[QUOTE=deltawave;2969812]
I’m not a lawyer, but the whole premise of “attractive nuisance” is not all that cut and dry. Having a pool (for instance) safely fenced is just plain GOOD SENSE. [/QUOTE]
Actually its not good sense, it’s required IF you want to have insurance on your house. Homeowners Insurance will drop you like a hot potato if you don’t have a fence around your pool.
What never ceases to amaze me, is the sense of entitlement. “I want, therefore I pet.” Doesn’t occur to them that they’re trespassing, or that what they’re doing is just plain rude. They’d never pull into someone’s driveway to admire their Porsche or Ferarri, but because it’s an animal, it’s somehow okay? 
Hell, we have a neighbor down the street that has exotic deer - some sort of African mini antelope. Their fences aren’t hot (that I can tell, anyway), and I never see anyone pulling up and wanting to pet the antelope. The neighbor on the other end of the street has plain ol’ Texas white tail deer. A lot of them, in fact. You don’t see people pulling up and crawling through the fence to pet the deer - why do they think it’s okay with horses?
Can someone explain this to me? Please?
Call me casual, I rather like people petting my horses - kids from up my rural road come down all the time, bringing carrots or apples. I think my horses are people friendly because of this. One neighbour cleans up her apple trees by bringing me buckets and buckets of fruit in season. There is an electric wire on the fence and a kid or two has been zapped, but these days they seem smarter. Nobody has yet climbed over. Meet lots of people who like my horses and I also think it is good for the kids to learn about animals and kindness.
Maybe because antelope aren’t domesticated animals? 
But, then again, that hasn’t stopped people from trying to pet buffalo in Yellowstone, so who knows.
Anyway, if I had a farm, I would be fine if someone was admiring them from the fence, or even sneaking in a pet if the horses were close enough. But, if they were actually IN the pasture, that would be a different story.
Wow, I can’t believe how many parents would be involved in stuff this stupid! When I was a horse-crazy little kid, I also considered any horse within reach fair game to pet, but I would never have gone into a stall without permission (and I don’t think I ever went into pastures or anything, just stood outside to pet friendly horses). Like other posters though, that was definitely without my parents’ knowledge, and if I’d been bitten or trompled they would have blamed me in a heartbeat before blaming the people who put their large, potentially lethal animal behind a fence for the purpose of keeping foolish children out. It’s absolutely ridiculous that nowadays I have to be worried about some idiot trespassing on private property, getting injured by my safely contained horse, and then suing me for their stupidity.
A middle school and two elementary schools within five blocks…we have nine head here and are completely double fenced… the horses are held back by their fence with a ten foot separation from the kid fence… attractive nuisance is real and can get you into trouble quickly
I think I have successfully stopped all my trespassers! Everytime I see someone come up my driveway or lean over my fence to pet my horses that I do not recognize…I walk out my door with a shotgun. A real one…and it’s loaded. I haven’t had many problems lately. I think I got my point across.
One thing that makes me so mad though is the electric company being so stupid. I have an easement through the back of my property. I had them sign a waiver that they have to call my cell phone & notify me before they come on my property. They agreed. Apparently one day they came without notifying me… did not latch the gate back properly, and I got a call from my neighbor saying that my 3 horses were galloping down the highway! Ooh…I was madder than a hornet! Luckily I caught my horses & got them back safe & sound! It was a very busy street they were on…they could have easily been hit!
[QUOTE=Foxtrot’s;2970612]
Call me casual, I rather like people petting my horses - kids from up my rural road come down all the time, bringing carrots or apples. I think my horses are people friendly because of this. [/QUOTE]
Yeah, my horse became “friendly” enough to chase children because of this.
I don’t have any problems with non horse people its the horse owners that are the problem. Riding through crops, leaving pasture gates open, throwing cans on the ground. For some reason some horse owners feel they own the world when it comes to where they want to ride.
Something can be sensible AND required by law. 
One wonders why ALL things that are required by law aren’t sensible.
These laws vary wildly from state to state, as do the prevalence of certain kinds of suits, such as attractive nuisance. But it makes good sense to have a protection in place, like a fence around your pool, your horses protected against children, dogs, etc.
I came out of the bathroom after leaving my big darling in the crossties to find a man and his daughter (age 8) petting him. I was ok with that as he was a big dope that didn’t bite. However . . . when the man informed his daughter that “see this honey, it’s a brand cause this is an american mustang”. I said hello, asked if I could help them and informed him that no, “it’s a freeze brand, it’s a warmblood, blah blah blah”.
Nope, this man insisted that my horse was a mustang, wanted to know how old he was when he was caught and where in the country he came from.
I’m still trying to find out what the hell these folks want! Nope not a mustang buddy, a warmblood, born in Germany, flew all the way over here on an airplane . . . get it?
