Horse Handling Safe Work Procedure

Suits farms, studs, stables, riding schools and event grounds where people catch, lead, groom, saddle and work around horses. It gives handlers clear steps, with the Queensland duties behind them, and points to our Hendra, float and mustering documents for those topics.

What Is Included In Our Horse Handling Safe Work Procedure?

• Safe work procedure with an approval sign-off
• Matching the person to the horse and the task
• PPE: footwear, helmet and gloves
• Approaching, leading and tying with a quick-release knot
• Warning signs, frightened horses and loose horses
• Stallions, mares with foals and unfamiliar horses
• Stalls, yards, gates and housekeeping
• Children and visitors around horses
• Dust, hygiene and diseases that pass from animals to people
• Injury first aid, notifiable incidents, records and review

Legislation and Codes of Practice Referenced

• Work Health and Safety Act 2011 (Qld): s 19 (primary duty of care), s 26A (approved codes of practice), s 28 (duties of workers), s 29 (duties of other persons at the workplace), ss 35 to 39 (notifiable incidents), ss 47 and 49 (consultation), s 284 (preserved codes)
• Work Health and Safety Regulation 2011 (Qld): ss 32 to 38 (risk management), s 39 (information, training and instruction), s 42 (first aid), ss 44 to 46 (personal protective equipment), s 48 (remote or isolated work), s 60 (hazardous manual tasks), s 699 (prescribed serious illnesses), Schedule 19 (hazardous manual task)
• Industry Code of Practice for Horse Riding Schools, Trail Riding Establishments and Horse Hiring Establishments 2002 (Qld): sections 4.7 to 4.10, 5, 6.3, 6.4, 7.1, 14 and 15. Item 6 of Schedule 1 of the Work Health and Safety (Codes of Practice) Notice 2022 (Qld) lists it as a preserved code of practice. It is written for riding schools, trail riding and horse hire businesses and is used here as guidance for other horse workplaces. Under s 26A of the WHS Act a business must follow an approved code or manage the risk in a way that gives an equivalent or higher standard
• Children and Young Workers Code of Practice 2006 (Qld), an approved code of practice: the duties owed to young workers, including volunteers, and their induction and supervision
• Workers’ Compensation and Rehabilitation Act 2003 (Qld): s 133 (employer’s duty to report an injury)
• Hendra virus, biosecurity and animal welfare laws are outside this document. See our Hendra Virus Risk Management Policy and Procedure, and check biosecurity requirements separately
• This document is general information for Queensland workplaces and is not legal advice

What You Get

• An editable Microsoft Word document (6 pages), A4 portrait
• Business details and document control typed once and filled in on every page, plus a space for your logo
• Purpose, scope and a policy statement with an approval sign-off
• Definitions, and responsibilities for each role
• A step-by-step procedure that says who does what
• Records, training, monitoring and review, related documents and a revision history

Review it and adjust it to suit your business, your sites and the way your team works, and talk it through with your workers. If you have any trouble downloading this template, you can contact us at any time. Please make sure you read our Disclaimer before downloading.