Riding Establishments

RCVS Riding Establishment Inspections

Under the Animal Welfare (Licensing of Activities Involving Animals) (England) Regulations 2018 for England and Riding Establishments Acts 1964 and 1970 for Scotland and Wales, riding establishments are required by law to be licensed by local authorities.

The licence may only be issued or denied by the local authority following an inspection and report by a veterinary surgeon who is a member of the RCVS Inspectorate.

Environmental Health departments of local authorities have responsibility for enforcing health and safety legislation in the majority of riding establishments. They investigate reportable accidents and undertake health and safety inspections which they may carry out during licensing visits. The Chartered Institute of Environmental Health Officers (CIEH) have published comprehensive guidance on relevant legislation, suggested control measures etc intended for use by enforcement officers, proprietors and other interested parties, available free to download from the CIEH site.

NB. As the above video was produced in 2011, some of the information is no longer current for inspections in England following the introduction of the Animal Welfare (Licensing of Activities Involving Animals) (England) Regulations 2018.

Inspectors carrying out inspections in England should note the following:

The video references annual licenses, however the Regulations provide for both annual and extended two/three year licenses;
The video does not reference interim inspections, which are provided for under the Regulations where an establishment has an extended license;
The video references three monthly provisional licenses, which are not provided as an option under the Regulations; and
The video does not reference local authority inspectors, though they are usually actively involved in the inspection process under the Regulations.

The inspection requirements in the video remain current for inspections taking place in Scotland and Wales.

Finally, please note that while the Donkey Sanctuary advocate for getting donkeys properly microchipped and collaborate with the BHS and NEWC where owners can get this done at a reduced fee, they are no longer able to offer free microchipping unless it is necessary to support welfare.

Riding Establishment Inspectors and working donkeys

There could be as many as 1,000 working donkeys in the UK, mostly found around our coastline. Recently, however, more ventures using donkeys for riding other than beach are appearing, such as fairs and children’s parties. Any vet registered as an inspector may be called upon by the local authority to complete the annual inspection of licensed riding establishments in their locality.

Ridden-donkey operations should be inspected with the same care and attention given to horse riding stables and are licensed under the same Animal Welfare (Licensing of Activities Involving Animals) (England) Regulations 2018 or Riding Establishments Acts of 1964 and 1970.

Donkeys are different from horses, and beach donkey riding is a seasonal business. These and other factors need to be taken into account when planning and performing the inspection.

More information can be found on working donkeys on the Donkey Sanctuary website.

Useful documents

The list of approved riding establishment inspectors is available to download below.

Licensing authorities and their inspectors should use the forms of application and inspection report below.

An updated Riding Establishment Veterinary Inspector's Form (England) has been uploaded. The updates have been made in line with the Animal Welfare (Licensing of Activities Involving Animals) (England) Regulations 2018 and the associated DEFRA guidance. The form can be used for both full and interim inspections while we await further clarification from DEFRA as to the remit of the interim inspections.

A scoring system is being considered by the Subcommittee as a guidance tool for the inspector form, but is not yet in place. The scoring column has therefore been removed from the form for the time being. Please note that the report form is intended to be used primarily as a guidance tool to aid the professional judgement and expertise of inspectors in deciding whether a riding establishment should be recommended for licensing.

The Riding Establishments Subcommittee are pleased to advise that the updated Guidelines (England) have now also been uploaded. The Guidelines are to be read alongside the Animal Welfare (Licensing of Activities involving Animals) (England) Regulations 2018 and the associated DEFRA guidance.

If you have any feedback or questions, please contact Stephanie Bruce-Smith in our Standards and Advice team on s.bruce-smith@rcvs.org.uk.

Course information

Find out about the upcoming training and induction course.

Contact details

Query type	Contact name	Contact details
Member of the public, course information, existing inspector or local authority	Stephanie Bruce-Smith	T 0207 202 0754 E s.bruce-smith@rcvs.org.uk
New applicants requiring further information and booking places on the course	Emma Cameron	T 020 7202 0780 E e.cameron@rcvs.org.uk

Postal correspondence

The postal address for all correspondence is:

Registration Department
Royal College of Veterinary Surgeons
The Cursitor
38 Chancery Lane
London
WC2A 1EN

Riding Establishments
- Riding Establishment Training and Induction Course

Cookie Notice