Doc Summary
1. About this policy #
This Acceptable Use Policy (“the Policy”) sets out the rules for using Horse Marketplace (“the Platform”), operated by Horse Marketplace (“we”, “us”). It applies to everyone who uses the Platform: buyers, private sellers, business sellers (dealers, breeders, yards, retailers) and Booking providers (arenas, coaches, riding schools, livery yards, horsebox and trailer hire operators, and experience providers).
This Policy forms part of, and should be read together with, our Terms & Conditions and Privacy Policy. If you breach this Policy we may take any of the enforcement actions described in section 12. Capitalised terms not defined here have the meaning given in the Terms & Conditions.
Nothing on the Platform is legal, veterinary or professional advice. Compliance with the law is your responsibility. Where this Policy refers to legislation, it does so as guidance to the standards we expect, not as a complete statement of your legal obligations.
2. Who can use the Platform, and account rules #
- You must be at least 18 years old to hold an account, list, sell, buy or book.
- You must provide accurate, current information when registering and keep it up to date.
- One account per person or business. Do not create additional accounts to evade limits, fees or enforcement action.
- You are responsible for all activity under your account. Keep your credentials secure and tell us immediately if you suspect unauthorised use.
- Sellers and Booking providers must complete payment identity verification (including Stripe Connect “Know Your Customer” checks) before receiving payouts. All horse listings additionally require identity verification before they go live.
- Business users must register and trade as businesses, not private sellers. Misrepresenting a business as a Private Seller to avoid consumer-law obligations or Platform fees is prohibited.
3. General rules for everyone #
- Be honest. Do not mislead other users about who you are, what you are selling, or the services you provide.
- Treat others with respect. Harassment, abuse, threats, hate speech and discrimination are prohibited.
- Only list what you own or are authorised to sell or offer, and only make bookings and offers you intend to honour.
- Do not use the Platform for any unlawful purpose, or to facilitate activity that is unlawful in the UK.
- Do not attempt to defraud, scam or exploit other users, including phishing, fake payment confirmations, overpayment scams or advance-fee schemes.
4. Horse listings (classifieds) #
Horse listings on the Platform are enquiry-based classified adverts. The Platform is for equines only — horses, ponies, donkeys and mules. Listings for any other animal are prohibited.
4.1 Identification and verification
Every equine listed must have a valid passport and, where required by law, a microchip, in accordance with the equine identification regulations applicable in your part of the UK (in England, the Equine Identification (England) Regulations 2018).
You must enter the passport number (UELN) in the Listing’s passport field. Listings displaying the “passport confirmed” badge have had this information checked in accordance with our verification workflow.
On completion of a sale, the new owner must notify the passport-issuing organisation of the change of ownership within 30 days. We surface this requirement to both parties; complying with it is the parties’ responsibility.
Listing an equine without a passport, with false identification details, or using another animal’s documents is prohibited and will result in removal and may result in account suspension.
4.2 Accurate representation
Photographs and videos must be of the actual animal for sale, must be current, and must not be misleadingly edited or AI Generated. Stock images and images of other horses are prohibited.
Descriptions must be honest and accurate, including age, height, breed/type, sex, temperament, level of schooling, competition record and suitability (e.g. novice rider, child’s pony).
You must disclose material facts known to you, including significant health conditions, sarcoids or ongoing veterinary treatment, stable or ridden vices, behavioural issues (e.g. box walking, rearing, difficulty loading, clipping or shoeing), and any history of the horse being sold, returned or failing a vetting for a disclosed reason.
You must not obstruct or discourage a buyer from arranging an independent pre-purchase veterinary examination.
Prices must be genuine. “Price on application”, fake or bait pricing is not permitted.
4.3 Welfare and prohibited horse listings
You must meet the duty of care owed to animals under the Animal Welfare Act 2006 (and equivalent legislation in Scotland and Northern Ireland) at all times.
Prohibited: Listing equines that are unfit to travel or in a condition requiring urgent veterinary attention (other than transparently advertised companion or retirement homes for animals under appropriate care).
