Riding establishment licence

Hiring of horses

You need a licence if you provide horses for hire as part of a business for either or both of the following:

  • riding 
  • instruction in riding.

This includes:

  • riding schools
  • those that hire out horses for trekking
  • loan horses or pony parties (when the horses are being ridden)
  • hunter hirelings
  • polo or polocrosse instruction
  • pony and donkey hire.

How to apply

To apply for a licence for the hiring of horses, complete our online form and pay the correct fee.

You are strongly advised to read the guidance notes.

Fees

There are 2 parts to the fee. 

Part A - for processing your application, including any appropriate checks.

Hiring of horses fees are:

  • £310 (£320 from 1 April 2024) plus vet fees for 1 to 30 horses on the premises
  • £386 (£400 from 1 April 2024) plus vet fees for 31 or more horses on the premises.

Part B - an additional fee if you’re successful in being granted a licence, which depends on the risk rating your establishment receives during its inspection.

This fee will be:

  • £231 (£240 from 1 April 2024) if you receive a 1 or 2 star
  • £350 (£370 from 1 April 2024) if you receive a 3 or 4 star
  • £502 (£530 from 1 April 2024) if you receive a 5 star.

We offer a pre-application advice service if you need advice and guidance on applying for a licence. The fee for this service is £109 (£115 from 1 April 2024). If pre-application advice leads to a licence application, the Part A application fee will be reduced by £30.

To book a pre-application advice meeting please email animal.licensing@medway.gov.uk.

Apply and pay the fee

You'll need the following information to apply for a licence:

  • your details, including your name and relationship to the business
  • the applicants’ details (if different), including name, contact information and address
  • emergency keyholder details
  • veterinary practice details
  • business and premises details, including operating procedures
  • staff training details.

You'll also need to tell us about:

  • waste and emergency response agreements
  • isolation plans
  • information about the prevention and control of infectious disease
  • stalls and boxes
  • public liability insurance and planning.

Apply for a hiring of horses licence

After you apply

Your application will then be reviewed, and we’ll email a payment request form to you to complete online.

Once you have paid the Part A fee and we have received your supporting documentation and procedures, we'll contact you to arrange an inspection of the premises by one of our licensing officers and an independent vet.

After the inspection, if successful, you'll get a risk rating of either 1, 2, 3, 4 or 5 stars. This will determine how long your licence will last for.

To complete your application and receive your licence, you'll need to pay the hourly rate for the vet, where necessary, and your Part B fee. The licence details will also be published in Medway Council’s online Animal Licensing Register.

For more information, you can download our guidance notes.

Inspection reports

You can download and begin to complete the inspection report that will be used by our visiting officers. This will help to speed up the inspection.

You can download the inspection report for hiring out horses.

Renewing a licence

If you already have an animal licence, you'll need to renew at least 10 weeks before your existing licence expires.

You can use our online form to renew your licence.

Tell us about a change to your existing licence

If you make any changes to the list of horses being used under your licence, you will need to complete a new horse form.

You will also need to provide evidence that a vet has deemed any new horses fit for the purpose for which they will be used. You'll need to pay a £40 (£42 from 1 April 2024) licence amendment fee. 

For more advice, email animal.licensing@medway.gov.uk.