Coronavirus Pandemic Archives

Here at Horse Scout, we aim to keep you informed with all of the latest updates regarding the Coronavirus and its affect on equestrian sport.

We hope that by doing so, our readers can feel reassured that they are meeting the requirements and guidelines set out by the Government.

Following the statement from the Government on the 10th May, allowing persons to meet with one person outside of their household, as well as relaxing the travel to exercise restrictions, the British Equestrian Federation issued a statement on the 12th May reviewing their stance on riding. The advice still remains to not take any unnecessary risks in order to continue to ease the burden on the NHS.

The BEF have stated that instructors are able to teach on a one-to-one basis as long as social distancing and can be maintained and riders are allowed to transport their horses to a venue for training purposes.

‘Riders are now permitted to transport horses to a venue for an individual lesson or facility hire outdoors. They may meet with one other from outside their household, which may be a coach or other participant, all with the proviso that the appropriate social distancing and hygiene practices are in place. Those involved in travelling to or from a venue must all be from the same household. Venues should conduct full risk assessments and ensure that the required public health, hygiene and social distancing measures are implemented effectively.’

The British Equestrian Federation.

Following guidance from The Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS) the British Equestrian Federation released the following statement on the 15th May.

BEF COVID-19 update 15/05/20

The Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS) issued further guidance on 13th May regarding outdoor facilities, as a follow-on from the government’s revised policy on exercise. This advice permits venues that provide outdoor sports and physical activities to reopen. At present, this applies to facilities in England, but we’re expecting an update from Wales shortly.

For the equestrian industry, this includes riding centres, training facilities and venues, cross-country courses, farm rides and the like. Those involved with the facilities should feel adequately prepared to reopen and be confident that they can do so safely for their participants and staff.

Requirements for opening include:

Any activity should fully align with government guidance regarding public health, social distancing and hygiene.
All attendees can maintain the social distancing standard of two metres
Good hygiene practice is implemented throughout opening, including hand washing facilities and/or hand sanitiser stations, and regular cleaning.
Anyone involved who is symptomatic or suspects they have been exposed to the virus does not take part and remains at home.
Participants should be individuals, members of the same household, or two from different households with social distancing at all times. Any coaching activity must be on a one-to-one basis.
Organisations/venues should publish an action plan detailing their plans to re-open safely and how they’re managing risk.
Organisations/venues should be flexible and able to quickly adapt to any changes in government guidelines.
Car/lorry parking should be conducted to allow adequate social distancing.
Booking and payment should be done online or over the phone to reduce contact.
Indoor areas should remain closed except for access to outdoor facilities and/or toilets.
Food and drink outlets should only operate on a take-away basis.

Participants should make use of facilities individually, with members of their own household or with one person from an additional household, provided that social distancing is maintained. This could be a coach, trainer or additional participant.

Horses can be transported to venues freely, but anyone involved in helping with the travelling must be from the same household only. This also applies when travelling by car. Where participants are under-18, a parent or guardian may be present for one to one training sessions for safeguarding purposes, but must adhere to social distancing and hygiene requirements. Read more on the government’s guidance for the public on returning to outdoor sport and recreation.

British Equestrian advises any operators looking to open their premises to read the full guidance available:

GOV.UK – guidance for providers of outdoor facilities.
Sport & Recreation Alliance facilities guidance.
Sport England facilities guidance.

It is important to stress that this is an ever changing situation and is constantly under review in line with the most recent Government guidelines.

Here at Horse Scout, we will continue to bring you any relevant updates as they happen so that you can be assured that you are adhering to the most up-to-date advice.

The Horse Scout team hope that these guidelines can be met by all, not only the equestrian community so that we can continue to safely return to some form of normality in the near future.

It is vital at this stage of the pandemic that we all do our bit to stay alert, protect the NHS and save lives.

It is without question that these are unprecedented times for the whole of society, not to mention the equestrian community. It is increasingly difficult to get clear guidelines when the situation is constantly evolving and changing. So many equestrians are left with questions regarding what we can or can’t do with our horses during the Coronavirus pandemic. Here at Horse Scout, the CEO Lucienne Elms and all the team will endeavour to keep you as updated as possible with this ever-changing series of events.

On the 18th March, the British Equestrian Federation (BEF) called to cease all organised equestrian activity which is now more important then ever with the latest government measures to cease all bar essential travel, moving livery yards, taking your horses schooling or to clinics is NOT essential travel, however transporting to the vets for emergency care is allowed.

