St Albans City & District ran a practical course in October 2007 at Hounds Wood Gate Livery Yard in Radlett, St Albans in conjunction with KEITS and the HSE which covered different areas of health and safety at livery yards.

Do you have more than 5 employees? If yes you should have a health and safety policy.

http://www.hse.gov.uk/smallbusinesses/must/policy.htm

Do you have young workers under 18? Are they helpers? If the answer is yes you need to complete risk assessments on the activities they do in your business.

• http://www.hse.gov.uk/pubns/raindex.htm
• http://www.hse.gov.uk/youngpeople/risks/

• Slips and trips
• Manual handling
• COSHH (chemicals)
• Workplace transport
• Working at heights

Do you have an accident book?

http://www.hsebooks.com/Books/

Do you know about the need for reporting types of accidents under RIDDOR? Do your employees know about reporting accidents.

http://www.hse.gov.uk/riddor/

If members of the public go to hospital as the result of an accident for example falling off a horse it needs to be reported to your local authority on a F2508 form.

https://www.hse.gov.uk/forms/incident/f2508.pdf

Do you have a current electrical safety certificate completed by a competent person?

http://www.hse.gov.uk/electricity/

How do I know if my electrical equipment is safe?

You can find out if your electrical equipment is safe by carrying out suitable checks, such as inspection and/or testing. The level of inspection and/or testing should depend upon the risks. A simple visual inspection is likely to be sufficient for equipment used in a clean dry environment. In addition, equipment that is more likely to become damaged or is operated in a harsh environment, is likely to require more demanding electrical tests.

Read the free downloadable HSE leaflet Electrical Safety and You or select another publication from the Information web page.

Do you use ATVs to harrow the school or ménage? Do you wear a hat? A Riding hat of BS EN 1384 standard would provide adequate protection.

http://www.hse.gov.uk/pubns/afag701.pdf

http://www.hse.gov.uk/pubns/ais33.pdf

Are your employees trained to drive at ATV? Find details of courses below

http://www.lantra.co.uk/

All premises require a fire risk assessment under the Fire safety Order 2005 find information and link to the website below.

http://www.communities.gov.uk/publications/fire/firesafetyrisk2

Do you have a trained first aider or appointed persons at your premises?

http://www.hse.gov.uk/firstaid/faqs.htm

Do you have a first aid kit? Do you have the postcode and address displayed?

Did you know in the future Livery yards may be licensed? See below the current information from DEFRA

Livery yards

If there is a welfare concern at a BHS registered livery yard, who will intervene?
It is premature to offer a definitive answer. No date has been fixed for bringing forward regulations relating to livery yards. We do not know at this stage whether or not the BHS will undertake regulatory work and clearly this is a question that we will need to discuss at the time with key stakeholders.

Who will be responsible if there is a concern of poor welfare at a livery yard – yard owner or horse owner?

Our initial thinking is that there should be a written agreement between yard owner and each horse owner – this would make clear who is responsible for what.

Do livery yards really need to be inspected by a veterinary surgeon? There aren’t many relevantly qualified vets.

The regulations have not yet been finalised, although we do feel it desirable that a vet is involved in the inspection process. It is our intention to further discuss the provision of veterinary support with the professional veterinary associations.

Why has the proposed date for the introduction of a livery yard licensing scheme been put back?

MPs and peers in Parliament focused on welfare issues elsewhere, so our limited resources are now prioritised on work that was considered more urgent.

What types of livery yard will be covered? Will the scheme cover horse racing yards?

Livery is a broad spectrum which could include any responsibility for the horses of others for payment. However, horse racing yards have indicated that they would prefer their own system of self-regulation. This seems reasonable and will need to be discussed with the industry and other key stakeholders.

Will BHS approved Riding Schools be exempt for a Riding Schools licence?

The present system of licensing which involves local authority inspectors and veterinary surgeons appears to work fairly well. We do not anticipate a need to involve other agencies in the licensing process.

Up to date guidance can be found at NEWC

If you require further information please contact c.noble@stalbans.gov.uk