BETA NOPS: What Should British Competition Yards Check?
By the SportHorses.co.uk editorial team
BETA NOPS is a useful starting point when checking a competition horse’s feed, but it should sit alongside careful storage, batch records and separate medication equipment. For a British buyer or yard manager, the practical question is not simply which bag to order: it is whether the feeding routine can be explained and traced. BETA’s feed-safety guidance describes a risk-management scheme covering the supply chain.
Use the quieter moments between outings to review that routine, particularly before moving a horse to a new yard. The following is a practical reading of published guidance, not a substitute for competition rules. The BETA and British Equestrian pages cited below show no publication date; confirm scheme membership and any competition-specific requirements directly before relying on them.
What does BETA NOPS actually tell you about a feed?
It tells you about a company’s contamination controls, rather than whether a ration suits your individual horse. BETA describes its code as covering risk assessment through sourcing, storage, transport and processing, with raw-material supplier audits and staff training. NOPS refers to natural and other prohibited substances: contamination can originate in ingredients or arise inadvertently during processing. See BETA’s explanation of the scheme.
BETA’s guidance makes a particularly useful distinction for buyers: having a product made in an accredited manufacturing plant does not mean the company marketing it is itself NOPS accredited. Its page directs readers to a company webchecker. A claim about the factory therefore deserves a different follow-up question from a claim about the business selling the tub. BETA explains that distinction here.
Nor should the logo be read as an absolute guarantee. In its own explanation, Saracen Horse Feeds describes the scheme as a risk-assessment-based approach and explicitly says it is not a guarantee. That is a sensible limit to keep in mind when assessing any reassurance about contamination. Read Saracen’s account.
Check the supply chain, then check the scoop.
That is the through-line for a useful yard audit: purchasing decisions and daily handling need to support one another.
What should you ask before ordering feed or supplements?
Ask who markets the product, how its scheme status can be checked and how you will retain its identity after opening. These are practical purchasing questions, not a nutritional prescription. For advice on whether the horse needs a product at all, take the full ration and workload to your vet or an appropriately qualified equine nutritionist.
Use this decoder when comparing a supplier’s answer with the evidence available:
| What you are told | What to ask next |
|---|---|
| “Made in an accredited factory” | Is the company marketing it a scheme member? |
| “We use this throughout the yard” | Which exact product and batch does this horse receive? |
| “It is only a supplement” | What is its purpose, and where is its use recorded? |
| “The feed is tipped into a bin” | Can the original packaging and batch still be matched to it? |
The distinction in the first row comes from BETA’s feed-safety page; the remaining rows are suggested questions for your own audit. They are designed to turn a reassuring conversation into a feeding history someone else could understand.
British Equestrian’s undated clean-sport guidance recommends trusted suppliers, correctly stored products and keeping samples of hay, feed and supplements together with corresponding batch numbers. It also warns that supplements have been linked to contamination. Do not treat a small tub as too insignificant to include in your review. British Equestrian sets out those precautions.
How should a British yard organise its feed room?
Start by making ordinary feeding and medication handling visibly separate. British Equestrian advises careful feed storage and clean containers, and strongly advises separate, clearly labelled buckets for in-feed medication. It says medication stirrers must also be kept separately and clearly labelled for this use only. Its guidance notes that traces of medication can remain despite washing. Read its feed-room and medication advice.
For a practical walkthrough, ask the person preparing feeds to show you:
- Where unopened bags and opened products are stored.
- How the horse’s ration is identified when another person covers the shift.
- Where packaging, batch details and retained samples are kept.
- Which buckets and stirrers are reserved for medication.
- Who records a new supplement or a change of product.
- How instructions reach weekend and holiday staff.
This is a suggested management checklist, not a prescribed record format. Keep it simple enough that the person doing the evening feeds can follow it without interpreting several conflicting notes.
The audit should extend beyond the bin lids. British Equestrian says medication packaging must be sealed shut and kept in a locked cupboard. It also advises marking medication with the intended horse’s name and says to always add and mix medication away from feed preparation for other horses. It also warns against allowing a horse to drink from a tea or coffee cup. Its guidance explains these contamination routes.
For owners paying for full livery, put responsibilities into the wider conversation about what to agree with a livery yard. Ask who purchases products, who authorises changes and who keeps the records, rather than assuming those jobs belong to the same person.
What should change when you buy or move a competition horse?
Arrange a feeding handover as deliberately as the transport handover. Ask the seller for the exact products being fed, the quantities used, the routine and details of supplements or veterinary treatment to discuss with your own vet. Request photographs of packaging rather than relying on a remembered description such as “the conditioning cubes”.
Separate what is verifiable from what remains judgement. Packaging, batch details and written instructions are evidence of what has been supplied or recorded; they do not establish that the ration is right for the horse’s next workload. Likewise, an orderly feed room is encouraging, but it is not proof that every historical feed was handled correctly.
Make the feeding history part of your preparation for the pre-purchase veterinary examination. It is a useful question list to take into that conversation, not a replacement for the examination or an independent assessment of suitability.
What are the common questions about NOPS and clean sport?
Does NOPS mean contamination is impossible?
No. Saracen Horse Feeds explicitly describes the scheme as risk-based rather than a guarantee. Use it as part of your checks, not as a reason to stop checking handling and records. Source: Saracen.
Should I retain details for supplements as well as feed?
Yes. British Equestrian’s guidance includes supplements in its advice to retain samples and corresponding batch numbers. Ask the organisation or supplier for practical sampling advice if you are unsure how to implement it. Source: British Equestrian.
Can I use the ordinary feed bucket to give medication?
British Equestrian strongly advises separate, clearly labelled buckets for in-feed medication because residues may remain after washing. It says medication stirrers must also be kept separately and clearly labelled for this use only. Build that separation into the routine before treatment is needed. Source: British Equestrian.
Before your next viewing, add a feeding handover to your buyer’s question list. A clear account of what the horse receives, who prepares it and where the records live is more useful than another confident assurance.