As most will already be aware following recent government advice, British Dressage, British Show Jumping and British Eventing have taken the responsible action to reduce the risk of the virus spreading by cancelling all competitions. This will be for a four week period to begin with however, this will of course be monitored and possibly prolonged if needs be. It is vital that the equestrian community takes the necessary precautions to protect both themselves and others.

Following the Government directive last night (Monday 23rd March – 8.30pm) to cease all bar essential travel, the British Horse Society released the following statement this morning (Tuesday 24th March):

“Horse welfare is critical and grooms or the sole carer for a horse should travel to provide care for horses. Where horses are kept in livery the BHS advises that horse owners respect the protocol put in place by the yard owner or manager and work as a team to agree a care plan for your horse(s).

We are getting a lot of questions in relation to riding your horse, for which there are no specific government guidelines at present. We advise that it is not appropriate to put unnecessary pressure on the emergency services and everyone should make their own individual decision as to whether riding is necessary at this time.

The health and welfare of your horse is your priority. If you have any concerns please contact your vet, yard manager or the BHS and we will do our best to assist you.”

Current advice for horse owners.

If you have your horse on DIY livery, you are essentially renting a stable and field from the yard, you are therefore the sole care provider for the animal and can visit the yard to care for him as you would do normally whilst ensuring social distancing and good hygiene. It is possible that if the pandemic develops, some larger yards may provide a rota of allocated time slots for individuals to go up and care for their horses to minimise contact. It is important for yards to keep owners updated with what restrictions they will have in place and it is crucial that owners respect their yards protocol.

It is also advised that owners have a back-up plan in place should they be unable to attend their horse for some reason. These measures would include, writing a care plan for each horse so that others would know exactly how to care for your horse in your absence, ensure that you have sufficient supplies in the sense of feed, bedding etc (without panic buying) and keeping in touch with other liveries and yard owners.

Download a copy of the Horse Scout Emergency Horse Care Notes here.

For full and part livery owners, it may well be that your yard is temporarily closed to ensure minimal contact. In this instance, the grooms will be the horses primary carers, please do respect that this may well be an increasingly busy and stressful time for them. Protocol for individual yards may vary so regular communication between yard and owners is very important at this time.

Should you be riding?

There are currently no specific guidelines regarding whether you should be riding your horse, but both the BHS and the British Equestrian Federation have advised for you to take the relevant care should you decide to ride at this time. It may be that you avoid riding a fresh youngster, avoid hacking on busy roads, or any activities that may increase the risk of you injuring yourself. It is vital that we support our NHS at this time and follow the BEF advice by not participating in any organised activity including traveling your horse for lessons or schooling, having a coach to your yard, having a lesson at a riding centre and riding in large groups. Please do remember that this is only a temporary measure, if we are more careful now it will benefit us and the wider community in the long-term.

Current advice for yards / grooms / freelancers.

Employers and yard owners have a duty of care to their staff and liveries, it is important to encourage all staff and owners to follow the governments advice regarding biosecurity. It is advisable to have sufficient access to hand washing facilities and where possible, supply hand sanitiser on the premises, posters are available online to display around the yard to encourage hand washing.

It is important to come up with a contingency plan should any member of staff need to self-isolate, this may include looking into freelance cover or training other staff members to be able to cover others work. Should a member of staff become ill / need to self-isolate, the government has announced that it will fund two weeks statutory sick pay. Boris Johnson has announced measures to help those who have been financially impacted by the virus. View the latest government advice here.

The Equestrian Employers Association has released some helpful advice which can be found using the following link – https://equestrianemployers.org.uk/news/433/advice-for-employers-on-coronavirus.

There is no doubt this is a worrying time for freelancers due to not being entitled to Statutory Sick pay but there may be an increasing amount of work available from yards with staff off work due to the virus. Horse Scout recommend the use of the networking side of the website to reach out to local yards near yourself on the Horse Scout yards page to let them know that you are available to help should they need it. Equally, if you haven’t already, it may be useful to create a freelance groom profile for free on Horsescout.com so that yard owners are able to find you.

The government have released measures to help ease financial pressures for freelancers including the possibility for Universal credit and help if you can’t pay your Tax bill. Further help regarding this can be found on the official government site here.

Helpful Links:

Gov.uk: COVID-19: support for businesses

GOV.UK: COVID-19: guidance for employees

HM Treasury: How to access government financial support if you or your business has been affected by COVID-19

National Federation of Self Employed and Small Businesses

We hope that by providing you with as much relevant information as possible, you can feel assured to take the necessary precautions during this pandemic.

Most importantly stay safe.