Prohibited: Listing unweaned foals for sale away from the dam.
Prohibited: Listing equines for slaughter, for the meat trade, or for export for slaughter.
Prohibited: raffles, prize draws or “win this horse” promotions involving live animals.
Prohibited: Loan listings must be clearly labelled as such and must not be used to disguise sales.
4.4 Business sellers of horses
Dealers, breeders and yards selling in the course of business must identify themselves as business sellers and comply with the Consumer Rights Act 2015 and other applicable consumer-protection law, including the buyer’s statutory rights on satisfactory quality and fitness for purpose as they apply to the sale of animals.
Business horse adverts require an active subscription tier that includes horse listings. Rotating stock through free private-seller listings is a breach of this Policy.
5. Equipment listings #
5.1 General
You may only list genuine items you own and are entitled to sell. Counterfeit, replica or stolen goods are prohibited.
Condition must be described accurately (new / new without tags / used, with defects disclosed), using your own photographs of the actual item.
Business sellers must comply with the Consumer Rights Act 2015 and the Consumer Contracts (Information, Cancellation and Additional Charges) Regulations 2013, including cancellation and returns rights for distance sales.
5.2 Safety-critical equipment
Riding hats and body protectors: you must state the safety standard the item is certified to, its approximate age, and must disclose any known impact, fall or damage. Listing protective equipment you know to be impact-compromised, or misrepresenting its standard, is prohibited.
Items subject to a product recall or safety notice must not be listed.
5.3 Prohibited items
Prescription-only veterinary medicines (e.g. POM-V products such as phenylbutazone), controlled drugs, and any medicine offered outside the Veterinary Medicines Regulations 2013.
Prohibited weapons, and any item unlawful to sell or possess in the UK.
Items containing ivory restricted under the Ivory Act 2018 (including antique whips, canes and tack fittings), unless exempt and registered/certified as required by law — evidence must be stated in the Listing.
Any live animal (see section 4 — equine classifieds are the only permitted animal listings, and they are enquiry-based, not checkout items).
6. Booking listings (arenas, coaching, livery, hire and experiences) #
6.1 Right to operate
You must have the legal right to offer the facility or service listed (ownership, lease or the operator’s permission).
If your activity involves hiring out horses (e.g. riding lessons or hacks on your horses, pony parties, equestrian experiences), you must hold the required local-authority licence under the Animal Welfare (Licensing of Activities Involving Animals) (England) Regulations 2018 or the equivalent in your nation, and you must enter your licence number in the Listing’s licence field. Operating without a required licence is prohibited.
Coaches and instructors must describe their qualifications, accreditations and insurance honestly (e.g. BHS, UKCC/IGEQ, Pony Club accreditation). Claiming qualifications you do not hold is prohibited.
You must hold public liability insurance appropriate to your activity, and any insurance required by law (e.g. employer’s liability), and be able to evidence it on request.
6.2 Facilities, vehicles and safety
Facilities (arenas, stables, livery) must match their description and photographs and be maintained in a safe, suitable condition.
Horseboxes and trailers offered for hire must be roadworthy, with a current MOT where required, correctly described weights (MAM/unladen), and clear guidance on the driving licence categories required. You must not knowingly facilitate overloading or unlicensed driving.
Safety-relevant rules of your venue (hat standards, supervision requirements, age limits) must be stated in the Listing.
6.3 Honouring bookings
Keep availability calendars accurate and honour confirmed bookings. Repeated cancellations, no-shows or bait availability may result in delisting.
Cancellation, refund and security-deposit terms must be clearly stated in the Listing before Booking and applied as stated. Deposits may only be retained in line with those stated terms.
Where host approval is enabled, respond to Booking requests promptly and do not use approval to discriminate unlawfully.
7. Payments, fees and fee circumvention #
Equipment sales and bookings made through the Platform must be transacted through Platform checkout (powered by Stripe). Completing, or soliciting to complete, a Platform-originated equipment sale or Booking off-platform to avoid Commission (“fee circumvention”) is a breach of this Policy.
