Livery Yards Survey
Livery yards are very popular with people who are cannot keep their horses and ponies at home. This large service industry has no records of the number of yards there are in the UK, of their welfare standards, nor of how many horses are kept at livery. Last Thursday a conglomerate of equestrian organisations launched a survey to find out more about livery yards.
A Working Party has been set up to carry out some research into UK livery yards in order to become better informed about standards. The group consists of representatives of the following organisations:
The British Equine Veterinary Association (BEVA)
World Horse Welfare
The British Horse Society (BHS)
Royal Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (RSPCA)
Association of British Riding Schools (ABRS)
South Essex Insurance Brokers (SEIB)
(which currently insures a total of 8,562 DIY and livery stables)
The Local Authorities Coordinators of Regulatory Services (LACORS)
The Chartered Institute of Environmental Health (CIEH)
The Working Party intends asking the general public about their local livery yard to obtain information about the number of yards and get a general picture of the range and standard of accommodation and services that livery yards offer.
Horse owners, grooms, yard owners, veterinary surgeons, farriers and other equine professionals are invited to complete the online survey at www.liveryyardsurvey.co.uk.
Visitors to the site will be able to complete the survey confidentially and the results will be reviewed in September 2008.
BEVA Chairman Elect, equine veterinary surgeon (and Chair of the working party), Chris House commented:
"We are in the early stages of discussions about licensing Britain's livery yard system to ensure better welfare standards for horses kept at livery. However, there is currently a void of information about these yards. Working Party members agreed that it was necessary to survey those involved with this important industry to gather the facts about standards before any decisions are made."