Horse Riding Establishments

Licences to keep a riding establishment are issued under the Riding Establishments Acts 1964 and 1970. The legislation is designed to ensure the welfare of the animals and the suitability of their accommodation.

When is a licence required?

If you hire out horses or donkeys or provide a riding school service, you will require a licence.

The Riding Establishments Act 1964 defines the keeping of a riding establishment as:

'... the carrying on of a business of keeping horses for either or both of the following purposes, that is to say, the purpose of their being let out on hire for riding or the purpose of their being used in providing, in return for payment, instruction in riding'.

Licences are renewable annually. The council will arrange for the inspection of horses and premises by a veterinary surgeon. The licence will be issued subject to receipt of a satisfactory report, compliance with licence conditions and payment of the licence fee.

Click to view our current Licensing Fees

Persons under 18 years old or persons or bodies corporate disqualified under the following provisions may not be given a licence:

• from keeping a riding establishment under the Riding Establishment Act 1964,
• from keeping a dog under the Protection of Animals (Cruelty to Dogs) Act 1923 or (Scotland) Act 1934,
• from keeping a pet shop under the Pet Animals Act 1951,
• from having custody of animals under the Protection of Animals (amendment) Act 1954,
• from keeping an animal boarding establishment under the Animal Boarding Establishment Act 1963 (Sec 1(2)).

What conditions apply to the Riding Establishment?

In deciding whether or not to grant a licence, or provisional licence, the Local Authority must, without prejudice to its right to refuse a licence on other grounds, have regard to certain matters - 'riding establishments' conditions.

Making an application

Riding Establishment Applications can be completed online. N.B. a completed copy of the form must be printed, signed and dated and returned to Environmental Services (at the address shown at the bottom of this page) together with payment of the current licence fee.

You can complete and submit the application form online here.

You can view the current Licensing Fees here.

You are advised to consider the following:

• will the activity require planning permission?
• can you comply with the likely licence conditions?

you are responsible for ensuring the health and safety of anyone affected by your business. You will need to undertake a risk assessment, record the significant findings and make sure that hazards are eliminated where possible, residual risks reduced as far as possible, and that systems are in place to make people aware of these and that anyone employed receives adequate instruction and training. If you want advice on Health and Safety, please contact Environmental Services Health and Safety team.

Licences

Full licences continue for one year beginning on the day on which they come into force and then expire. The date of operation, depending upon the wishes of the applicant, is either the day on which it is granted or the 1st January next.

Provisional licences operate for three months from the day on which they are granted and are used where the local authority is satisfied that it would not be justified in issuing a full licence.

On the death of a licence holder, licences pass to his personal representative for a period of three months and then expire. The three months period may be extended at the Local Authority's discretion.

If you require any further information please contact Environmental Services Health and Safety Section.

Contact Details:

E-mail: environmental.services@tendringdc.gov.uk
Address: Environmental Services, Council Offices, Thorpe Road, Weeley,
Essex, CO16 9AJ
Telephone: 01255 686767