red ribbon is admitting liability

soulfull

soulfull

Well-Known Member
Joined
25 July 2007
Messages
6,506
Location
Staffs
Visit site
As I have a green horse, I thought about putting a red ribbon in his tail for busy warm up areas, not because I think he would kick, more so that we were given more space. However my instructor said this would be admitting liability

So I rang BHS who I have my liability cover with and they agree :eek:

They also said if your horse 'does' ever kick anyone you can't even apologise as that too is admitting liability and means you are not insured :eek:


Has the world gone mad??
 
Yes, it look like the world has gone mad. I thought the ribbon was supposed to be a way to give fair warning?? :confused:

I always put a red ribbon in her tail. The way I see it is, if someone then uses her ar$e to stop then it was their stupidity to ignore the warning.

I wouldn't be apologising, I'd be asking why they had been so stupid to run in to us in the first place.

Then again, I'm as much of a stroppy madam as she is :p
 
Guess that means that people should bin any high viz tabarbs with 'young horse' written on them.

The world has really gone to pot :(
 
Pearlsasinger said:
If your horse is green, a green ribbon would be more usual and asks people to take care around him.
Click to expand...

She said I can't do that either

lottiepony said:
Guess that means that people should bin any high viz tabarbs with 'young horse' written on them.

The world has really gone to pot :(
Click to expand...

but I could do this!!

When I asked why she said they don't differentiate between colour ribbons, but the young horse tabbard was fine
 
The world has gone truly mad! I hate it!

I wish things were like they used to be! No one worried about jumping on another persons horse, you accepted that being round horses is risky and you wouldn't try and claim compensation for dropping a hay bail on your foot!
 
I can understand the red ribbon one as essentially you are taking a 'dangerous' horse somewhere that an accident is more likely to happen. Red means a kicker, taking a kicker somewhere it has ample opportunity to kick then the liability becomes yours not your insurance company.

The green one is a bit a of a grey area for me, it should be part of the insurance premium for a young competition horse IMO (bit like learner driver insurance).
 
Its only the same as beware of the dog signs in houses that means your aware your dog could bite.
The young horse bib i wouldn't wear- my dad is a lawyer and does mean a good lawyer would use it as an excuse. A plain bib does same job. Most cars don't read them anyway
 
A good lawyer would also argue that using a Young Horse tabard showed a responsible attitude. That's what my barrister friend told me. ?
 
I would never wear a caution young horse hi viz. I'd wear a normal one or one with please pass wide and slow or whatever, but would have taken precautions. Hacking out with a horse who is highly sensible, choosing a quiet time to go out for the first few times rather than rush hour. I just wouldn't want to risk a driver turning around and saying well they knew the horse wasn't suitable to be on the road and they knew it would be uncontrollable.

In terms of the ribbon - I'd wear a green ribbon out hunting but not sure I'd wear it anywhere else. Also a red ribbon, again on the hunting field if needed, however, I think you'd need to take a lot of responsibility for keeping out of people's way rather than expecting people to keep out of your way. I took a kicker to a local show. She had never kicked a horse before with me since I'd had her, but she did show signs of getting tense when certain horses went by and made me worry she would take a dislike to a horse and lead to her cooking. But it didn't make any difference and we ended up being crashed into. It made NO difference to other people. So I don't know what I think about it's use at unaffiliated events.
 
If you have a known kicker and don't use a ribbon you would be in far more trouble :/

If not known to be a kicker I'd go green.

Signs have to be carefully worded. If you say 'warning - dog on site', you're fine. If you say 'warning - dog may bite' you've accepted liability. Always best to ask!
 
Thats just silly. Surely if you warn people your horse may kick/bite and they still get kicked/bitten then that is THEIR fault, not yours! lol. handy to know for the future though!
 
PandorasJar said:
If you have a known kicker and don't use a ribbon you would be in far more trouble :/

If not known to be a kicker I'd go green.

Signs have to be carefully worded. If you say 'warning - dog on site', you're fine. If you say 'warning - dog may bite' you've accepted liability. Always best to ask!
Click to expand...

Can we put "warning - horse in stable has teeth"? is that the same as admitting liability? lol
 
Sam_1985 said:
Can we put "warning - horse in stable has teeth"? is that the same as admitting liability? lol
Click to expand...

lol. It's all ridiculous, but signs we bought weren't allowed on yard (even jokey ones) as insurance got very funny about it. All we could warn was what animals were on site. However if we had electric up and didn't put a sign saying it was electric and someone got shocked, they could sue... on a private freaking yard!
 
PandorasJar said:
lol. It's all ridiculous, but signs we bought weren't allowed on yard (even jokey ones) as insurance got very funny about it. All we could warn was what animals were on site. However if we had electric up and didn't put a sign saying it was electric and someone got shocked, they could sue... on a private freaking yard!
Click to expand...

Well then my big boy can just bite away to his hearts content then :D It is silly nowadays. Electric tape looks different from other fencing and most, if not all, people know so if they touch it its their own fault. health and safety has gone mad!
 
So...if your horse kicks, you're liable. But if you try to pre-warn people it kicks by putting a red ribbon on, you're liable. Flipping insane. This world has gone so ridiculous, whatever happened to common sense.

It's like if someone trespasses on your land and injures themself, you are liable. Regardless of the fact they shouldn't be there in the first place!
 
Can you please ask the BHS contact what precedent she has for suggesting that you don't put a ribbon in her tail? As Tinypony said, to give fair warning is to display a responsible attitude and I would be strongly arguing that in any court. It's common knowledge even for non-show goers like me that green = young/inexperienced horse and red = kicker. Wouldn't take much to provide evidence of that in court, so I ask again, what evidence does she have? Furthermore, if it's such a bone of contention, then why isn't it displayed clearly in their third party liability policy (I know for a fact it isn't, I was sad enough to read it!! :P).
 
rodeo12 said:
I would never wear a caution young horse hi viz. I'd wear a normal one or one with please pass wide and slow or whatever, but would have taken precautions. Hacking out with a horse who is highly sensible, choosing a quiet time to go out for the first few times rather than rush hour. I just wouldn't want to risk a driver turning around and saying well they knew the horse wasn't suitable to be on the road and they knew it would be uncontrollable.
Click to expand...

This exactly and that is more than likely the side the judge would go with unless they know about horses (you should be fully in control to take a horse on the roads and therefore stating your horse is young and inexperienced is only going to gte you in trouble rather than out of it)
 
I must admit I'm a bit gobsmacked that people seriously consider sueing over being kicked by a horse!

I have always accepted that horses can be dangerous animals and treated them accordingly.

If a horse is being badly handled and causes an accident as a direct result of that then that's one thing but a horse throwing a leg out in either nerves or temper - well that's horses!
 
dizzydancer said:
This exactly and that is more than likely the side the judge would go with unless they know about horses (you should be fully in control to take a horse on the roads and therefore stating your horse is young and inexperienced is only going to gte you in trouble rather than out of it)
Click to expand...

But thats not the same thing as invalidating your insurance, its having a judgement against you.
I don't think wearing a green ribbon could be legally said to be admitting any liability it's stating a fact young horse not the same as red , which means this horse kicks.
 
madlady said:
I must admit I'm a bit gobsmacked that people seriously consider sueing over being kicked by a horse!

I have always accepted that horses can be dangerous animals and treated them accordingly.

If a horse is being badly handled and causes an accident as a direct result of that then that's one thing but a horse throwing a leg out in either nerves or temper - well that's horses!
Click to expand...

I don't like the suing culture, but if I was kicked and broke a leg etc and couldn't work, then I would claim against their insurance or mine. It would be a no brainer.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Top