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.
Listed below will find guidance and downloads for veterinary cover, vaccinations and equine welfare below, further details can be found in the Health & Safety Rule Book.
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 (download below). 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.
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. It is therefore an offence not only to cause suffering or ill-treatment, but also to fail to take adequate measures to protect the animal’s welfare even if it is not yet suffering. The full policy can be downloaded below.
BHS Guidance
The BHS have a variety of welfare support guidance available to view on their website. This guidance is supported by The Pony Club, and should be read in conjunction to the Pony Club’s Welfare Policy.
