Liability for vet bills

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Jericho

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Just had an awkward conversation with a woman who has her horses in a field next to our land and just need some advice. We have about 7 acres and use it for grazing for our 3 horses and occasionally for a bit of fun on the quad bike or other toys my husband keeps to amuse himself, which happens about once a fortnight for about 10mins (one of the reasons we moved to a house with our own land!) Yesterday afternoon he had a play on a small track bike just round our field for 5 mins, my horses looked over and carried on grazing. This morning this woman (she liveries at the yard so not her land) came and complained, saying he had spooked her horses and they had charged through the electric fencing and that if it happened again and the horses injured themselves we would get the vets bill. I was out there and didn't see them careering around although they are a bit of a flighty pair and often charge around for no obvious reason particularly if one of the two leave (although they can see other horses) and neigh constantly etc.

Obviously I would of course not intentionally set out to cause any problem or upset her horses but feel a little put out as the field is next to a road which has motorbikes, tractors, cars etc going up and down, someone uses a track bike just round the corner which we can all hear but not see, someone else revs a very noisy trike up near us frequently and I pointed this out to her. I don't think we are being unreasonable by doing what we want within reason on our own land (it's neither excessive or at inconvenient times and we are very conscious of not disturbing our neighbors.

Where do we stand? Any advice please?
 
Do what you want on your own land, you're not being unreasonable especially as your own horses are fine you can't be expected to check on every horse in the local vicinity! If her horses are that affected then maybe YO should move her to a more secluded paddock.
 
Are you on good terms with the owner of the property. If so I would have a word with them and say this woman has come and had a go with no grounds.

Obviously her horses need to get used to it so ideally your OH could go out daily ;)

It really makes me laugh that people think it's acceptable for horses to be scared of every day noises. What if the farmer next door was rounding up cattle with a quad, that is far more likely to wind horses up than what your oh is doing. I've literally never had a horse "run through" an electric fence and frankly if I did I would think I wasn't providing correct training (ie a hearty zap from the energiser if they touch it!) to these horses in their day to day lives!
 
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If I were your neighbour I'd absolutely hate to hear such boy toys in the adjoining fields. I've also been in the situation whereby a number of horses were dangerously distressed by quad bikes playing in an adjoining - and there most certainly would have been an issue if any of them had been damaged.

Having said that I do understand your frustration about possibly having to temper your activities on your own land.

As for where you stand, I suppose ultimately your neighbour would have to prove that your actions directly led to the horse becoming injured if they intended to pursue you for damages.
 
I have been through this with neighbour's teenage son who likes to shoot clays just over the fence from my pregnant mares. As he has informed me, it is indeed (quote) "... his land and he'll do what he likes on it". And so he may, but he can be held responsible for the consequences of those actions!

So, I instructed my solicitor to write to my neighbour stating that my horses had been spooked on two occasions by this impromptu shooting, once demolishing a gate and the second time going through a fence. I suggested that as my neighbour now knew about this and that further harm was foreseeable if he continued, my neighbour could indeed be held liable. She took my point but quite correctly pointed out that my problem would be proving it. We compromised by her writing a letter to my neighbour suggesting that if he cared to phone me when he wanted to shoot, I'd move the horses! If he continued and didn't warn me, I'd sue for any damage his actions caused. Problem solved as he will never lower himself to consult with me and he doesn't want a law suit!

So, yes, there is something your neighbour can do. Video cameras are cheap and easy to buy. You are now aware that your OH's activities can cause harm. If they can be PROVED to cause the horses to damage themselves, you could indeed ne held liable. I'd suggest that compromise is the most sensible way forward. Go and see her, apologise, and ask how you can both enjoy your respective properties. We all have to live in the same world.

My post crossed with the one above.
 
I can see both points of view here, maybe a bit of common sense from both sides would be wise, if you make an enemy of your neighbor and some time in the future you want to change use of some of your land......you can see where it's going....

One of my customers has a piece of land behind her house, it has had horse's years ago on in the past, only this last few weeks she let a relative use it for about 6 dogs for agility training, some secret neighbor has complained to the council FFS, I recommended she got a mutual friend to legitimately muck spread on it every week, give the miseries something to moan about, this is how it starts..
 
It isn't the neighbour though, just a livery!?!
If she is just a livery not your neighbour surely it isn't really her place to complain?

If it were your neighbour I would see if something could be sorted out, as she is essentially just someone who happens to keep her horses there nope :p, tough, suggest she get better fencing :p
 
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Thank you for your replies, I feel a bit reassured as I hate upsetting anyone and I guess I would be worried if my horses got upset by something. He really only has a play for a short while - minutes really and Only every now and again, I probably use the quad bike more to transport poo or grade the manege all within sight and ear shot of her horses. And we aren't the only ones, perhaps it was just the first time they had been there to see it? And to reiterate she just rents a 2 acre field off the livery yard so it's not her property so to speak and she is there only once a day to tend to her horses who live out 24/7. There are no houses close that would be too concerned about the noise anyway and the actual yard which is a working farm is actually on the other side of the road, set well back. I spoke to our only immediate neighbors after we had been in for about 3 months and she said she had never heard us.

I am not sure what the compromise would be to be honest, other than making sure he doesn't go near that hedge line. maybe I will just go out on the quad bike quietly and more frequently so I can help desensitize them to the noise. I have actually just spoken to the livery yard owner who said don't worry about it, I am sure they will get used to it ( we have been here three years and have always done this). The hunt were in the area today and theirs were having a charge around then as were mine! I wonder if they complained to them too...
 
Its a tricky one really. We all like peace and quiet in the countryside, but equally people buy their own land in order to be able to do as they please. I think complaining about one quad bike is not on, animals do get used to most things with repeated exposure, but would it be different if your OH brought all his mates around and they had say, 10 of them racing about on your field? You could say just the same arguements about car-drivers on country lanes. Should they drive so fast when they know other road users might be out and about too, or is it ok because they aren't actually breaking any law providing they stay within the speed limit? Do you see what I mean? I would suggest that the OP invites the neighbouring livery to observe while OH drives around a bit and see what happens with the horses. We all know that if the wind goes up their tails and tickles their bottoms, even the most sedate plod can have a made half hour. It could be that the earlier incident had absolutely nothing to do with the quad bike at all.
 
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If the livery yard owner isn't bothered then I would think no more of it.
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This ^^^

If your neighbours aren't the ones doing the complaining, I'd carry on as you are. You're being more than considerate even being concerned. The livery can't dictate how you use your land.

Your idea of using the quad more often is a good one. Horses get used to new sounds, so you're actually doing her a backhanded favour by desensitizing them for her.
 
Ignore her.

It is your land, and it is hardly like your OH is plowing through her field with a flappy tarpaulin and some fireworks for good measure.

I live in a farming area and to be honest the horses get over noises like this very quickly. I am also near an RAF base and I was worried about how my horse would react to their low to ground manouver training in those very loud fast jet things. She doesn't bat an eyelid and neither does any other horse.

I would say it is utterly unreasonable of her to insist you cease activities on your land when things like quads will be the norm in that sort of area especially with a farm across the road.
 
What on earth does she do if she meets a quad out hacking? She would never cope here, next door neighbour and his grandchildren play on quads, the other fields have cattle checked and moved by quad. Some nearby fields are used as testing ground for big agri machines, and some times there are helicopters landing at the nearby hotel. Hounds are kennelled nearby and we occasionally have a clay shoot in sight! We are quite pleased as it means our horses are used to it all, before they hack out:)
 
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