Equine Law Blog

Boarding Stable Liability for an Injured Horse

When a boarding stable accepts a customer’s horse for care and keeping, the law generally imposes a duty on the stable to use reasonable care. Consequently, a stable could potentially be liable for a horse’s injury even if it had no real intention of harming a horse.

If a boarder wins a case against the stable, the stable might (depending on the facts and the applicable law) be ordered to pay:

• If the horse died, the horse’s value plus any expenses that the owner may have incurred while attempting to bring the horse back to health, such as veterinary expenses or hauling fees.
• If the horse lived but was injured, the amount of money that the horse decreased in value, plus reimbursement for the out of pocket expenses that the owner paid in bringing the horse mare back to health.  Depending on the circumstances, and where allowed by law, the owner might also seek the value of any lost foals or lost net earnings from races or shows.

Risk Management

Here are some preventative measures stables should consider:

Insurance

Insurance may not prevent problems from happening, but it could spare the stable of the burden of hiring a lawyer or settling disputes with the stable's own funds.  Care custody, or control insurance or a bailee legal liability policy is designed to protect the stable against claims involving horses that are injured while in the stable's care, custody, and control due to the stable's negligence.

Employee Training

Generally, employers are legally responsible for the negligent acts their employees commit on the job.

Boarding Contracts

Where allowed by law, stables can ask their customers to sign boarding contracts that include releases of liability.

Categories: Boarding, Liability