Liability and horses?

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Holly82

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Sorry I didn't know really how to title this, but my question is...

If someone says they accept no responsibility for any loss or damage, does that mean you have no come back, even if it was their fault?

I'm really confused, sorry if this seems an obvious question, but I really need to know for sure.

Thanks
 
Oh right, thanks.

My YO made me sign a form when we moved on saying they accept no responsibility etc and there are signs all around. But I feel my horse has been injured due to their negligence. Just wondered where I stood with it all. Last thing I want to do is sue them, but there is a possibility we may loose our horse now.
 
It is very hard to prove negligence, unless it is actually witnessed, the signs and forms will not cover them if they are negligent but you should have insurance in place to cover your horse and yourself for injury and that should be enough to compensate you for damage however it is caused. If you are not insured you can try going for compensation but it may not be worth it unless you have evidence to take it further. Sorry about your horse.
 
Thank you be positive.

Yes I understand it must be complex carry on and like I said I don't want to sue, but if something happens to our mare I.e if we loose her. Then I may reconsider.

Yes I have insurance, but it is very basic, which mainly covers public liability, loss of horse and a few other things (not 100% sure of the top of my head). I know it does not cover vets bills, which is what I'm currently paying for. I think I need to call them regarding 'loss of horse' but since we haven't lost her (and I hope we don't!) I don't feel this is applicable at the moment. Thank you for raising the point about evidence too.
 
She will herself, unless she is utterly crazy, have liability insurance.

If she did something like turn your horse in with one that was known to be violent, without you being aware of that, or if there was barbed wire lying on the ground, for examples, then I believe that she is liable for your vet fees no matter what her notices say.
 
Can you give brief details? If the YO has been negligent in their care of your horse or in respect of maintenance they were/are responsible for and this has resulted in your horse being injured as a result then I would say they can be held liable and you should be able to claim for the costs to treat your horse from their liability insurance.
 
Basically my mare has had an old large rusty screw embedded in her hoof, close to the frog. We believe she has picked it up while taking shelter in an old rickety field shelter yesterday, which was meant to of been demolished months ago.

I had the vet out and was told it could be touch and go, if the screw had penetrated near her bone. The vet was hopeful after removing it that she may be ok, but obviously could not say for sure. We had a second visit today too, as when I arrived this morning I found yet another nail in The same hoof!! Anyway, the vet said basically the place was not fit for horses as there is too much debris and ragwort in the area. The YO was meant to of tidied up months ago, but like always nothing ever gets done. Anyway our mare seems to be slowly on the mend, although she is very lame. This has cost me £300-400 in vets bills and I feel it was negligence on their part. The YO has already said she feels bad about it, but has not offered an apology or offered any compensation. They are obviously standing by the fact they accept no responsibility etc.

My husband and I decided to take the drastic step and moved our mare to a new yard today, so I'm hoping it will be much safer.

I am still very annoyed by it all.
 
Not nice, but unfortunately, I think you'd struggle to claim against your YO as there's no real concrete proof they are negligent as the nail may not have come from the shelter and I guess it'd also depend on what sort of livery contract you have (ie DIY/Full) as some responsibility could be down to you.

Not nice but in this position it is not something I would pursue a claim against. :(
 
Firstly i hope your horse is OK

But you have signed up to her terms, she has pointed it out to you, so you should have made sure that you had insurance so that if anything did happen you could claim on your own insurance.

You haven't said whether you are on DIY, but irrespective you should be doing basic checks on where your horse is being kept. I wouldn't put my horse on a ragwort infested field and if i felt the shelter was unsafe I would either make it safe, take it down or move.

To be honest it sounds as though it was an accident waiting to happen and that you could and should have foreseen it and you should have done something about it earlier.

The only thing your YO can't restrict liability for is death or personal injury to an individual.
 
My understanding is that your YO is technically liable. The no liability signs basically cover the YO for situations such as your horse getting injured in the field due to a hot air balloon, messing around with its mates etc.

Nevertheless, unless you have previously informed your YO that you are unhappy with the field shelter and would like it to be removed, I guess you will have been assumed to have accepted the associated risk.

Unless you are just renting a field with responsibility for all its maintenance, the YO's responsibilities for grazing are the same whether you are DIY or full livery. It still has to be "fit for purpose".

Tbh, a few hundred pound is absolutely not worth the stress of a liability case. Hope your horse makes a swift recovery.
 
You can not negate liability to your negligence but it could be argued quite strongly that you knew your horse was being turned out in a field with a dodgy shelter and ragwort and didn't stop it. Therefore you were not taking reasonable precautions with your own property.
 
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