We are a boarding operation but no so much for “pleasure” horse owners. Ours is a TB, breeding, raising, breaking, training, re-hab, re-school, lay up and R &R. Regardless of the orientation of an operation if someone is paying for “complete care” then IMO it is the total responsibility of the operator to provide a safe environment. This IMO is not an unreasonable assumption of a client. I think in a court of law it would be considered “implied”. Regardless of the size of the property and or what is being charged for full care board. That being said a farm owner that offers self-care field board may be held responsible in the same sense as full care. The farm owner may not be responsible for care and feeding and over all well fair of the boarding horse but maybe held responsible for providing a safe environment that being the paddock and or pasture/field. Proper fencing, and proper management practices of what’s in that paddock/pasture/field. In short pasture management that would be considered “normal and customary” and in keeping with the standards of the business/industry. I think this would also fall under “implied”.
Now, even with proper pasture management practices SOME noxious weeds can and will be found in LAEGE paddocks/pasture/fields. The operative word being some. But it should be a given that there is more then adequate grass to keep horses happy and not resort to nibble let alone eating enough of something to be poisoned. There are exceptions in certain areas of the country. In West Texas and Oklahoma friends have told me they need more then 10 acres per cow. I was told in some parts of Utah it can be as much as 600+ per cow. But land that is way land is “dirt” cheap hence the name because that is basically all you are getting. I digress.
We are talking about 6 acres here. The amount of time it would take “police” the paddocks is nothing. The amount of time to mow on a regular bases is nothing. A decent zero turn can mow 6 acres of grass in couple of hours. When I mow I am not “asleep at the wheel” I am constantly checking things out, looking for what needs to be dealt with, weeds, fencing, holes, what ever. Make note and come back and address. IMO this is one of the things my clients are paying me for.
The cost to spray broad leaf herbicide on 6 acres is nothing in the grand scheme of things. And by and large could be done with a spot sprayer that cost under $100. Heck IMO such small acreage could be hand weeded when needed depending on the weed. Certainly nightshade pretty easy to identify and pull if kept on top of and not allowed to go to seed year in year out. We have around 50+ acres fenced and I haven’t had to spend any where near $2,000 on herbicide over a number of years let alone per year.
Yes, shit happens and most people are understanding of this. You can put a horse in a padded stall and it may get hurt. IMO this falls under “shit happens”. Allowing something like nightshade to grow especially a “patch” in what should be very visible in such a small paddock with little to no grass under my standards irresponsible. I believe a court of law would see it the same. We are paid to understand the “laws of probability”. A couple of nightshade growing in a 6 acre paddock that is other wise in good grass presents low risk. A patch growing in 6 acres of basically dirt and weeds is HIGH risk. IMO no matter how much hay may be given. Horses by nature are driven to graze not just stand over a hay bale. Especially during grass growing season. I don’t care how good the hay is. This is horsemanship 101.
IMO any boarding farm owner that feels this falls under “shit happens” based on the information supplied by the OP better be carrying a lot of liability insurance. And it wouldn’t surprise me if a suite was brought by someone with a similar scenario that was well documented with pictures and was awarded damages their insurance company would deny the claim due to negligence.
IMO based on the information and details given by the OP the BO should be happy to pay the vet bills and consider themselves lucky to have such an understanding client. They are getting off cheap.
This would be the last thing I would want to go to court over as a BO. I have been involved as an “expert witness” and know several who are have been hired on a regular bases. Have discussed a number of “cases” with them. I guarantee everyone on this thread would be shocked at a lot of the damage awards over things that people think fall under “shit happens”. And I am not talking just about expensive well bred Thoroughbreds. Which is why we carry millions of dollars of liability insurance.
I have read a number of threads that deal with “what do you look for/ask” when looking for a boarding farm. I don’t recall anyone bring up BO’s liability insurance.
Basic fixed cost to board a horse is around $6-8 per day. This is the minimum cost of feed, hay and labor. Nothing else. $180-240 a month no stall. So any place that is only charging $300-$400 per month is making little to no money, gravy, let alone maintaining a decent liability insurance policy. The more horses the higher the premium. A “no lesson, no riding barn”, just basic boarding policy is $$$$$ for bottom level coverage.
