Horse behavior and liability

[2tempe]

Got into discussion at barn today - barn where I board has stalls with removable bars on stall door (rarely used) as well as window to outside on back wall of stall. Windows are always open ex hurricanes or freeze (located in Fla). There are two horses who can occasionally be downright nasty when I go down the aisle - snaking head out, ears pinned, teeth clacking. My horse was bitten once by one of these two - fortunately superficial. I have asked for bars to be put up on one of the stalls because the offending horse is a stallion.

The question of the day is: If barn mgmt. opts not to put bars up and said horse bites mine or causes some accident related to his behavior, is it the barn’s liability or is it the offending horse owners liability?

NOTE that this issue has basically been resolved, so advice on how to fix is not needed; just some legal input.

[findeight]

Both barn and horse owner possibly would be held liable, possibly negligent too if they had knowledge of the habit and did nothing to protect passersby on the common aisle from being bitten.

[clanter]

I believe (and I am not an attorney nor ever play one of stage or screen, but have been a professional witness in wrongful injury cases) op might be contributory in the negligence since they are aware of the danger yet ignored the possiblity of it occuring

[OverandOnward]

I am not a lawyer. This is just general life experience. It isn’t legal counsel or legal advice. It just some suggested thoughts to keep in mind. Many states have a law that protects barn owners, managers and trainers from legal liability from the dangers of equestrian activity. And of course, most barns and some trainers have their peeps sign liability waivers.

None of that protects from the legal definition of ‘gross negligence’. Liability for ‘gross negligence’ can’t be legislated or signed away. Without getting into all kinds of legal blahblah I don’t have the background to access, basically, if an obviously dangerous situation is created or permitted, it may be that they can be held liable for the cost of damages. At great legal expense, including an expert who will attest to the obvious danger of the situation. And some sort of evidence that the horse was a habitual biter and a hazard … so obvious in the moment, but what constitutes hard evidence of that later?

An example I once heard is that of a barn owner operating a tractor. If the sight & sound of the tractor spooks your horse, and you fall off or are injured, even killed, the barn owner is probably protected from liability. But if the barn owner drives the tractor directly toward you, clearly sees you and still runs over you, claiming it was not intentional, the barn owner can probably be held liable on grounds of gross negligence. Any reasonable person would expect that serious, life-threatening damage will result from running over someone with a tractor. A horse’s behavior would probably have to be argued as an expected serious hazard, roughly at the same level as running over someone with a tractor. That is, well above the usual hazards represented by horses generally.

In the end it is usually far too costly and too uncertain to sue over these situations. And even if you do get a judgment, good luck collecting. A judgment large enough to be worth a lawsuit may not be one that the defendant can pay.

I think the barn owner’s attitude toward boarder and horse safety is worth far more thought that who can sue who.

[Beck]

I’m not a lawyer, either, and I am sure such things vary widely from state to state.

Had a BO whose dog was a biter. He was advised not to chain the dog up or confine it in any way as that would be acknowledging that he knew there was potentially cause to keep the dog away from people. The dog ran loose on the farm and every time he bit someone (about once every other year) it was ‘unexpected’.

So the parallel I see is this:

Having the upper door open implies that it is ‘safe’: there is no problem anticipated so if anything happens the humans involved can claim ignorance/surprise. Having a policy of keeping that particular horse behind closed bars recognises there is a problem and leaves them open to greater liability if it happens even just once that the bars are left open one day for whatever reason and something happens.

Half of safety is behaving defensively. I would take care walking by any horse’s open ‘window’ closely, regardless.

[2tempe]

O and O - I appreciate your response and yes the example re the tractor is good exp. of gross negligence. I agree that any situation is unlikely to rise to the level of lawsuit. I was thinking back to my distant childhood when our loose dog bit an older woman; she sued and collected $25,000 for a minor bite. I have always kept a liability policy due to animals and now a pool. I have language in a lease agreement that (in theory) holds me harmless for actions of my mare while she is at another barn with her lease-mom
This was mostly a hypothetical discussion, as to if the owner of offending beast would be responsible, even if the barn staff chose not to put up the bars as a solution. That actual story is a bit long and has several moving parts. I did smile at the last sentence!

[walktrot]

There was a case a number of years ago that established that some of the things we call “horse behavior” actually aren’t: specifically broken tack and overfacing a rider. Those are human activities. I’m not a lawyer either, but it seems to me that someone who knows a horse is a biter (especially a stallion) and continues to put it in a situation that provokes that behavior is engaged in human activity and would be liable.

[Ghazzu]

I’m a DVM and not a lawyer, but in the veterinary jurisprudence course I took lo these many years ago, I recall that, at least in some states, a stallion is regarded as a “dangerous animal”, regardless of individual behavior.

