Equine Welfare | The Pony Club UK

Equine Welfare

Introduction

The Pony Club takes the health & welfare of horses and ponies extremely seriously. We focus on the highest standards of equine welfare and veterinary care.

To find out more please refer to the Health and Safety Rulebook 2024 linked here. Alternatively, there are multiple guidance documents surrounding this area located on the Resource Hub.

 

Equine Welfare Policy

Under the Animal Welfare Acts, every owner or person responsible for an animal has a duty of care to ensure the animal’s well-being. The full policy is under review and will be made available soon.

Veterinary

For all Pony Club activities the organiser must undertake a risk assessment to determine the levels of veterinary cover required. This would be based on the nature of the event, the location and complexity of the site, the number of Members attending with their horses and other significant factors, to define if they need to have a Veterinary Surgeon present, or it is sufficient to use “on call” arrangements.

The recommended level of cover for Pony Club activities are given in Appendix A2 – Veterinary Cover Matrix, link to the right.  However, as a result of the risk assessment, the cover for Pony Club activities may be amended to suit the size and complexity of the venue.

British Equestrian Equine Health Week

Started in 2022, British Equestrian Launched Equine Health Week taking place in November. The purpose of the week is to provide educational information direct from experts and useful downloads. Find out more about 2024 Equine Health week click on the link below.

Equine Welfare Contacts

If you have any queries or need more information then please see the contact details to the right.

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Ellie Phillips

Health and Safety Officer