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Standards & Advice update: February 2022
Minor amendments have been made to DEFRA’s guidance notes for Conditions for Hiring Out Horses and Procedural Guidance.
DEFRA’s Guidance Notes for Conditions for Hiring out Horses and Procedural Guidance have had some minor amendments, which came into force on 1 February 2022. These amendments address some of the suggestions made to DEFRA by the RCVS Riding Establishments Subcommittee via the British Horse Council in 2020.
While the minor amendments will not address all the issues raised with the Animal Welfare (Licensing of Activities Involving Animal) (England) Regulations 2018, these Regulations are due for a full review in 2023. Major amendments, such as a re-examination of minimum standards, can be considered at this stage. DEFRA have begun planning the project management of this review, and the Subcommittee will have the opportunity to feed into the activity specific consultation.
The updated Guidance Notes can be found here and the updated Procedural Guidance can be found here. A summary of the minor amendments can be found below.
Overview of changes to the Guidance Notes for Conditions for Hiring Out Horses
Veterinary Inspections – clarification that an RCVS Riding Establishments Listed Veterinary Inspector must be appointed to carry out the initial inspection, the renewal inspection and the annual inspections. Clear guidance on which section of the Regulation the local authority must appoint the Veterinary Inspector under, and that if the Veterinary Inspector is required to carry out the initial or interim inspection without being accompanied by a suitably qualified Inspector they must be appointed in writing under Section 51 of the Animal Welfare Act 2006.
Minor failings – a new business must meet all of the minimum standards within the Guidance to obtain a licence. While it is expected that all businesses will continue to maintain minimum standards, the Guidance clarifies that if minor failings that do not compromise welfare are identified on a renewal inspection, the local authority should follow the Procedural Guidance on risk and star rating when reissuing the licence. The Procedural Guidance provides clarity that the star rating for an existing business with minor failings will be a one-star, 1 year licence. Further, it should not be standard to issue a one-star licence for more than a year, as it is expected that all operators must comply with the minimum standards.
If the minor failings compromise animal welfare, the licence should be suspended, varied or revoked.
4.0 Staffing – the licence holder must provide and ensure the implementation of a written training policy for all staff. There is no longer an obligation for online courses to form part of the training.
5.0 Suitable environment
5.1 the requirement that doors ‘must be bolted top and bottom’ has been simplified to ‘doors must be strong enough to resist impact and close securely’.
5.5 the addition of a requirement ‘where there is a pest problem, a pest control programme must be put in place’.
10.0 Emergencies
10.1 (3) has been amended from ‘any buildings must have at least one working suitable fire detection system installed’ to ‘suitable firefighting, prevention and detection equipment must be provided and maintained in good working order. Buildings that are subject to building regulations need at least one working suitable fire detection system installed. It must be in a suitable location on each separate level or floor of the property. This includes any buildings where horses are kept in stables or stalls.’
Part B – Specific conditions (Schedule 5)
5.0 Suitable diet
5.0 (1) amended from ‘routine dung removal’ to ‘routine dung management’ to allow for harrowing of pasture as an alternative to dung removal, and the amendment of ‘hay must be provided’ to ‘alternative forage’ to allow for the feeding of straw or haylage.
Overview of changes to some of the Higher Standards - Required Higher Standard
| Old guidance | New guidance |
| Horses must be inspected at least once during the out of hours period (e.g. 1800- 0800) | Horses must be inspected at least once out of hours, for example between 6pm and 8am |
| Records must evidence individual monitoring and training plans for horses in connection with individual training needs to complement their use within a riding school. This must be accompanied with evidence of regular and effective checks with saddler for comfort and fit. | Records must show individual monitoring and training plans for horses with training needs to improve their use within a riding school. This must be accompanied with evidence of regular and effective checks with the saddler for comfort and fit. |
Optional Higher Standards
| Horses will not be in reach of each other to bite and there will be room to work around them. | This higher standard has been removed. |
| Horses will be in view of each other, unless kept singly for management reasons, such as isolation or stallion management purposes. | |
| Independent specialist nutritional advice must be sought as appropriate for individual horses and documented alongside the weekly body condition scoring. Records must evidence individual health plans and monitoring for horses in connection with dietary requirements. There must be legible and up to date feed chart on display that informs correct feeding amounts for individual horses. | This higher standard has been amended and split into two higher standards - Records must show individual health plans and monitoring of the dietary needs of horses. Monthly body condition scoring must be recorded - if is not optimum, advice must be sought from a vet or expert equine nutritionist. This advice must be documented. |
| There must be a legible and up to date feed chart on display. It must show the correct feeding amounts for individual horses. |
Overview of changes to the Procedural Guidance
The Guidance simplifies the advice given to local authorities and details that they must make sure that:
- Licence holders are following the Regulation requirements
- Individuals who apply for a licence and do not meet the Regulation requirements for the grant of a new licence are refused a licence
- They take appropriate enforcement against operators carrying out, attempting to carry on or knowingly allows a licensable activity to be done without a licence
- Licences are not granted to individuals that are already disqualified from holding a licence or have previously had one revoked
It provides further guidance on:
- Fee setting and what can be included when setting the fee
- The need to appoint inspectors under the provisions of the Animal Welfare Act and Animal Welfare (Licensing of Activities Involving Animals) (England) Regulations 2018.
- Appointing veterinary inspectors under the Regulation or Act
- Powers of entry and warrant application
The Guidance advises local authorities that they should maintain a list of licensed businesses and their associated star ratings on their websites.
February 2022