Unplanned pregnancy...

[Keith_Beef]

My daughter has a friend who has two miniature horses, a mare and a gelding; when she and her father go away on holiday, the two horses go back to the farm where they were bred, and are kept together in a field.

Unfortunately, on their last trip to the farm a stallion in a neighbouring field broke through the fence and got to the mare, who is now pregnant. He's also a miniature, so it's not catastrophic, but the girl and her father don't really want another pet horse...

And this got me thinking, surely it's the responsibility of the horse breeder to maintain enclosures, and will be liable for any damage or loss resulting from an animal escaping from its enclosure. Including any cost associated with the birth of the foal...

 

[DabDab]

It's a bit of a murky area, but yes it is generally the party who failed to secure their animal that is considered at fault. In this case technically both the stallion and the mare were under the responsibility of the stud farm manager, so they are definitely to blame. However, I'm not sure how much of the costs associated with birth etc. when the mare's owner could presumably have had it aborted but chose not to. It's a tricky one.

 

[Equi]

If shes a decent mare, i would advise your friend to ask the farm owner to take the foal when it is weaned, but ill be perfectly honest, the chances of the foal leaving after its been born is slim...ive yet to move on any of mine