Hiring out horses licence

You need a licence if you hire horses out for riding or provide instruction in riding. Exemptions are listed in the regulations and guidance is available.

Each licence is subject to a set of mandatory general conditions and a set of mandatory specific conditions which are listed in the regulations and guidance.

Premises can be awarded 1, 2, 3, 4 or 5 stars.

Licences can be granted for one, two or three years.

The length of licence issued and the number of stars awarded will be dependent on the outcome of a risk assessment and also the number of additional required higher standards and optional higher standards that are met. This will be assessed during an inspection by Melton Borough Council’s appointed Officer.

Vet Inspections

Premises licensed for this activity will require an inspection by an appointed veterinarian on a number of occasions:

• On grant or renewal in the company of Melton Borough Council's appointed Officer.
• Once annually by the vet. This must be conducted within 12 months from the date of licence issue.
• Where the annual inspection falls in line with the renewal date (dependent on the length of licence in place) the inspection will be conducted in the company of Melton Borough Council's appointed Officer.

You will also be required to pay a separate vet's inspection fee before your licence can be granted. Vets fees are an additional cost and will be invoiced separately.

The licence specific, required higher standards, and optional higher standards, are listed in the Defra guidance documents.

Pre-application advice

We understand that you may be unsure whether your business/activities fall within the scope of the new regulations and as such we are offering a pre-application service. 

If this is something you would like to access then please contact the licensing team to get a questionnaire and return the questionnaire in as much detail as possible so we may determine whether an application is required in your personal circumstances and what the next steps for you would be.

How to apply for a licence

You must submit to us the following:

• A completed application form (the application form is available to download from the downloads panel below.)
• Plan (opens in a new tab) – an overhead view of the premises with dimensions, labelling sleeping and run areas including entrances, fire exits, fire extinguishers or first aid boxes (if applicable). This can be a sketch/line drawing and does not need to be to scale. 
• The application fee

You will need to ensure you have the necessary authorisation under the Planning Acts to operate your business. Please contact the planning team or visit pages on planning permissions for further advice. You can also seek advice from Environmental Health.

Contact details 

Licensing Team: licensing@melton.gov.uk

Planning Team: developmentcontrol@melton.gov.uk