What would you do in this situation?

[Luci07]

Just to clarify on the insurance part. The owner of the horse is legally liable for damage her horse has caused, even if it is not her fault. The rider needs to have her own riders insurance as the owners insurance would not cover any personal injury. I looked into this when getting a sharer for my mare and checked with a solicitor. There is no legal requirement to insure your animals but a 3 rd party could pursue you and claim damages and I have no idea how you would pay. In terms of this specific incident, we don't know, we weren't there and it sounds like it would be a he said/ she said conversation. Like most accidents! I would contact the CAB pronto for legal advice but think the actual person at risk is the friend who owns the horse. Oh and btw, if the rider HAD been hurt and it was the horses fault, she " could" go after the owner herself. This is a cheap insurance to take out and completely necessary in this litigious times. I would ask the girl invoked if her friend is a member of any affilated organisation or possibly riding club...if she is, then the owner may well have cover

 

[Black_Horse_White]

This happened years ago so not really sure if the law has changed. I was taking a hack out with a few riding school kids. We were waiting at a junction when a car came up behind one of the horses, it backed up and kicked the car. The insurance company said the driver had no claim as he was too close and could of reversed the car out of the way of the horse. This as I say was a good few years ago. They need to seek legal advice before handing over any money.

 

[Enfys]

What no-one on the first page has said, and I haven't read the entire thread, so apologies if this has been mentioned, is that horses are animals, not automatons, they are unpredictable...so, if the rider was doing their best to keep the horse under control and out of the way of the car the fact that it jumped sideways because it was startled by something out of her control is not entirely the riders fault, it was an animal being an animal. Drivers and Riders have to take that into account, talking generally, not specifically here, more education is needed on both sides. How many riders have actually taken a Riding and Road safety course?

I do agree about the insurance though, no insurance, no riding in public.

If a horse was a factor in a major incident and people were, God Forbid, killed or injured, and they had no public liability the insurance claims could mean you lose your house.

My insurance agent says 'Never admit liability' until he has been contacted, and take photos, of everything.

 

[jrp204]

I hope the driver has seen the FB thread and has copied it.

 

[el_Snowflakes]

Hmmmmm, a tricky one as it sounds like a unfortunate 'accident' where neither party were to blame as such. However, all horses should be insured for third party. What would have happened if the horse had caused some serious damage? Its asking for trouble to be riding an uninsured horse.

 

[Hedgewitch13]

If a horse cannoned into my car then the owner can damn well pay for the damage I'm afraid! You can't use the excuse of horses being unpredictable to wriggle out of paying - that's shocking!

My mare had no fear of cars but was scared of anything in the hedges etc, etc. Had I ever not controlled her properly and hit a car I would have done the decent thing and paid for any damage done. But then I was fully insured as I'm not stupid...

 

[Sunshine]

IMO if the damage is on the rear 1/4 side or back from the front door then it seems more likely than not that the horse bumped into the car and the driver couldn't do much to avoid it, as opposed to more frontal area damage.
As the rider has the drivers details and his insurance company info perhaps she should make contact directly with his insurer as a third party involved in an accident. That way there's no risk of paying cash to him, even if liability is accepted, and it means that the insurance company are notified, thus preventing any possibly nasty personal visits. Then she can decide whether to accept liability and cough up or defend the case and possibly counter claim for injury/shock if needs arise later. Often soft tissue injuries will show up as stiffness and soreness for a few days after the impact.

 

[Honey08]

How many riders have actually taken a Riding and Road safety course?

Probably most who went through pony club in this country... I made sure my stepson had done it before he was allowed to hack on the roads alone (he was 13 1/2).

I agree with samuelissimo that drivers should go through their insurance if they want payment for an accident. People are supposed to inform their insurance if there is an accident, whether or not they intend to claim either on their own insurance or against the other person. When drivers ask for direct compensation without going through the insurance, its because they don't intend to tell the insurance company about the accident. I think that's fraud.

The problem here is that there is only insurance on one side - the rider doesn't have insurance, so its not so simple as just exchanging details and letting the insurance get on with it. Obviously the driver believes its not their fault and that its not fair that their insurance goes up just because some idiot decides not to have insurance... If not, why would any of us bother insuring if the other person always has to pay if you're not insured...??

My friend had a horse kick her car door when shying at the trailer she was pulling (she had stopped to let the rider come past in their own time). The rider refused to leave any details and when she tracked them down, denied it all, her friends backed her up, saying it wasn't her, and my friend had no choice but to claim of her own insurance. Her premium went up £300 the following year - for something that wasn't her fault... Do you think thats fair? I think its disgusting personally.

That said, I wouldn't be handing any money over there and then if I was the person in question, until I had seen several quotes for the damage.

Some people on here should be ashamed of themselves, trying to get out of paying for accidents and thinking of counter claims etc. You are the reason that insurance is so expensive for the rest of us.