My pony kicked by loose horse - Vets bill?

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Mrstillytrotter

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My pony was being lead from his field by livery staff, another horse was being lead by a BHS qualified person who was unable to keep control of her. This horse broke loose and kicked my pony resulting in a small but deep cut and blood all over the car park, I had to leave work and rush to the yard, yard staff were also called back and an emergency vet visit was needed. My pony needed one stitch, anti biotics and box rest, bute etc. I spoke to the woman who was leading her relatives horse, and advised her that I would be sending her the vets bill. She agreed , in the presence of her relative, that she would sort it out.
My pony was off work for three weeks, and only left the stable to be walked in hand or stand in a concrete pen eating his hay.
I have now had nasty messages on social media advising that they will not pay, they will not give details of their insurer, it is nothing to do with them etc. One managed to get into my facebook - they are not friends and make a nasty comment - which I did not respond to.
I found myself on the receiving end of a verbal assault, where my pony was called "f%%ing sh67tty" and they considered his injuries and the vets bill as insignificant and had no intention of paying.
They are saying that my pony was " turned out" this is not the case, he stood in a concrete pen and kept scrupulously throughout.
Oh and they are refusing to supply their insurance details - any thoughts?
 
Oh actually, the vet said he could be walked in hand and allowed to pick and at some grass. But overall, due to the wound being so deep, he had to stay in to keep it clean, my pony needed three visits from the vet before getting " all clear".
 
I think every horse owner has had a horse/pony injured by another at one point. I have never approached the owner to ask for payment - this is why I have insurance.

Its not worth the nasty feeling on the yard and horses do hurt each other from time to time. Pony will be fine, put in insurance claim and move on.
 
I’m guessing the pony has no insurance or that’s it’s not worth claiming due to the excess ?
 
I will tell you what I told (what I presume is) the other party...

If they lost control of their horse and it caused damage then I think they are liable.

I don't think you have any right to their insurance details. You would do in an injury car accident, but not in this case. They owe you the money, but could pay it however they wish.

However....

You cannot force them to pay without following legal routes. If you are a BHS member then they will advise on this. If not, if you have house/contents insurance then quite possibly this is covered on that policy, for legal advice. The amount would be right for a small claims court case. This is not expensive.

Plus...

If your horse is insured then you are presumably fighting for the cost of the excess. I would make a decision as to how much time and effort you wish to put into this.
 
Had my horse broken loose and kicked another I would certainly apologise and insist upon paying all expenses, so yes, in my opinion she should pay. The small claims court would probably agree with you. However in these circumstances it is often not worth the trouble. I would avoid speaking to anyone else at the yard about the incident, just speak calmly to the other owner and try to agree something. If she does not agree then maybe the best thing is to forget it and move on as the amount of money is probably not worth taking it further.

Truthfully the owner sounds very strange. Mine are turned out with only one other who does not belong to me, and when he received a small paddock injury I was on to the owner immediately to agree which vet to call out so that I could arrange and pay for it - after all it had to be one of mine who caused the injury and for the small sum of a vet visit and cleaning a cut I prefer to maintain good relations. I don't really get why they would not be contacting you to ask you for the bill, but I suppose sometimes you have to be the adult.
 
It’s interesting to hear other people’s POV re liability and what the right thing to do is!

My pony was turned out with one other and got battered so badly, she broke her splint bone. Months of box rest and surgery later... I never asked the owner for a penny.

Equally horse was tied up, got loose and double barred mine walking past on yard. She was fine with vet and physio intervention which I paid for.

I look it as part and parcel of owning horses but perhaps I am too kind!!
 
Buckoff901 said:
It’s interesting to hear other people’s POV re liability and what the right thing to do is!

My pony was turned out with one other and got battered so badly, she broke her splint bone. Months of box rest and surgery later... I never asked the owner for a penny.

Equally horse was tied up, got loose and double barred mine walking past on yard. She was fine with vet and physio intervention which I paid for.

I look it as part and parcel of owning horses but perhaps I am too kind!!
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It’s different if horses are turned out together, no one is liable for any injuries in that case .
 
