Livery

[lc_jones]

My horse sustained an injury this weekend while in her stable. Her back leg went through a rotten piece of wood used as a border for her stable floor. This has resulted in an emergency vet call out on Saturday, sedation, bandaging, and medical spray. Is the yard owner liable to pay these vet bills due to the stable clearly not being adequate enough?

 

[Apizz2019]

My horse sustained an injury this weekend while in her stable. Her back leg went through a rotten piece of wood used as a border for her stable floor. This has resulted in an emergency vet call out on Saturday, sedation, bandaging, and medical spray. Is the yard owner liable to pay these vet bills due to the stable clearly not being adequate enough?

Personally I'd say no but it depends on the circumstances.

Was it something she walked on and her leg went through, or is it higher up and she kicked it?

 

[ihatework]

Did you alert the YO to the rotten wood and they failed to act?

Honestly this sounds like standard horse accident and I’d suggest you pay the vet bill and don’t go after the YO (unless you are happy to potentially start looking for a new yard!)

 

[Lammy]

If the stable was clearly not adequate as you say then it was your responsibility not to put her in it. If you’d notified the yard previously and they haven’t acted then potentially you have a leg to stand on. But ultimately, if you put your horse in a stable either knowing it was potentially dangerous or unaware, then I think it’s up to you to be paying the vet bill and be more discerning in the future.

Horses are always trying to hurt themselves and it’s up to us to judge the safety of their surroundings.

 

[Green Bean]

I think I agree with Lammy on this. I have been through a similar situation with a paddock not being adequately fenced to keep horses in (or out as the case may be). If you had prior knowledge to the unsuitability of the stable and risk it posed to your horse, you should have:
i) moved your horse to another stable while the YO returned your stable to a suitable condition
ii) moved your horse to another stable and not returned to the stable posing the risk (if one was available and YO wasn't prepared to make your original stable safe)
iii) moved your horse to a new yard if the YO refused to make your stable safe and there were no other suitable stables available.
It is difficult, but I think it is a lesson everyone needs to learn and adapt to all aspects of their horse's care in the hands of a livery yard. And of course, the very important requirement - put everything in writing, even if just by text.

 

[laura_nash]

If you are on full livery then maybe, yes. If DIY then like others said unless you raised the rotten wood and were assured it was safe or were told they would fix it and they didn't fix it in a reasonable time frame then I think you accepted the stable as-is. I'm not a lawyer though.

Unless it's a large amount or your about to move area I doubt it would be worth trying to claim even if you had a case. You'd likely find yourself blacklisted by local YO's.

 

[Shilasdair]

Of course your stable owner has a duty of care to ensure that the premises are safe and well maintained.
The difficulty would be enforcing this - you'd have to pay for legal advice, and potentially find a new livery yard.
I'd be inclined not to bother, personally.

 

[Leandy]

Agree with Shilasdair. Be aware you will likely find yourself fighting your claim not with the yard itself but with their insurance company and they won't roll over easily and it will be painful and you may well not recover all your costs even if you do get a pay out. It is unlikely to be worth the effort.

 

[SussexbytheXmasTree]

Of course your stable owner has a duty of care to ensure that the premises are safe and well maintained.
The difficulty would be enforcing this - you'd have to pay for legal advice, and potentially find a new livery yard.
I'd be inclined not to bother, personally.

I’d agree with this there is a duty of care to provide safe and suitable for use facilities. However unless you are talking about a bill of thousands the personal cost and difficulty to retrieve those costs from the YO are simply not worth it.