“Nope it’s a mustang lady, I know my horses”. Luckily my trainer came around the corner and took over, seems little missy wanted lessons, jumping lessons. Small problem . . . .we were a dressage barn.
Mustang my ass. 17.2 mustang, yup they sure do grow em big in Montana eh!?
The moral to our story, signs at gate “no trespassing, appointment only, no public access”. Folks just forced open the gate and came in. There is even a phone number at the gate for access. Nope come on in and help yourselves people!
On the days I wish I didn’t live waaaay out in the boonies I will come back and read this thread! Folks have to be pretty lost to find their way here. LOL
Quote:
Or
I’m not a lawyer, but the whole premise of “attractive nuisance” is not all that cut and dry. Having a pool (for instance) safely fenced is just plain GOOD SENSE.
Actually its not good sense, it’s required IF you want to have insurance on your house. Homeowners Insurance will drop you like a hot potato if you don’t have a fence around your pool.
Not in West by God Virginia. I’m amazed at the number of pools I see right out in the open here. Not only no pool fence, but no property fence either. Amazing!!!
I suppose I would be more friendly except less than a 1/4 mile down the street & in plain sight with signs is a huge boarding barn that has schoolies & teaches lessons & all that great stuff so they can wander in there & talk to those people that are better equipped.
I should also add it’s not the immediate neighbors being moronic–they are great & in fact pretty watchful of the horses. It’s the strangers who won’t pull up the drive & speak to us, but would rather trespass right across the property in front of us. :rolleyes:
Afraid I’ve been a “nose petter” since I was a little kid, too. But my grandmother had had a pony, and she taught me when I was 4 how to approach a horse with its head over the fence, what to look out for, etc. (She was a very proper lady but she even taught me how to tell if a horse was a stallion, and that stallions BITE!) She also taught me that a horse can’t see me if I am standing directly in front of it, and it would usually be better to pet the neck.
I’m still petting horses over the fence, but I know if anything happens it’s MY fault. The last ones were three sad-looking little carthorse colts in a field outside London, who were desperate for attention. I would not think of going onto someone’s property to pet their horses though.
Maybe it’s because I’m in NJ, where horses (and open space) are rare and exotic like tigers, but there is a real ugliness to the “They’re MINE and these people are TRESPASSING!” tone of some posts. It reminds me of the people who scowl at anyone who admires their baby, as if they’re entitled to a bubble of total privacy even when they’re in public. If you stick a horse in a field by the side of a public road, you made the horse visible to the public. Some people, not knowing any better, will heed their children’s pleas to stop and pet it. If that bothers you, or if you have a horse with food allergies or aggression, don’t put him in a pasture beside a public road. You can’t control other people; all you can do is call the police on the bad ones, educate the good ones, and not expect the rest of the world to worry about your insurance or your happiness.
[QUOTE=riverbell93;2971908]
You can’t control other people; all you can do is call the police on the bad ones, educate the good ones, and not expect the rest of the world to worry about your insurance or your happiness.[/QUOTE]
I think I might have a new sig line. :lol:
I tend to be more on the side of wanting people to ASK me first before touching…I remember as a child buying hay at a farm where they had a lovely pinto pony…who was missing an eye. Said eye was lost through an inquisite child poking it out with a lollipop stick…nice.
Having two OTTB geldings (one is a greenie and can need extra supervision) and previously owning a mare with Cushings, I supervise VERY closely…heck at my previous barn, I even had to watch out for fellow boarders who thought they’d brighten my mare’s day by feeding her handfuls of grass or hanging their gelding’s tubful of oats, sweet feed and beep with molasses on her fence so the gelding could keep her company. Needless to say, when I found several handfuls of this mixture in her water bucket, I went ballistic (and was the “bad guy” for doing so - even after gently explaining MANY times about why she was on a restricted diet and turnout). Sometimes our caution is to protect our horses, rather than the people who know no better.
Dee
Not that I’m condoning the stupidity of passer-byers… but sometimes suing is unavoidable. Say your horse kicks a little kid because he was playing in your pasture. The kid breaks a bone and the parents take him to the hospital. When they submit forms to the insurance company to get payment for it, the insurance company will not want to pay. Thus, the insurance company says that the parents must sue the horse owner for money before they will pay up.
This happened to my uncle a few years ago. He was walking somewhere, slipped on ice and broke his arm. The insurance company would only cover his costs if he sued the property owner… which he refused to do because it wasn’t their fault. However, he’s rich and can afford to pay for it all himself, not everyone can.
By submitting your email, you agree to our Terms of Service and Privacy Policy. You may also receive promotional emails from The Chronicle of the Horse. You can opt out at any time.
For Customers
Company
Terms of Use