Do not share contact details, links or payment instructions in listings, messages or images for the purpose of moving equipment sales or bookings off-platform.
Horse sales are different: they are enquiry-based classifieds, and buyers and sellers may lawfully complete the sale privately. We offer optional on-platform payment via Custom Offers; using it is encouraged but not required.
Never pay for a horse, item or Booking by bank transfer to an unverified party, and never pay outside the Platform for anything the Platform is designed to transact. We will never ask for your password or full payment details by message or email.
8. Prohibited conduct (all users) #
Fraud, scams, money laundering, or use of the Platform to transfer value unrelated to a genuine sale or Booking.
Feedback manipulation: fake reviews, review swapping, reviewing your own listings, or threatening users over honest feedback.
Spam, chain messages, unsolicited advertising, or harvesting user contact details.
Scraping, data mining, or automated access to the Platform without our written permission; attempting to probe, disrupt or bypass Platform security.
Uploading malware or malicious links.
Infringing others’ intellectual property, including copying Listing text or photographs from other users or other websites.
Posting others’ personal information without consent, or misusing personal data obtained through the Platform for any purpose beyond the transaction (including adding users to marketing lists without lawful basis).
Listing on behalf of banned users, or helping another user evade enforcement action.
9. Content standards #
You are responsible for all content you upload. You must hold the rights to it and grant us the licence described in the Terms & Conditions to display and promote it on and off the Platform.
No content that is obscene, pornographic, gratuitously violent, hateful, defamatory or otherwise objectionable, and no content depicting mistreatment of animals.
Listings must be placed in the correct category and Listing type (horse classified / equipment / Booking).
Deliberate miscategorisation, keyword stuffing and duplicate listings are prohibited.
Listings and messages must be in English and must not contain hidden text, tracking pixels or scripts.
10. Reporting problems and welfare concerns #
Use the in-Listing “Report” tool to flag listings or messages that breach this Policy. Reports are reviewed by our moderation team and reporters are kept anonymous to the reported user.
If you believe an animal is suffering or at immediate risk, do not rely on the Platform report tool alone: contact the RSPCA (England & Wales), SSPCA (Scotland) or USPCA (Northern Ireland), World Horse Welfare, or your local authority, and the police in an emergency.
Suspected fraud can also be reported to Action Fraud. We cooperate with law-enforcement and welfare-organisation enquiries as described in our Privacy Policy.
11. Our role and limits #
We provide the Platform, verification tooling and payment infrastructure. We are not a party to sales or bookings between users, we do not own or inspect the horses, items or facilities listed, and verification badges are not a guarantee of an animal’s condition, an item’s quality or a provider’s service. Buyers remain responsible for their own due diligence, including viewing horses in person and arranging independent vettings.
12. Enforcement #
We may, acting reasonably and proportionately to the breach, take any of the following actions, with or without notice:
- Edit, hide or remove listings, reviews or messages.
- Remove verification badges; require re-verification or additional evidence before listings go live.
- Restrict features, downgrade or remove subscription benefits, or apply the standard Commission rate where subscription terms were abused.
- Suspend or permanently close accounts, and refuse re-registration.
- Cancel pending transactions or bookings and instruct refunds where our payment provider’s rules and the law permit.
- Report conduct to Stripe, law enforcement, local authorities, HMRC or animal-welfare organisations where appropriate.
If we take enforcement action against you, we will tell you the reason unless we are legally prevented from doing so or doing so would compromise an investigation. You may appeal by contacting Support Ticket within 14 days; appeals are reviewed by someone other than the original decision-maker where practicable.
13. Changes to this Policy #
We may update this Policy from time to time, for example to reflect new features, changes in the law, or lessons from moderation. Material changes will be notified via the Platform or by email at least 14 days before they take effect. Continued use after that date constitutes acceptance.
14. Contact #
Questions about these Terms should be sent via a Support Ticket. Report a Listing: via the Report tool on any Listing.