One of the recent threads is regarding a person interested in boarding a friends horse… it got me thinking because the person was asking for the legal ramifications.
Read your contract.
Do read the contract…but usually no, these things aren’t covered unless it’s due to gross negligence on the part of the BO. Horses get hurt no matter if you’re boarding them or have them at home. Playing or fighting with other horses, running into or through fencing, getting cast, etc. Nobody can guarantee a horse isn’t going to act like a horse and try to commit suicide. BOs can’t stand by each horse and make sure that horse and none of the others ever act like a horse.
What was the cause of the injury?
Sorry that your horse was injured while under someone else’s care.
My horse was at a friend’s barn and he was giving some lessons on him.
One weekend, on turnout, he came in very lame and had somehow stuck a nail way into his hind foot, clear thru the navicular bursa and into the navicular bone.
He was rushed to the vet, spent five weeks there with aggressive treatments and was euthanized when he was not doing well at all.
I would not consider accidents like that something anyone else but the owner has to bear, terrible that the injury may be, how costly or even if the horse is lost.
That is what insurance is for, but I didn’t have my horse insured, so it was all my cost.
You ought to insure horses, if you want help if something happens.
Now, if someone did something wrong and your horse was injured, then negligence comes into the picture and you may have a case.
Consulting your attorney will help in any case.
thats kind of what i was thinking, but thought i would check anyway… in this world and how fast it changes, i just cant keep up anymore 
btw there is no boarding contract.
Ditto on the no recourse unless it was caused by gross negligence. And you could not have knowingly let the negligence go on. Such as, if there was barbed wire fencing, and you know it, and allow your horse to be turned out there, and horse gets tangled in it, you have no case. Or if you turn your horse out with another, then your horse gets kicked, but you continue to let your horse be turned out with him…you have no case.
Now if your BO leaves the gate to the turnout open and your horse gets loose and gets hit by a car, you may have a case. Or if the BO lets someone ride your horse without your permission, and horse gets loose, and gets hrt, you might have a case.
You need to get a boarding contract. Something that outlines how often your horse will be fed/turned out/stalls cleaned/required notice for leaving/policy on horses having vaccinations/worming, policy on if they call the vet if unable to reach you and what treatment you authorize, etc.
I missed the OP, but my horse was injured twice at my last facility.
Case one: Kids screwing around with a pressure washer at the barn after hours, my horse spooked and SLICED open his leg. BO picked up the vet bill.
Case two: Horse stepped on a nail in turnout. He survived thanks to great vet care. I picked up the vet bill.
I think it depends on the cause of injury.
I witnessed a case like that, the (newbie) owners were warned by the BO that their horse would get dinged up as the herd of horses were sorting out the pecking order, offered (for the standard fee of course) the use of a stall (these were pasture board clients), etc. They didn’t want to pay the increased board (understandable I guess). Full board horses would be turned out in the herd also, but not 24x7, and individual turnouts were available. Usually the full board horses would adjust to the herd in about a month, and could then go to pasture board more safely.
To make a long story short, mare got dinged up, one scrape worthy of a vet call, and then the owners had the audacity to claim that the mare was abused by the BO :eek:! And filed a small claims court suit for the vet bills, etc.
Well, they all ended up on People Court on TV ( I guess the show producers monitor case filings to find strange cases). Needless to say, the horse owners lost the case. The BO made sure she had all sorts of documenation/affidavits from all of us that has witnessed the whole thing, and affidavits from the vets, etc. since it can be hard to convey to non-horse owners how things happen to horses just in their everyday existence.
:lol::lol: I remember that! First time owner, the kind you cannot tell anything to, without a clue. Figured she was raising kids, so how could this be any different?? I still, for the life of me, can’t imagine why anyone would want to go on People’s Court over something like this! Amazing. :eek:
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Due to improper maintenance of a boarding facility, another horse broke out of its stall into my horses stall and violently attacked my horse. The owners of the facility are paying my horses vet bills but did not do anything to take care of the maintenance so this doesn’t happen again. I want to move my horse to a better facility and feel like the owners of the current facility should pay my boarding fee and continue to p at vet builds until my horse recovers, if in fact my horse is able to recover. I am considering getting a lawyer
Um, please be more specific. They are paying your vet bills, that is likely all you will get. What was wrong with the old facility? What happened?
The old facility has changed owners and the new owners do not keep the facility as safe as it should be. I’m only thinking of get attorney to help me get payment from the current facility to pay to move my horse to a safer place the fencing in the old facility was not properly maintained and a large horse was able to tear down the stall and get to my horse
Muffins, next time I’d recommend starting a new post, instead of resuscitating a zombie thread. It will alleviate all sorts of confusion.
However, in regards to your post, I’d say you’re lucky the BOs are paying for your horse’s immediate vet costs. Horses are 100% of the time either suicidal or homicidal. Accidents happen and if you feel the facility isn’t adequate for your horse’s safety or your peace of mind, you should fine a facility that is. And if you decide to move, you should still provide notification/board payments as spelled out in your contract.
I think it would be difficult to prove gross negligence on the BO’s part, and expensive and tragic accidents are, unfortunately, quite common with horses. Jingles to your horse’s speedy recovery, and good luck in your search for different facility.
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Mufins - You’re getting all you’re likely to receive. They’re paying the vet bills. If you’re going to claim ‘loss of use’ that has to have a $$ attached to it. A winning race horse - maybe. Stud fees that had to be reimbursed - maybe. Board fees at new facility - nope.
OP - Your friend that’s boarding for a friend should still have a written contract. The horse owner should have liability insurance that covers your friend. And, your friend’s contract should have a clause regarding liability for any injury the horse suffers except that caused by negligence. And, the horse’s owner should have shots UTD.
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