Take this with a grain of salt because it’s just want I was told but
I am in MD. A friend and I rent a barn and fields and split them. What we were told by the property owner is that her insurance requires there to be “ride at your own risk” type signage posted and that we can’t charge anyone to come ride with us.
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All of those state laws limiting equine-related liabilty require you to post sgns with state-specific wording.
My farm insurance asks me, every year, if I allow anyone else to ride on my property, if I have the state-specific signs posted, and if I have them sign waivers.
Definitely check with YOUR insurance carrier
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This was in Texas a few years ago. Not the most lawsuit-friendly state, but the state is becoming more like all of the other states in terms of liability issues.
I know (close friend of management) a couple of boarding/riding/training barns that were engaging in just a few instances of what I thought was incredibly risky behavior with their outside riders. They didn’t see it – just blind to what I was pointing out to them. Solving the problems would have needed only small changes and better awareness, but neither made any changes.
Over the next couple of years, both barns ended up having outside-rider accidents around those very issues. At one barn, three minor accidents in just a few weeks were non-serious, no real injuries other than fast-healing bruises. At the other barn, an elementary-age girl was seriously injured with hospital time.
No big lawsuits resulted. But the child’s parents’ attorney did make a phone call to the barn’s attorney. It didn’t go forward to a lawsuit, based on parents’ decision. The other barn owner was smart enough to at least pay for an hour of attorney time to ask about their potential liability after three minor accidents in such a short period of time.
Suddenly – change. After the incidents.
In the barn where the child was injured, there was a new set of rules and awareness pointers to the barn and riding managers. Changes that would have prevented that accident if they had been made beforehand.
As for the other barn, a new barn / riding manager replaced the previous one. There were other reasons in addition to poor liability judgment concerns, but that was also a big part of the decision to change personnel.
Finally, after incidents, both barn owners had finally had it impressed on them – you could lose everything.
Both barns are still doing what they do. Certainly there are minor accidents around horses, but otherwise no serious incidents at either, since they made the changes.
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And remember, even with the best waiver of liability, insurance, etc., you CAN still be sued, and you will still spend money defending against a lawsuit. This costs both time and money.
And I personally never let minors ride on my farm – even with a waiver. A minor cannot waive their rights. And adult is able to sue on their behalf even with the signed waiver.
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Anyone with land should have those signs out there along with no trespassing, even if they don’t let anyone in, as they can add to having given notice that entering, even illegally, is at your own risk.
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