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Horses on farms or in stables and livery yards are protected by the Animal Welfare Act.

If you own or are responsible for a horse, you have a duty to look after its basic welfare by:

• providing it with a suitable place to live
• giving it a suitable diet
• protecting it from pain, injury, suffering and disease
• making sure it can behave normally and naturally
• keeping records of all medical treatment
• keeping up to date with a vaccination programme (under the control and advice of a vet)
• registering it with a veterinary practice and a registered farrier

Your horse must also have a valid passport and a microchip.

There are additional welfare guides for horses used for agricultural purposes or for producing pharmaceutical products.

When you dispose of horse manure, it鈥檚 waste unless all of the following apply:

• it is used as soil fertiliser
• it is used lawfully for spreading on clearly identified pieces of agricultural land
• it is only stored to be used for spreading on agricultural land

You must not spread horse manure as soil fertiliser near water. It can be a health hazard and could harm the environment. You鈥檒l need to follow rules for both:

• the pollution of groundwater

You must not put temporary piles of horse manure where there is risk of it draining:

• to nearby drains in fields
• within 10 metres of a watercourse, for example a stream or river
• within 50 metres from a spring, well or borehole that supplies water for people to drink

Getting rid of solid waste

Solid waste includes things like:

• contaminated bedding
• food containers
• horse manure (if not used as soil fertiliser)
• empty pesticide and other chemical containers
• plastics such as silage wrap, bags and sheets
• tyres, batteries, clinical waste, old machinery and oil

Contact your local authority or the Environment Agency for information on how to get rid of solid waste.

Water and liquid waste

To prevent pollution, you must not allow uncontrolled draining from:

• dirty yards
• washing out of stables
• soaking hay
• exercise pools

You must store liquid waste in a waterproof container (such as an impermeable lagoon or a sealed effluent tank). It can then be removed or disposed of at a permitted facility or land spread.

You must get permission from your local water company to dispose of liquid waste to the sewer or a controlled water source.

You must leave water from an exercise pool to stand for 7 days after chlorination or other chemical treatment before disposing of it.

Clinical waste

Clinical waste must be treated as hazardous waste and collected separately. This includes:

• infected linen
• bandaging
• used syringes
• empty medicine containers

Biodegradable waste

Some biodegradable waste can be composted at a composting plant registered with the Environment Agency. You may need an environmental permit for on-site composting of some materials.

At a livery yard, horses are housed and cared for in return for payment, but do not belong to the owner of the yard.

Depending on the type of livery, you may share responsibility for the care of your horse with the owner.

You should make sure the yard has a process in place for parasite control.

You should not transport a horse in a way that may cause it harm or distress. There are welfare regulations for transporting live animals.

You must keep your horse passport with your horse, pony or donkey whenever it is transported.

There are other rules you must follow if you鈥檙e importing or exporting an animal, even if you鈥檙e only transporting them overseas temporarily.

If a horse dies or has to be put down on your property, you will have to arrange its disposal as 鈥榝allen stock鈥� under animal by-products (ABPs) controls.

This includes:

• entire animal bodies
• parts of animals
• products of animal origin
• other products obtained from animals that are not for human consumption

You must deal with ABPs promptly to protect people, animals and the environment. In most cases, this will mean arranging for them to be taken away to approved premises, like:

• rendering plants
• incinerators
• collection centres
• storage plants

Your local council can provide a list of approved premises for the disposal of ABPs.

The is a not-for-profit scheme which helps farmers and animal owners to follow the law on disposing of fallen stock.

Pet horses

If your horse was a pet, you may be able to bury your animal. You should contact your local animal health office or national agricultural department for advice.

If you think that a horse has a notifiable disease

A 鈥榥otifiable disease鈥� is a type of animal illness which you must report, even if you only suspect an animal might have it.

If you think that a horse has a notifiable disease, immediately contact your local animal health office or national agricultural department.

Contact your local Animal Health Office or national agricultural department

If you live in England

Call the Defra Rural Services Helpline and choose the relevant option for the Animal Plant Health Authority (APHA).

If you live in Wales

Contact the Animal and Plant Health Agency (APHA).

You can choose to hear the telephone message in English or Welsh.

If you live in Scotland

Contact your local Field Services office.

If you live in Northern Ireland

Contact your local .