vera123
Member
Just a musing would liability be different in Scotland compared to England?
Who is liable????
- Thread starter cowgirl16
- Start date
cowgirl16
Well-Known Member
Hi All,
thanks for all your responses on this subject. I hasten to add that I was not asking for myself! A certain person on our yard, who owns 6 horses/ponies, and only comes to see them once in a blue moon! had them escape from their field 4 times in as many weeks! (hunger driven we suspect). Que the poor YM and various other liveries rounding the things up and putting them back. She's been told on numerous occasions to put up some electric fencing, but the message goes in one ear and out the other! Most of the fencing here is complete rubbish. I've run my own line of electric fence inside the main fence, as it's just so insecure. Sadly the YO thinks that his fence is perfectly adequate. But the matter of who would be liable in the event of escaped horses causing damage looks to be a bit of a minefield! Seems the insurance companys would have to battle it out. I've been a BHS gold member for donkeys years, so have PL. Please God I will never have cause to use it. I doubt very much that these 6 horses are insured, hence my wondering about who would be liable if they escaped and did some serious damage. Thanks again for the responses, and hopefully the situation will never arise!
thanks for all your responses on this subject. I hasten to add that I was not asking for myself! A certain person on our yard, who owns 6 horses/ponies, and only comes to see them once in a blue moon! had them escape from their field 4 times in as many weeks! (hunger driven we suspect). Que the poor YM and various other liveries rounding the things up and putting them back. She's been told on numerous occasions to put up some electric fencing, but the message goes in one ear and out the other! Most of the fencing here is complete rubbish. I've run my own line of electric fence inside the main fence, as it's just so insecure. Sadly the YO thinks that his fence is perfectly adequate. But the matter of who would be liable in the event of escaped horses causing damage looks to be a bit of a minefield! Seems the insurance companys would have to battle it out. I've been a BHS gold member for donkeys years, so have PL. Please God I will never have cause to use it. I doubt very much that these 6 horses are insured, hence my wondering about who would be liable if they escaped and did some serious damage. Thanks again for the responses, and hopefully the situation will never arise!
Luci07
Well-Known Member
Interesting thread. I have always been told categorically that if my horse gets out and damages property/3rd parties, this is my legal responsibility. I know my YO bought extra cover "just in case"..
be positive
Well-Known Member
Whatever the legalities of the horses escaping and causing damage the YO/ YM need to take responsibility and ensure the liveries are properly cared for and fed, I don't see any reason to think poor YM they are supposed to be managing the set up and should do something about it before a real accident happens.
If the fencing is poor it needs something doing to prevent them escaping, I think as the owner/ YO/ YM are all aware there is a problem then they are all equally at fault if something happened.
I think a yard should have good enough fencing at least on the boundaries, to make sure nothing can get onto roads in normal circumstances, they are providing a service, if the owner is not keeping to their side of the contract they should be given notice but I suspect if they are paying for 6 that the YO will continue to take the money and make no improvements, hopefully the horses are not the ones that end up paying.
If the fencing is poor it needs something doing to prevent them escaping, I think as the owner/ YO/ YM are all aware there is a problem then they are all equally at fault if something happened.
I think a yard should have good enough fencing at least on the boundaries, to make sure nothing can get onto roads in normal circumstances, they are providing a service, if the owner is not keeping to their side of the contract they should be given notice but I suspect if they are paying for 6 that the YO will continue to take the money and make no improvements, hopefully the horses are not the ones that end up paying.
cowgirl16
Well-Known Member
Hit the nail right on the head with that last paragraph "be positive" !! Money is all that matters!!
cbmcts
Well-Known Member
I showed this thread to one of the lawyers in our legal department today - he and his wife have horses so I thought he might have an opinion 
According to him, the liability is firmly now on the YO because as the horses have escaped previously, it is up to the land owner to do all they can to mitigate the risk of injury to the general public. The fencing is firmly his responsibility in a livery situation and the fact that it has been proved to be inadequate in the past means he has no defence when the horses escape ie he can't blame the owner for having a fence breaker/jumper. The really scary part is that if there was a claim he reckons it is very likely that the insurance company could refuse to pay out as the T&Cs and small print of policies put certain responsibilities on the policy holder regarding what they have to do to mitigate risk to make sure that cover stays in place. That would mean that the YO/LO would be personally liable and could end up losing everything and bankrupt. The horse owner might get sued too but they would have a good chance of escaping liability because it is a livery yard business and they wouldn't reasonably be expected to fence it.
I tried to get him to join HHO to write this post himself but he says we are too scary
According to him, the liability is firmly now on the YO because as the horses have escaped previously, it is up to the land owner to do all they can to mitigate the risk of injury to the general public. The fencing is firmly his responsibility in a livery situation and the fact that it has been proved to be inadequate in the past means he has no defence when the horses escape ie he can't blame the owner for having a fence breaker/jumper. The really scary part is that if there was a claim he reckons it is very likely that the insurance company could refuse to pay out as the T&Cs and small print of policies put certain responsibilities on the policy holder regarding what they have to do to mitigate risk to make sure that cover stays in place. That would mean that the YO/LO would be personally liable and could end up losing everything and bankrupt. The horse owner might get sued too but they would have a good chance of escaping liability because it is a livery yard business and they wouldn't reasonably be expected to fence it.
I tried to get him to join HHO to write this post himself but he says we are too scary