A number of years ago a 'lady' gurney her horse out next to mine. The ladies horse was not in its field, she had turned it out in the alley way between our fields. It broke through the fence and kicked my horse on his forearm. It was a possible fracture at the time. Luckily he was OK. I made her pay my vets bill due to her negligence. I hope you get it resolved.
 
Foxychops said:
A number of years ago a 'lady' gurney her horse out next to mine. The ladies horse was not in its field, she had turned it out in the alley way between our fields. It broke through the fence and kicked my horse on his forearm. It was a possible fracture at the time. Luckily he was OK. I made her pay my vets bill due to her negligence. I hope you get it resolved.
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You can’t make someone else pay your bill, or did you resort to threats ?
 
bonny said:
You can’t make someone else pay your bill, or did you resort to threats ?
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What on earth would make you think I would resort to threats??!!! Her horse was turned out in a non designated area. Broke through my fencing and kicked my horse. Had her horse been put in the field as it should have been the accident would never have happened.
 
Foxychops said:
What on earth would make you think I would resort to threats??!!! Her horse was turned out in a non designated area. Broke through my fencing and kicked my horse. Had her horse been put in the field as it should have been the accident would never have happened.
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Read what you said ......you made her pay your vet bill, your words not mine !
 
Buckoff901 said:
It’s interesting to hear other people’s POV re liability and what the right thing to do is!

My pony was turned out with one other and got battered so badly, she broke her splint bone. Months of box rest and surgery later... I never asked the owner for a penny.

Equally horse was tied up, got loose and double barred mine walking past on yard. She was fine with vet and physio intervention which I paid for.

I look it as part and parcel of owning horses but perhaps I am too kind!!
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That is a different scenario though. Horses will be horses in a field - and I know know some one whose horse received a catastrophic, life ending shoulder injury in the field - when she was turned out on her own. the horse that inflicted this injury did so when it was meant to be under the control of a handler, who let go of it.
 
Pearlsasinger said:
That is a different scenario though. Horses will be horses in a field - and I know know some one whose horse received a catastrophic, life ending shoulder injury in the field - when she was turned out on her own. the horse that inflicted this injury did so when it was meant to be under the control of a handler, who let go of it.
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Yes thank you. If you see above I had said I was more reflecting on the second scenario and hoping the OP comes to a resolution.

Interesting to hear different peoples POV though. As I differ from yours. I think horses are horses and they spook. No blame needs to be placed, deal with it but we are all different.
 
It was an accident and accidents happen. I think you are being unreasonable to ask for your vet bills covered. Also, it’s only a stitch, some bute and antibiotics, that’s really not a bill that I would start a fight about. We’re talking what, £2-400?

Not being involved in a fight at the yard where I go to relax and enjoy my freetime is worth way more!
 
Who was in charge of the horse when the accident happened? You said BHS qualified? Was it a member of yard staff or the owner? If it was a member of yard staff, then surely it's the yard's responsibility as it was down to negligence of a member of staff who did not have control of the horse?
As a livery yard they will need to have appropriate insurance to cover such incidents BUT, I would be very wary making a claim against your yard. Things could get very uncomfortable and you could even be given notice to leave. I wouldn't rock the boat for a few stitches and a few weeks on box rest.
If it was the owner then unfortunately short of a potentially messy and expensive legal battle, there isn't much you can do to make her pay. On principle if it were me and my horse injured someone else's due to my negligence, I would feel obligated to pay at least some of the bill. But then unfortunately my experience is not everyone has these morals, and there isn't really much you can do about it.
 
AUB said:
It was an accident and accidents happen. I think you are being unreasonable to ask for your vet bills covered. Also, it’s only a stitch, some bute and antibiotics, that’s really not a bill that I would start a fight about. We’re talking what, £2-400?

Not being involved in a fight at the yard where I go to relax and enjoy my freetime is worth way more!
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This, exactly this. This sounds like a very very minor injury, and not worth all the fuss and hassle to be honest!
 
Gosh, this is a minefield isn’t it. I would let it go if it was Horses turned out in a field which I had agreed to. And also, Horses can get away from their handlers, it’s happened to us all.
But what if someone turns a horse into your field with no permission, or their Horse got loose through negligence?
I’d be pretty narked off about the latter scenarios and I would gun for the vets bills, but negligence could be very hard to prove.
 
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