Equine Law Blog

Can Injured Trainers Sue Horse Owners?

Horse trainers, it might seem, should expect the risk of being thrown or injured by the horses they train.  Over the years, however, injured trainers have sued their clients, and sometimes they win.  As explained below, trainers are more likely to win if they can prove that the owner or stable knew that the horse had unusually dangerous tendencies but failed to warn them.  Trainers are more likely to lose if the risk at issue was an “inherent risk” or an “assumed risk.”

Cases Involving Equine Activity Liability Laws

As of September 2011, 46 states (all but California, Maryland, Nevada, and New York) have passed some form of equine activity liability law.  All of the laws differ, but many share common characteristics.  Most of these laws state that an equine professional, equine activity sponsor or “another person” should not be liable if someone is injured as a result of an “inherent risk of equine activity.”  The laws typically include exceptions that could allow certain kinds of lawsuits to proceed. 

Both before and after the passage of these laws, some professional horse trainers have filed lawsuits after being injured on the job.  A brief discussion of the cases follows.

The Trainer Loses

In a Georgia case, a trainer sued the horse’s owner after being kicked while preparing a horse for a show.  The case was dismissed based on that state’s Equine Activity Liability Act.  The appellate court agreed and found that the law protected the owner from suit because the trainer qualified as a “participant in an equine activity” to whom the law applied. 

In a Louisiana case, an exercise rider at a track was injured and sued.  The court likewise held that the case should be dismissed based on that state’s Equine Activity Liability Act.

The Trainer Wins

A case from Massachusetts involved a trainer who took a test ride to evaluate a horse for potential purchase, but the horse threw him.  Throughout the case, a dispute existed as to whether the horse’s owners warned that the horse was temperamental and disliked being ridden in a certain direction.  The trainer did not necessarily win the case outright, but because of discrepancies in the facts, the court ruled that a jury needed to decide whether the horse owners satisfied a requirement in the Massachusetts Equine Activity Liability Act to “make reasonable and prudent efforts” to determine the trainer’s ability to safely handle the horse.

No Equine Activity Liability Law

Trainers Lose

New York’s highest court affirmed dismissal of a case filed by legendary jockey Ron Turcotte (known for riding “Secretariat” to his triple crown victory).  During a race at Belmont Park several years ago, Mr. Turcotte fell and was rendered a paraplegic.  He sued several people, including a jockey who allegedly caused the accident and the owner of the horse that that jockey rode.  In dismissing the case, the court stated in part that “professional sporting contests ... by their nature involve an elevated degree of danger.  If a participant makes an informed estimate of the risks involved in the activity and willingly undertakes them, then there can be no liability if he is injured as a result of those risks.”

In a case from Indiana years ago, a trainer worked a horse on a longe line when the horse allegedly attacked him.  He sued the horse’s owner.  The court dismissed the case, however, based on the principle that the trainer had “assumed the risk” of being injured.

Trainers Win

In a New York case, an experienced horse trainer volunteered to help another trainer load a colt into a trailer but was injured when the horse kicked her.  She sued the horse farm claiming that it was negligent for, among other things, failing to warn her of the colt’s dangerous propensities and for improperly administering a tranquilizer to the horse before the incident.  Ruling that the case should be permitted to proceed to trial, the court noted that the trainer did not “assume the risk” of being kicked under the circumstances. 

In a case from Minnesota, a farrier was kicked while trimming a horse.  His suit claimed that the owner knew, but never warned, that the horse was a “kicker.”  The court held that the farrier deserved her day in court so that a jury could decide if the owner, by not warning of the horse’s history, created an unusually hazardous situation that put the farrier in danger.

If you would like more detail on the above cases or have any questions, please give me a call or send me an email using the form below.

Categories: Liability