(A) All riding schools or stables as defined herein shall, in addition to other requirements of this chapter, comply with the minimum standards of this section. Failure to meet these standards shall be grounds for the issuance of a citation subjecting the owner to the penalties and fines provided in § 91.999. Facilities shall be subject to inspection by an Animal Control Officer upon his or her request during reasonable hours.
(B) All animals shall be provided with daily food and water, free from contamination. Such food shall be wholesome, palatable, and of sufficient quantity and nutritive value to meet the normal daily requirements for the condition and size of the animal.
(C) All equipment used for riding must properly fit each individual animal.
(D) Shelter. All buildings and sheds used for stabling animals shall be:
(1) Well-lit and ventilated and provide adequate protection from the weather; and
(2) Kept clean and in good repair at all times and manure and urine shall be removed therefrom daily.
(E) Acceptable bedding material must be provided.
(F) Any enclosure where animals are kept shall be graded and raked to keep the surface reasonably dry.
(G) Flies and other insects must be controlled through general sanitation and necessary means.
(H) Animals kept for riding purposes must be in good physical condition.
(I) In riding stables which rent or lend horses to the general public and pony rides, animals exhibiting the following shall be deemed unfit for work:
(1) Sores or abrasions caused or likely to be irritated by the bearing of services, girth, harness, or bridles, unless packing could be utilized.
(2) Serious injury or illness.
(3) Obvious signs of emaciation, malnutrition, lameness or exhaustion.
(J) Animals requiring veterinary care shall not be moved, ridden, or driven, except for the purpose of humane keeping, pasturing, or obtaining medical care.
(K) Animals shall be properly shod and the hooves shall be kept trimmed.
(L) Animals shall be kept clean, particularly in the areas in contact with harness or other tack.
(M) Animals shall not be worked more than two hours without being given a total of 30 minutes rest. The maximum working period for anyone animal shall be ten hours out of every 24 hours.
(N) Animals shall not be worked when the temperature at the workplace reaches or exceeds 95°F. Animals which are on heat stress treatment which has been prescribed by a veterinarian may be worked while under such treatment, as long as a veterinarian is on the premises of the workplace.
(O) No animal shall be over-ridden or driven to result in overheating or exhaustion.
(P) All harnesses and bridles shall be kept cleaned and in good repair.
(Q) No animal shall be made to perform by means of any prod, stick, electrical shock, physical force, or by causing pain or discomfort. Any whip or riding crop must be used so as not to cause injury to the animal.
(R) CAC may order a quarantine on the entire premises where the animals are being stabled or any part thereof or on any particular animal for any of the following reasons:
(1) Excessive parasitism, diagnosed by a veterinarian, which would cause the animal to be unfit to be ridden or driven.
(2) General malnutrition as diagnosed by veterinarian.
(3) Presence or suspicion of transmissible disease as diagnosed by a qualified veterinarian.
(T) All stalls, barns, paddocks, fields or any enclosures where horses or ponies are kept, shall be secured by gates and fencing that is in good repair and sufficient to prevent the animal from leaving such enclosure.
(Ord. 2020-G-3, passed 6-16-20)