Hiring out horses (riding establishments) is regulated under 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 military 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. Note that a veterinary inspection is required annually, whatever the duration of the licence.
Apply via post or email:
You can email your application and supplementary documents to EHealth@havant.gov.uk, or post them to Animal Welfare, Havant Borough Council, Public Service Plaza, Civic Centre Road, Havant, PO9 2AX. Once the team has confirmed receipt of your application, you will be contacted directly for payment of the application fee.
Please note that an application for a licence renewal must be received more than 12 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.
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 in the guidance below to achieve a licence. There will be a physical inspection of the premises, and evidence of all relevant paperwork and qualifications will need to be seen at your inspection.
You must read and understand the Government's statutory guidance.
The Animal Welfare Team has produced a collection of sample documents for riding establishments which may assist with complying with licence conditions. These documents can be used as a starting point, but must be amended to reflect your specific premises and practices. Please email EHealth@havant.gov.uk to request these documents.
Inspections are carried out by a veterinary surgeon or practitioner, who is on a register approved by the 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.
Unlicensed premises may also be inspected in accordance with the Animal Welfare Act 2006.
You may decide that you would like to have your premises re-inspected, if you have undertaken improvements since the licence was issued and you feel that you could achieve a higher star rating. If you would like your premises to be inspected again and consideration given to changing the star rating, please contact the Animal Welfare Team via email to EHealth@havant.gov.uk. The correspondence should include your licence number, confirmation that you are requesting a re-inspection, and the actions that have been taken by the business to improve the level of compliance or welfare since the inspection. Where appropriate, you may also attach supporting evidence.
There is a fee for re-inspection. Once your request is made, there will be confirmation it has been received and we will contact you to take payment of the fee. If re-inspection is appropriate it will be carried out within three months of receipt of the request. There is no limit to the number of re-inspection visits a business can request, however, there will be a fee for each visit charged. Please be aware that your star rating could go up or down following a re-inspection.
You may be dissatisfied with the star rating awarded on your licence and choose to appeal this. To appeal the star rating given, you must submit your appeal in writing to the Animal Welfare Team via email to EHealth@havant.gov.uk. Your appeal must be received within 21 days (including weekends and bank holidays) of your licence being issued. The correspondence should include your licence number, confirmation that you are appealing the star rating given, and the reasons for the appeal.
The appeal will be determined by the Environmental Health Manager, after considering paperwork associated with the inspection and the past record of the business. This officer will not have been associated with the inspection and the associated scoring of the site.
A licence will be refused;
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;
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 EHealth@havant.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.
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.
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. 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.
The fees due for animal licences are reviewed every financial year, and vary depending on the type of licence. Please click here for a schedule of fees.
After submitting your application, you will be contacted to take the application fee, this will be prior to the inspection. After your inspection, and in order to issue your licence, you will need to pay the compliance fee. You may be subject to variable vet fees, depending on the licence.