I would suspect that enclosures insufficient to prevent a “dangerous animal” from inflicting damage would be deemed negligence.

[MissAriel]

I would also think, in addition to the bars/no bars question, knowing a bit more about the layout would be important in the determination. If this is on a wide aisle, with plenty of room to pass while out of reach, or in a more remote area of the barn, maybe it is ok. If it is on a narrow aisle (or a wide one filled with tack trunks, muck buckets, etc), or along a main traffic pattern, I would feel differently.

A barn I was at once had a horse switch from one stall to another because it was bigger and closer to the arenas, so when the stall opened the horse owner switched. Unfortunately this guy was a biter - he grabbed more than one person by the arm and even lifted one poor lady off her feet! When he was at the far end of the property it wasn’t an issue - few people went by and they knew to avoid him, but the new stall was located where there was lots of foot traffic, and gave him too much access to unsuspecting victims. After numerous incidents and threats of potential lawsuits they moved him back.

[pAin_t_Misbehavin]

It’s probably all going to depend on the individual state’s equine limited liability act, if the state has one.

[Guilherme]

As noted, this will depend on the state.

In general, an owner is responsible for the behavior of their animal. If they board the animal then the boarding facility will likely share in that liability.

A horse that is known to bite or kick will be regarded as “dangerous.” It’s often said that “every dog gets one free bite.” That’s really not always true but sometimes it is. I’d guess the smaller the dog and the less serious the bite the more likely the dog would get one “freebie.” But a horse biting or kicking will be seen in a far more serious light. By definition they are “one horsepower devices.” The odds of getting off, even for the first one, will be low.

The behavior of the victim can be relevant. A victim teasing a dog won’t get a lot of sympathy (or money) if the dog bites. Likewise, foolish behavior around a horse that results in the horse biting or kicking might yield a similar result.

Here is a short article that’s pretty good. Consider it the beginning of a quest for knowledge, however, and not the end!

http://asci.uvm.edu/equine/law/horselaw/danger.htm

G.

[IronwoodFarm]

Thanks for the link, G. Interesting read.

I am a BO, a stallion owner, and have worked with liability claims in my past career, Even though I carry plenty of insurance, the last thing I would wish on anyone, much less myself, is litigation. So, I try to limit my exposure.

If I had a horse on my property who was a known biter, I would take steps to limit the opportunities for biting. The horse in the OP’s example is a stallion and in fairness, stallions are wired to assert dominance so the focus should be on mitigation. Don’t provide the opportunity. Use common sense.

FWIW, I have been bitten by horses before. The worst biters are foals, especially when they are going through their “young punk” stage. Fortunately they live out with their sire and he will deal with them.

[BeeHoney]

Not a lawyer and laws vary by state. However, I think it is worth pointing out that 1) anyone can sue for anything at any time and defending that suit can be very expensive and time consuming even for an innocent party and that 2) many people in the legal system–lawyers, judges, and juries–are completely ignorant about horses and that can make the outcome of any lawsuit involving horses very chancy.

As a BO, I would never (based on the advice of my own lawyer) take the route that Beck’s BO took. Any time anyone gets hurt on your property or by an animal housed there, you have a chance of being held liable or a lawsuit occurring. Yes, you are in a worse position if an animal has a history of being dangerous, or if someone can prove you knew an animal was “dangerous” but living in a pretend world isn’t the solution. Instead, it is much better to manage your animals in a safe and responsible manner.

A responsible BO deals with reality and takes steps to prevent accidents whenever possible. Frankly, even if a stallion has a history of perfect behavior, stallions are still viewed in a different class and there is a higher level of obligation on the part of a BO to ensure that stallions are securely fenced and housed. That’s just a fact of life. If I were the OP’s BO, there’s no question that action would have to be taken–either the horse would need to be moved to a stall with no open window/door that it could stick its head out of, or the horse would need to be moved to a stall with no traffic in front of it, or the horse would need to be moved to another farm with more appropriate facilities.

Lastly, if you are someone who boards at a place where things are unsafe, please take responsibility for yourself and take what care you can to avoid accidents, even if it means moving to another facility. It is very difficult to file a lawsuit and actually end up with restitution for damages. Lawsuits usually only end well for the lawyers.

[chestnutmarebeware]

Also not a lawyer, but when my horses were kept at home and passersby liked to pet them from outside the fence, a lawyer friend strongly advised me not to hang a sign with a warning that my horses might bite. He said that would be an admission that I knew my horses might bite.

The solution was a sign that I copied from a Thoroughbred farm: “Warning: All Horses Bite”.

[Palm_Beach]

A couple of thoughts.

