Hiring out horses

1. The licence

You must have a licence if you run a business that hires out horses for riding or riding lessons.

This includes:

• hiring out horses
• trekking
• loan horses
• pony parties (only where the ponies are ridden)
• hunter hirelings
• polo/polocrosse instruction and pony hire
• pony and donkey rides

If you hire out horses which are not ridden, you may need an animal exhibition licence.

Before making an application you should read through the DEFRA guidance notes below. It provides general and specific licence conditions that are attached to the licence and information on how to meet each required standard.

• Guidance notes for hiring out horses 2018 (PDF 359Kb)

How to apply

To apply for a licence you must read the Conditions for hiring our horses (PDF116Kb) before you download and complete the form below:

There is an application fee which you must be pay when you make your application. You can find full details on our fees page.

How to pay

You can send a cheque for the cost of the licence enclosed with your application form to:

Licensing Team
Environmental Health and Trading Standards
Fred Perry House
Edward Street
Stockport
SK1 3XE

Or you can email your application to licensing@stockport.gov.uk.

If you have an invoice you can call 0161 474 4181 and ask for business support.

The inspection

Before we grant a licence, we’ll carry out an inspection at your premises to make sure you meet the current requirements. Officers may be accompanied by a vet. Where the inspection does not meet the current requirements, you’ll be issued with a compliance notice and a revisit will be carried out. Where the visit does meet the requirements, we’ll determine the application and usually issue a licence with a star rating of up to 5 stars and 3 years in length.