Insurance using horse riding lessons

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Carbonel

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I have a freelance trainer who comes to my house and trains me in my arena. She’s asked if she might use my horse and arena to train another customer of hers. I don’t have a problem with this in theory but I mentioned it to my husband and he’s worried we could be sued if the horse injured this other customer or they were hurt in our arena. I know my instructor has her own freelance insurance and I have BHS gold insurance which has public liability insurance included. Do you think it’s safe for me to let this happen? I don’t get anything out of the arrangement but I do like my instructor so if there’s no risk to me, I would happily help her.
 
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Your husband is spot on.
Whatever disclaimer you, your coach or even her client sign, will be pulled to pieces legally if there were any incident - as this is your arena and your horse the client will be paying to use.

Please don't, to protect yourselves and your home.

Is your arena hired out? Many private arenas are for owners use only, be very careful as your could also have the council investigating.....
 
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teapot

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Using your horse and making money from it - that requires a riding school licence as one assumes she'll be doing it and making more than then trading allowance to do so (no licence required if you're earning less than £1000 a year doing the activity).

No, no, no, no, no and no. SUCH a bad idea, as can guarantee one client will turn into two, and three, and four.
 
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Needtoretire

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ycbm said:
Your instructor is bang out of order to even ask this, it is not something a professional instructor should do.
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As above, your instructor is sourcing a horse to enable her to provide tuition on for financial gain. The premises on which the lesson takes place needs a riding school licence and the horse needs to go through licensing health screening.

Don't even think about allowing the instructor to use your horse on your premises, or your horse on someone else's premises unless there is a current and valid licence in place and the horse is named on the licence.
 
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Carbonel

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Ok thank you. I won’t do it then. Can I ask though, how this differs from having a riding school livery which I’ve done before? I was given a reduced livery rate for allowing the riding school to use my horse for lessons. It’s obviously on their premises, so is that ok, to use my horse for lessons on their property? I assumed their insurance covered it but now I’m wondering if I shouldn’t have done this in the past either.
 
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Carbonel

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Just to clarify though, as I’ve just read some earlier replies - she does have a riding school licence and usually uses her own premises but is unable to for the next few weeks as her lesson horse is unwell. She’s fully insured. And I don’t think she means it to go beyond this one person at all, and is only temporary until her horse is better.
 
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teapot

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Carbonel said:
Ok thank you. I won’t do it then. Can I ask though, how this differs from having a riding school livery which I’ve done before? I was given a reduced livery rate for allowing the riding school to use my horse for lessons. It’s obviously on their premises, so is that ok, to use my horse for lessons on their property? I assumed their insurance covered it but now I’m wondering if I shouldn’t have done this in the past either.
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It's nothing to do with insurance. As you were based at a riding school that would have had the government required, provided by the local council licence, which the riding school would have paid for your horse to be licenced onto, and undergone the required vet checks (or I bloody hope so at least!)
 
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Needtoretire

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Carbonel said:
Ok thank you. I won’t do it then. Can I ask though, how this differs from having a riding school livery which I’ve done before? I was given a reduced livery rate for allowing the riding school to use my horse for lessons. It’s obviously on their premises, so is that ok, to use my horse for lessons on their property? I assumed their insurance covered it but now I’m wondering if I shouldn’t have done this in the past either.
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The riding school was housing your horse on a working livery basis. In return for reduced livery fees your horse was used in the school for lessons. This is very common, however, your horse must have been presented to the licensing inspector and attending vet during the granting of the licence and at mid term licence horse health checks. Hopefully the horse was presented and was listed on the licence. If it wasn't the riding school is trading illegally.
 
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teapot

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Carbonel said:
Just to clarify though, as I’ve just read some earlier replies - she does have a riding school licence and usually uses her own premises but is unable to for the next few weeks as her lesson horse is unwell. She’s fully insured. And I don’t think she means it to go beyond this one person at all, and is only temporary until her horse is better
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Your horse would still need to be licenced to be used for lessons (£25 to do, plus the required vet check etc), and two - I'm not 100% sure a licence can change location, as the paperwork states where the activities are being held. Now, if you were to take your horse to her set up, that's potentially an entirely different question to answer.


Sounds like an odd set up though to go through all the paperwork required and costs to offer lessons on one horse...
 
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Carbonel said:
Just to clarify though, as I’ve just read some earlier replies - she does have a riding school licence and usually uses her own premises but is unable to for the next few weeks as her lesson horse is unwell. She’s fully insured. And I don’t think she means it to go beyond this one person at all, and is only temporary until her horse is better.
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Her riding school licence is granted at the premises only, it is not portable.
 
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SilverLinings

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As above re. the riding school license requirement; the riding instructor should know better than to try to encourage you to break the law by doing this.

The riding instructor's insurance won't cover an accident involving your premises (and it includes them walking to and from the manege on your land, not just whilst in the school). As money is changing hands your horse insurance is also very likely to be invalidated.

It doesn't matter if you aren't being paid, if the instructor is being paid then you are operating a business from your manege which would require change of use planning permission (assuming you don't already run a business from it) and would have a business rates implication. I know you say it will only be a few times, but you just need one person to tell the council/someone who works for the council and you could be in big trouble.

It is really kind of you to consider loaning your horse and manege, but please keep yourself safe and don't agree to this arrangement.

Edited to add a word so that the last sentence makes sense!
 
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Needtoretire

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SilverLinings said:
As above re. the riding school license requirement; the riding instructor should know better than to try to encourage you to break the law by doing this.

The riding instructor's insurance won't cover an accident involving your premises (and it includes them walking to and from the manege on your land, not just whilst in the school). As money is changing hands your horse insurance is also very likely to be invalidated.

It doesn't matter if you aren't being paid, if the instructor is being paid then you are operating a business from your manege which would require change of use planning permission (assuming you don't already run a business from it) and would have a business rates implication. I know you say it will only be a few times, but you just need one person to tell the council/someone who works for the council and you could be in big trouble.

It is really kind of you to consider your horse and manege, but please keep yourself safe and don't agree to this arrangement.
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Sound advice and I will add the most important and potentially the most devastating. If the person paying the instructor for the lesson on your horse comes off or has any incident there will be no insurance in place. A busted collar bone or few bruises will heal, a broken back/neck is life changing and a court case will have a field day with all that facilitated the activity which ultimately caused the injuries.

The most responsible thing the OP can do is advise the licensing authority of the request and identify the instructor and premises. The instructor/riding school licence holder knows full well the request was illegal and was putting the potential rider at massive risk.
 
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