Is there another route to get people and horses where they want to go without going right past the biter? Or is the aisle wide enough to stay out of his reach? From the opposite legal point of view - Are you “choosing” to walk past a known biter, therefore assuming risk?

Why on earth is this behavior not corrected???

Personally I would smack the crap out of any horse or dog that tried to bite me or a horse I was leading. I don’t care who it belongs to, that animal does NOT get to bite me or my horse.

I don’t understand why people design barns so horses can hang their heads out into traffic ways. It’s accidents waiting to happen. Put them behind full screens if you want ventilation.

[HannahsMom7]

at my barn, there were and are several horses that lunge over the half door of their stall when someone is walking a horse by. in the winter, when the horses cannot go out, they are handwalked. I used to carry a whip and charge at those horses who went after my horse. Usually, it only took a few times, before they would leave us along. I was not the only person to do this.

[findeight]

That statement of accepting the risks of horses hanging in many barns does NOT remove any and all liability. If an accident occurs on the BOs property, say a kid comes off in a lesson, the BOs insurance is likely going to be picking that one up. It does remove any punitive damages although most will still try. Same with the written release. It still occurred on their property and possibly with a barn owned horse. Don’t let that lull you into complacency and sloppy barn keeping, as both the BO and individual owners of these nasty biters is doing.

Like if you have guests in your home and somehow your dog bites one through no fault of anyone. You invited them into your property, your dog, you pay the dr bill.

In the 17 years I was at a good sized teaching and show barn, trainer was taken to court for additional damages and had to defend the charge of negligence three times despite the red and white state equine liability billboard and signed releases. Won all three but barn insurance still paid the medical bill and in one case, the ambulance fees. No punitive damages or pain and suffering were awarded. Prior to that, at my barn in Mass, same thing happened. Kid came off, parents sued barn, failed to prove negligence but barn insurance still paid the medical bills. For that reason, I carried individual horse owners liability insurance-add on to regular mortality, MM coverage so it was cheap. If my horse hauled off and kicked somebody visiting the barn? It’s my horse so I at least share the liability as I would for my dog biting an invited guest in my home.

Dont get complacent about exercising reasonable and customary care because of one sign that doesn’t mean there’s no blame to share. If BO has knowledge of the stiuation allowing those horses to reach and bite anybody in the aisle and those owners know the horses are doing It? That is negligence and will really cost both BO and HO if somebody gets seriously bitten by known biters just walking down the aisle.

Wouldn’t board in a barn that allowed that situation but if any horse comes at me? I’m with Palm Beach. Got a lot of years practice and long ago learned the hard way why you never ignore any horse around you. Can see that snake neck with ears flat coming in time to meet in square on the nose with whatever is in my hand.

[candyappy]

I remember a few horses who were known to lunge out to bite those passing by. Our stalls were not the kind that you could put bars across, so the BO moved them to stalls in the " less traveled" section of the barn.

For those of us who knew about the lungers we just went the route that didn’t take us past their stalls. Most barns have a door opening on each end. If BO won’t move them or block the door then the person passing by does so at own risk. Why would the owner be held liable if the BO won’t intervene?

If the horses did this while out in the aisle or in the charge of the owner that is different.

[findeight]

That’s between HO and BO. But owner owns the horse, knows it bites and knows it’s a stabled where it can reach a passerby,

Can your barn owner guarantee a guest at the barn, a friend of a boarder, a child, or a farrier, chiro etc. isn’t going to wander down that “less traveled” aisle unaware they are at risk of being bitten? It’s your horse, you know it bites. If it bites somebody walking by it’s stall and the injured party wants to hold you liable? They can do so. If they go to the ER and use their insurance, that company will go after BO and HO to collect what they paid out due to injury caused by your horse and lack of proper precautions.

Anybody go to the ER as a result of falling off their own horse and later get a letter from your insurance requesting information in how you got hurt and who owned the property it happened on and the animal involved? I have. Twice. Ignored it once, replied I fell off my own horse and did not provide property ownership info the second time. Most people aren’t going to be that forgiving.

Might be a good time to ask the BO about their liability insurance…

[lep]

As others said, it depends on whether your state has an equine immunity statute and how it’s written. It could be such that no one will be liable. In other words, you basically assume the risk of getting hurt by a horse being a horse, i.e, unpredictable and with a propensity to cause injury (or death) to those on and around them (to paraphrase a portion of my state’s law). I’m handling a case with similar facts now (pony bit a woman who had come on the property solely to feed the school horses treats…the bite occurred when the woman dropped the carrot, and she and the pony reached for it at the same time…). We’re waiting to see what the state supreme court has to say about the applicability of the immunity statute to these facts.