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This guide is for anyone who keeps horses for either agricultural or non agricultural business purposes such as livery stables. A horse is considered an agricultural animal if it is:

• used to farm agricultural land

• farmed for meat or hides

For general advice on owning or looking after a horse, read guidance on keeping horses.

Owning a livery yard

At a livery yard, horses are housed and cared for in return for payment or reward but are not the property of the livery yard owner.

If you own a livery yard you must follow the code of practice for the welfare of the horses you look after. You and your staff should be familiar with the .

You can apply to become a certified or approved livery yard through industry groups such as or .

Types of livery

There are different levels of responsibility for livery services:

• full livery - the livery or yard manager is responsible for the care of the horse

• part livery - the owner and the livery provider share the management and care of the horse

• DIY livery - the horse owner is responsible for the care and management of the horse

• working livery - the livery provider takes part payment and is allowed to use the horse - if this involves hiring out the horse the livery provider needs a licence

• grass livery - the livery does not provide housing for your horse

Land use and planning for livery stables

Your local planning authority deals with planning applications for livery stables.

You can .

Fly-grazing

It鈥檚 illegal to graze or abandon horses on public and private land. This is known as 鈥榝ly grazing鈥�.

If you find fly-grazed horses on your land, you must report it to police within 24 hours. If the owner does not claim the horse within 4 days, you can choose to:

• sell through a private sale
• sell at a market or public auction
• gift or rehome

Read the National Equine and Welfare Council鈥檚 .

Horse manure and other types of waste

Read guidance on dealing with horse waste.

Using exercise pools

If you use an exercise pool, you must:

• not spread water used to backwash filters on land

• leave exercise pool water to stand for 7 days after chlorination or other chemical treatment before disposing of it

Storing pool chemicals

You must store pool chemicals in a secure area or tank with secondary containment, preferably with a roof. Your store should be on a sealed base, with a surrounding wall that is resistant to chemical attack. There should be no drainage outlet. If chemicals are spilled, contain them and soak them up using absorbent material.

If chemicals enter or might enter surface water drains, contact the Environment Agency immediately.

Horse ID and transporting horses

In England, you must have a passport for each horse that you own. All your horses must be microchipped. Follow passport rules if you鈥檙e importing or exporting a horse or related animal.

Horse welfare during transit

Follow rules on welfare of animals in transport.

Signing horses out of the food chain

Horse passports are used to ensure that horses do not enter the human food chain if they鈥檝e been treated with veterinary medicines harmful to human health. If a vet gives a horse a medicine which is not authorised for food-producing animals, they must sign the relevant section of the passport to exclude the horse from the food chain.

Owners can sign the passport to exclude the horse from the food chain for any other reason.

You should think carefully before signing your animal out of the food chain. Once you鈥檝e signed the passport, you cannot reverse this declaration. It might be more difficult to dispose of your horse when it dies.

Horse diseases

Horses that are imported to the UK for sale and breeding, or that travel from the UK to other countries, may transfer disease.

If you suspect that a horse or other equidae has a notifiable disease you must contact Defra Rural Services immediately.

Failure to do so is an offence.

Notifiable horse diseases

The following horse diseases are notifiable:

• African Horse Sickness (AHS)

• Contagious equine metritis (CEM)

• Dourine

• Equine infectious anaemia

• Equine viral arteritis (EVA)

• Epizootic lymphangitis

• Equine viral encephalomyelitis

• Glanders - including Farcy

• West Nile Virus

Read the .

Most of the diseases listed do not occur in the UK and are considered low risk for the UK equine population.

CEM occurs sporadically in the UK.

EVA and equine infectious anaemia occur worldwide, including mainland Europe, and have been reported in the UK in the past.

West Nile Virus cases in mainland Europe are increasing.

CEM and EVA can affect equine breeding. Read .

Breeding horses

You should consider buying or rehoming a young horse before deciding to breed. You must also consider the foal鈥檚 individual future before breeding from your horse.

Get help

For advice on keeping horses commercially you can contact: