My firm has an equine law practice group, in addition to being a full-service firm. We are looking for article ideas for publication. What is most relevant to you/your business or what do you wish you knew more about??
Wage and hour issues
Immigration/employment issues?
Lease contract best practices/pitfalls
Boarding/ training agreement best practices/pitfalls
Importing considerations
Anything else??
Can you share any knowledge about bill of sales/sales agreements and the enforceability of additional clauses? I ask because so often you hear those stories about an owner selling a horse with a buyback clause, etc. to try to keep their horse safe and whether or not those are enforceable.
Equine real estate and property use- I know this varies wildly from municipality to municipality, but I donāt know if thereās any generalizations someone with a law background could share?
As a private horse owner, if i want to let people at my boarding barn ride, part lease, or use my horse in lessons, what legal docs should i have for liability release, lease agreements, insurance, etc? Do i need any formal arrangement with the barn owner? Can i write these docs myself using someone elseās as a template or should i hire a lawyer? How do i find and hire a lawyer?
Seconding bill of sale as a topic. Is it ok to buy a horse without a bill of sale? How do you prove it is yours? Is that only something people should worry about for high performance horses?
I would be interested in what is going to be done about the animal rights activism which appears to be attempting to ādismantleā animal agriculture, If current legal treads are a forewarning soon my horses will have great rights than me
https://animalagalliance.org/animal-rights-activism-trends-to-look-out-for-in-2023-part-2/
I am interested in horse ownership and attractive nuisance doctrines.
As rural agricultural areas become more developed, I wonder how horse/livestock owners will be affected.
Interesting rant from the perspective of a āagā organization funded by who knows who or what on the topic of commercial animals raised for meat.
Given how hard it is to get local authorities to address starving-to-death horses kept on private farms (see recent, specific threads about that), I donāt think you have much to worry about. But hey, I guess people like them their jacked up paranoia.
Many great topics already suggested. Managing liability for both horse owners and horse businesses is always a great topic.
Personally I like to hear about boarding contracts, and I think that for people who board horses it might help them understand the concerns that boarding facilities have.
I think that partnerships would also be a good topic. Both partnerships for the purpose of equine ownership and partnerships for equine businesses. People always toss around partnership ideas without understanding the long term risks/consequences.
Oh I like this one because I called specifically for insurance coverage for others riding my horse at my property (I had a horse for sale at the time and a friendās kiddo was taking lessons on my pony, I wanted additional coverage for people coming to trial ride above and beyond a liability waiver (plus itās now been determined by case law that a parent cannot sign away the rights of their minor child)), and the insurance company assured me that the coverage plan I was looking at covered thisā¦ then when I read it line by line before signing, it specifically excluded people riding horses owned by me.
Iād also be curious about lease agreements, especially for showing/campaigning, and how serious injuries would be handled? I know generally the leaser has to get insurance, but then thereās the tricky but about insurance not always wanting to pay, or preferring to have an animal PTS versus retired. I ask because I may have a horse that will very well be much more talented than I, and I can anticipate looking for someone campaign her for a year or three but donāt want to sell her.
Try reading the āsocial licenseā articles that are cropping up to restrict what you can do with a horse. Here is one from COTH
Presentation from the FEI
Slide 1 (fei.org)
Here is the PaulikReport
Social License To Operate: Will Horses Be Ridden In 20 Years? - Horse Racing News | Paulick Report
You can do your own googlingā¦
How to evict the āboarder from hellāā¦when the BFH doesnāt want to leaveā¦and what recourse does a barn manager/barn owner have ā¦ eg., ref, Barisone Affair.
Iād love more insight into encroachment issues with suburbia being built next to farms. To expand upon what @3PonyFarm already asked, what recourse does an existing farm have to continue to operate despite odor complaints or flies, etcā¦ that may come up (assuming appropriate sanitation measures are in place)? Can zoning be changed without a farm ownerās consent?
As more trails open to multi use and more riders are negatively affected by loose dogs, oblivious bikers, runners and people pushing baby carriages, is there any recourse if riders or horses are injured?
yes then the current use becomes a nonconforming use if the use is not supported by the zoning classification
Thanks!
youāre welcome, however the biggest issue that could directly affect a current use is a changing of a cityās animal control ordinance. Here recently ours was rewritten, primary reason was to be clearer however the restrictions imposed could/would directly affect use going forward. The numbers of large and small animals allowed is specific. My issue with the changes was what the city was describing using common wording like Horse and Pony. Rather than getting into a battle with a city official who does not know the difference between a horse or a pony I did get them to insert a height and how the height is to be measured,
I agree and also would be interested in what laws exist regarding seller disclosure maybe also including veterinary prepurchase exams.
Fortunately, weāre not in that situation now, but itās been an issue in the past.
Will you have to change/sell things?
There was one proposed here that had to do with manure, something like manure cannot be āstockpiledā (composted or just left on the ground) within 40ā of a property line, which would obviously affect farmers/cattlemen more than horse owners but a lot of horse owners were pretty freaked out. It didnāt pass but makes me want to revisit dragging versus picking my large paddocks.
Why do horse shows require entrants to indemnify any and all claims, demands, or causes of action that occur at the Event (including, without limitation, any claims, demands, or causes of action that are in any way connected with participation at the Event or the use of equipment, facilities, horses, or bringing horses at or to the Event) arising from actions, non-actions, or negligence of Releasees, third parties, animals, or any other cause whatsoever.
I hate these. I sometimes skip shows that have this type of indemnification clause, but everyone signs them maybe not knowing exactly what it means. I donāt mind signing them if the wording is different.
Hypothetical ā
My trainer asks me to take a horse to the vet clinic using my truck and trailer. Horse is insured. Is there something the owner can sign to absolve me of liability? What if the scenario is that Iām already taking my own horse (insured) and the other horse (insured) is an add-on because Iām already going?
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
