Bit snapped in half

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myhorseislola

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Hi, any legal types on here? On Monday I was cantering up a field with my horse when my bit snapped in half. This scared the life out of my horse who bolted flat out and I ended up bailing out as we were heading straight for some really rutty ground. I received a severe concussion (so bad that I lost my memory for around an hour and got taken straight to a & e) and have damaged my neck, wrist, ankle and am of course bruised everywhere.

MY horse is also lame after pulling off a shoe (he galloped the whole way home ) and had to have vet yesterday as his tendons on front leg were massive (thankfully have gone down now)

It was a well known brand of bit and wasn't cheap, was relatively new and had been well cared for.

Where do I stand legally? I will be taking this up with the manufacturer of course. Is it unreasonable to expect them to settle the following: Cost of a new hat, cost of vet call out, cost of new bridle and martingale which are wrecked now, cost of shoe being put back on and the price i paid for the bit?

Any advice greatly appreciated

Thanks x
 
No idea on the legal side but ((((((((((()))))))))) hope that you recover quickly from what must have been a very scary experience. If you have BHS membership I am sure that there legal team would advise you on how you stand.
 
20 times in a year? :O

I would talk nicely to the manufacturer and see what they say, just don't go in there guns blazing.. (It's not the sales staffs fault after all!
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S
 
Yes 20 times in a year like i said. I bought it for my old horse who was PTS a month later and then dug it out a couple of weeks ago to use on my new(ish) horse.

And no I'm not rude and do not plan to go in there 'guns blazing' I'm not one of these compo types but i do expect them to accept some level of responsibility as their product is dodgy and myself and my horse have not only had a terrifying experience but have both been injured
 
I didn't even suggest you were rude, let alone suggest it.

I'm sure they didn't intend to sell you a faulty product. Infact, if it was a good brand, as you say it was, I imagine it went through loads of tests before manufacture.

I'm sorry to hear you have been injured.

S
 
How totally terrifying
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I think the company should at least want it back to be looked at. Didn't Neue Schule have a product recall not so long ago? Was it one of those? I seem to think there was some fault discovered with the manufacturing process...

In fact here you go -

<font color="blue"> Product Safety


Bits recalled after safety concerns

Reports of Neue Schule’s Comfy Contact bits breaking in the middle have forced the company to recall two from their range

Neue Schule bits is recalling two bits from its range due to safety concerns. The company is offering refunds for the Comfy Contact eggbut cheek and baucher cheek released between 1 September 2004 and 31 December 2005.

"We're not entirely sure there is a problem," said a spokesperson for the company, "but we sought advice from the appropriate bodies and are following their instructions."

The recall follows two independent reports of the Comfy Contact bits breaking in the middle. "It is a safety issue," the Neue Schule spokesperson confirmed. Customers who purchased either of the Comfy Contact bits during the specified dates are advised to stop using them immediately. Neue Schule is offering refunds or exchanges.

The Neue Schule bit company markets itself as providing "bits designed by thinking riders for horse's comfort and performance." A redesigned bit will be available to buy in approximately eight weeks time.

"We were redesigning the bits anyway," said the spokesperson. "At the moment the barrel section in all these type of bits ceases to roll up and down the tongue when the rider takes up a contact. We are working on a design where the barrel will continue to roll at all times."

For more information on the recall or Neue Schule's new bit email: rec@neueschulebits.com or (tel: 07865 022056).

Source: Horse &amp; Hound Online - Anna Tyzack - 15 January 2007 http://www.horseandhound.co.uk/news/397/106081.html </font>
 
i know nothing about legal stuff... but part of me thinks that the bit maker should be held responsible for some of what's happened.


if you were to use a ladder 20 times, and a rung snapped, and you injured yourself, you'd complain to the manufacturer. if you were self employed, and lost work because of it, your insurance company would seek damages from the ladder company (total guess!)

i don't agree with the whole 'compo' culture so don't think you should go ott... but i genuinely don't think you'd expect a well maintained bit to snap in half!

my husband is a policeman and during a riot exercise, his 'fireproof' suit caught fire, causing full-thickness burns on his calves. now, i'm SURE the suit manufacturer didn't mean to make a faulty suit (as SJ says) and that the suits underwent vigorous testing (same suits are used for NASA),

but the fact is... they did make this suit faulty so the police lawyers are claiming compensation to cover the fact my husband was off work for months.

there will be someone on here who knows about consumer law... my guess would be that the bit wasn't made to the standard you'd expect so you should push for some money back.

good luck!
x
 
One thing you need to consider is, the 20 times you have used it, have you cleaned it after? and taken care of it, even minimal useage and then a year of no use might do anything damage, if it has any plastic parts, how did you store the bit? Sunlight? Heat? Humidity?

