended or revoked a licence.
Statements of fitness and adding new horses to the licence
If during a licensing inspection, one or more horses were excluded from use at the premises by the inspecting vet, a certificate stating that the horse is fit to return to work, signed by the licensee's, or the owner's, vet is needed before those horses may be used again.
- You can use the Statement of Fitness to Return to Work form to do this, although different formats are also acceptable.
Where new horses are added to the premises during the licence period, they must also have a certificate from the liensee's, or the owner's, vet stating that they are fit for use for the purpose intended within the licensed premises.
- You can use the Adding New Horses to the Licence form to do this, although different formats are also acceptable.
The certificate of fitness plus an updated Horse List must be sent to the Council for approval any time a new horse is added as this constitutes a variation of the licence.
Licensed establishments
We have a list of licensed establishments that hire out horses in the district, the list is usually updated twice a year.