Running a Riding School in England: A Licensing Checklist

If you hire out horses for riding or give riding instruction as a commercial business in England, establish whether you need an animal activity licence from the local authority that covers the premises. The practical task is not simply an application: it is matching the activity, horses, records, people and premises to the licensing framework before clients arrive. This guide is confined to the English regulations and guidance cited here. Defra’s hiring-out-horses guidance is the starting point.

Does your English riding business need a licence?

Defra’s statutory guidance is for local authority inspectors in England and says that activities involving hiring out horses for riding, or instruction in riding, need a licence when carried out as a commercial business. It identifies riding schools, loan horses, hunter hirelings, pony and donkey rides, polo instruction and ridden pony parties as examples that may fall within scope. The Animal Welfare (Licensing of Activities Involving Animals) (England) Regulations 2018 list hiring out horses as a licensable activity and contain a separate schedule of specific conditions for it.

The word “business” matters. The guidance directs inspectors to consider whether the operator makes a sale or acts to make a profit, earns a commission or fee, and the HMRC badges of trade. It also gives examples of activities that do not require a licence, including occasional lending where there is no profit and no intention to make a profit. Do not turn that summary into a verdict on your own arrangement: ask the relevant local authority how it views the facts of your operation. Defra’s guidance says the activity and business test both need consideration.

For a buyer taking on an established school or a seller marketing one, this is a material due-diligence question. The business description, actual customer offer and licence should tell the same story. A prospective owner should not assume that a familiar label such as “private yard”, “loan scheme” or “instruction” settles the point.

Which local authority should you approach?

The relevant authority is the one covering the premises where most of the licensable activity takes place. Defra describes the route as an application and fee, appointment of an inspector, a site visit and report, local-authority review, then a decision to grant or refuse; an applicant may appeal a refusal to the First-tier Tribunal. That sequence is set out in the licensing-process guidance.

Start with the council rather than a generic checklist found online. Ask for its application form, local fee information and the evidence it expects. The national process guidance says each facility has its own licence and star rating, so an operator working from more than one site should make the premises question an early conversation with the authority. It also says local authorities grant licences to an individual operator. Defra’s process guidance should be read alongside the council’s instructions.

What should be ready before the inspection?

Build a working file that shows how the yard operates, then check it against the general and horse-specific licence conditions. The Regulations contain general conditions covering licence display, records, use and number of animals, staffing, suitable environment and diet, behaviour and training, handling, protection from pain, suffering, injury and disease, and emergencies. They also contain hiring-out-horses conditions on eligibility, supervision, environment, diet, health protection and equipment. The Regulations’ contents are a useful map; read the operative text and inspector guidance before relying on a single heading.

A practical pre-application list is:

• an inventory of every horse used in the activity, its identity details and the work it is asked to do;
• routines for supervision, matching horses to riders, tack checks, turnout, feeding, exercise and emergencies;
• accessible records that remain legible and available for inspection;
• evidence of the people responsible for care and instruction, including cover arrangements;
• a site walk-through of arenas, stabling, boundaries, tack, client routes and public-facing information; and
• a plan for notifying the authority when the list of working horses changes.

That list is a preparation aid, not a substitute for the conditions. Defra says the licence must state the number of horses permitted at the premises, and that the authority records each horse’s name, unique equine life number and microchip number. It says licence holders must notify the authority of changes to the horses used and provide evidence that a vet has found a new horse fit for its intended purpose; the authority then varies the licence. The hiring-out-horses guidance provides the detail.

How do inspections and star ratings affect planning?

For hiring out horses, Defra says a listed vet must be appointed for the initial, renewal and annual inspections. It also says the local authority must carry out one unannounced inspection during the licence term under the risk-scoring approach. Treat records and routines as living systems, therefore, not paperwork prepared only for a first visit. Defra’s horse-hiring guidance explains those inspection expectations.

The guidance distinguishes minimum standards from higher standards. Businesses meeting the higher-standard route receive a four- or five-star rating; it says this requires all required higher standards and at least half of the optional higher standards. A qualifying business can receive a licence valid for two or three years rather than one year. These are operational consequences, not a marketing badge to claim before assessment. Defra’s guidance explains the rating route.

What should a buyer or seller check at handover?

For a purchase, lease or management handover, request the current licence, its conditions, the horse list, inspection correspondence and the records that support ordinary operation. Compare them with what is being sold: the horses, client services, sites and staff. If the business is changing hands or changing its offer, speak to the council before treating existing paperwork as sufficient. Defra says applicants and licence holders must keep the licence up to date with the relevant authority. The process guidance is a useful prompt for that discussion.

For individual-horse purchase checks, see our guide to passport checks before buying. For broader market browsing, return to the Sporthorses UK blog. The licensing file is not a replacement for assessing each horse’s suitability, soundness or welfare; it is evidence about how a commercial operation is organised.

FAQ

Is every paid lesson caught by the rules? The guidance asks whether hiring out horses or instruction is carried on as a business. Seek a view from the local authority on your own setup. Defra’s guidance sets out factors for inspectors to consider.

Can existing paperwork be ignored while a sale completes? Do not make that assumption. Confirm the position with the council and make licensing documents part of the transaction review.

What area does this checklist cover? It addresses the English regulations and English local-authority guidance cited in this article.