Hope you feel better soon.


Eta: How is the bridle wrecked?
 
[ QUOTE ]


And no I'm not rude and do not plan to go in there 'guns blazing'

[/ QUOTE ]

S_J didnt say you was rude. I understand where she is coming from with her comment about going "all guns blazing" as most people would. Chill out a little i think.

Sorry to hear of your dreadful experiance and i agree, talk to the manufacturer.
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Hope you're feeling better today. I certainly think it's worth a nice polite letter to them explaining what happened, and what the cost to you has been and how surprised you are at this happening with a bit that has barely been used, and how disappointed you are with the product..
You may well find that as a gesture of goodwill (they won't admit liability of course) they may send you something to recompense.
 
OMG if that happened on my horse im sure i would have died or come close to it. Hope you and your horse are recovering and get compensated accordingly. x
 
I would like to think the bit company take this seriously. What if there is a fault with the bit and this happens to someone else? This time the rider got away with minor injuries but it could have been so much worse. I think you are very right to pursue this matter. (P.S does S_J work for a bit company or something?! He seems very defensive!!
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I would definately contact the manufacture. Do you have photographs that you could include in an e-mail? As has already been said i'm fairly certain that they will not accept liablity, however i expect you may recieve compensation as a 'good will gesture'. FWIW i think you are fully entitled to compensation - imagine you had been on a road at the time?
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Consult Trading Standards first for advice
Take pictures of bit and broken bridle
Get a vet report and hospital report--you dont know yet what damage has been done to either of you
As above go softly softly but keep records of what happened
It would be easy for the broken bit to get ''lost''

PS Hope you are able to get back on soon--take care
 
[ QUOTE ]
One thing you need to consider is, the 20 times you have used it, have you cleaned it after? and taken care of it, even minimal useage and then a year of no use might do anything damage, if it has any plastic parts, how did you store the bit? Sunlight? Heat? Humidity?


[/ QUOTE ]

umm, you are joking, aren't you? if it was a metal bit then i would expect it to be fine after years of not being used, in fact i used a waterford this year that i know i bought in 1992 and have barely used since. it was fine.
i know someone on here posted that they'd had a NS bit break, and i won't ever use one for jumping or xc after hearing that.

to OP, what kind of bit was it, please, plastic, rubber, or metal? even the first 2 are supposed to have a metal chain through the middle so horse can't bite through.

hope you recover fully and that your horse isn't injured. i'd take lots of pictures and contact the company who made the bit.
 
Hi thanks for all the replies. I called the manufac' this morning and despite me being very polite they were actually quite rude! I have been asked to send the bit to them but I am going to contact trading standards first.

It's an entirely metal bit with a centre revolver link and it has been properly cared for and in my tack room for the last few months.

I'm glad everyone seems to agree that it is unacceptable. I'm really not 'out for what I can get' but feel that I should be compensated for the costs incurred to me as a result (vet bill, farrier bill, new hat, new bridle - which was wrecked as he ran home )

I totally agree the the manfacturer would of course not have purposely sold me a dodgy product but the point is they have and I have been injured as a result.

I also expect them to recall the procuct as Neue Schuele did (it's not one of theirs by the way!) If i had been on the road it could have been alot worse. Who is to say it's not an entire batch of faulty bits..?

Thanks all
p.s S_J I wasn't implying that you were saying i was rude, came across wrong but I was trying to say that I am not a rude or unreasonable person

z
 
definitely contact TS then and then you can compose a more formal letter to the manufacturers. make sure to emphasise that you HAD cleaned it, checked it etc (altho agree with Kerilli that you shouldn't have to
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) before riding. keep a list of any phone calls to the manufacturers and also to TS and try to get names where possible. once you have taken pictures (and maybe asked an independent expert to check the bit and write a report for you) i would send the bit back with a full letter outlining the accident, why you feel it is unacceptable and what you expect them to do- i.e. investigate the cause of the breakage and advise on payment for replacement bit and other costs incurred. be polite but firm and then see what they come back with. when i had a similar problem with a well-known trailer company they actually ignored 2 letters from me and wouldn't return my phonecalls so i (with the advice of TS) initiated a claim in the small claims. THEN they wanted to sort things out...just persevere and be polite and firm and you will be suprised what you can get!
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