friend riding pony. should i write up a letter?

BSJAlove

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i have a 12.2hh 4 year old NF who ive just backed. i have a lovely young rider lined up who has had lots of riding lessons and is jumping and wants some experiance on 'normal' ponies. im thinking of letting her ride under my supervison and tuition 2 times a week. she is the perfect size for him and he is very easy. but obviously, him being 4 and having only done walk and trot, i want to make sure i wont get sued if (god forbid) she does fall off.

were friends with the family and they have had a horse of ours on loan in the past for their older daughter who lost interest so they are fairly horsey them selves. but is the already a legal document or how would i word one? we already have insurence too. including public liability.
 
Sorry this reply doesn't answer your question at all and I really do understand why you asked it but isn't it sad that you have to worry about all this when you are offering a child the chance to ride like this. Guess its just te world we live in.
 
kirinsam its really sad, its not the world it used to be.

You could write up a letter / aggreement, but I dont think it would stand up in court, if something really bad happened, esp as youngsters are unpredictable. If I were you, I'd call up your insurance and get conformation in writing, that if something happened, you'd be covered. As we all know how insurers like to wiggle out of claims, then you know your covered.
 
You can't contract out of liability for personal injury ie you can't get her to sign anything saying you aren't responsible for any injury (or if she does sign something, a court wouldn't uphold it). The best you could do is get her to sign a statement that she agrees that riding is a risk sport and done at her own risk etc etc.

You need to speak to your insurer to make sure you are covered as you have said you are going to teach her. Even if she had her own insurance and claimed against them for any injury it could be that her insurers may come against you to recover any monies they paid out to her.

It is terrible that we have to think about these things in this day and age, but better to be safe than sorry.
 
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