Who needs to pay for vet fee?

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nix123

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If you go out on a hack with some friends and friends horse kicks your horse (for no reason whilst they are standing) and you need a vet who pays the vet bill if injured horse is not insured? Other horse has insurance so could you claim off her public liability?
 
The person who owns the horse pays the bill .
The other would only have to pay the bill if found to responsible for the horse kicking because they where negligent in some way ( unless they offer to pay ) to do this the owner of the kicked horse will have to take the owner of the other horse to court.
And in court they would have to prove the negligence of the other rider caused the accident.
 
horses have their own minds, you can't blame the owner unless it was her fault (i.e she did something to cause the horse kicking your horse) and expect her to pay the bill.
Just the same if your horse was injured by a kick in the field, you'd never expect the owner of the other horse to foot the bill.

But then again I'm insured so I have peace of mind for any large bills.
 
The owner of the kicked horse, who shouldn't have allowed her horse near enough to the other to get kicked.
One of the first things I was taught at RS many, many years ago and RI would have really let rip if we had allowed such a thing to happen.
 
Pearlsasinger said:
The owner of the kicked horse, who shouldn't have allowed her horse near enough to the other to get kicked.
One of the first things I was taught at RS many, many years ago and RI would have really let rip if we had allowed such a thing to happen.
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Yes, exactly what I was going to say. The person on the horse that got kicked was responsible for where they were standing. And I hope they at least have third party insurance!
 
The owner of the horse - as above, to claim on third party insurance you would have to prove your friend was negligent in some way and you've said you were just standing and her horse kicked out for no reason. So not really any negligence.

Third party is relatively cheap insurance (£60 a year) because they only pay out in very limited circumstances, insurance to cover vets fees is closer to £600 a year because they pay out much more often for these little bits and pieces.
 
Polos Mum said:
The owner of the horse - as above, to claim on third party insurance you would have to prove your friend was negligent in some way and you've said you were just standing and her horse kicked out for no reason. So not really any negligence.
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There was a reason for the kick, actually. The kicker felt that its personal space had been invaded and neither rider noticed the warning signs, or if they did they did not take any evasive action. IMO the rider of the kicked horse was negligent but both riders should have been more aware of what was going on.
 
Pearlsasinger said:
There was a reason for the kick, actually. The kicker felt that its personal space had been invaded and neither rider noticed the warning signs, or if they did they did not take any evasive action. IMO the rider of the kicked horse was negligent but both riders should have been more aware of what was going on.
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This. If I was in this situation I would be paying my own bill.
 
Frosty89 said:
This. If I was in this situation I would be paying my own bill.
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I think if there weren't obvious warning signs then it would be fair (not saying its the legal position) to split it 50 50. Rider of the horse kicked pays half cos they shouldn't have been close enough to be kicked, and rider of horse that kicked should pay half cos their horse did it.
 
lachlanandmarcus said:
I think if there weren't obvious warning signs then it would be fair (not saying its the legal position) to split it 50 50. Rider of the horse kicked pays half cos they shouldn't have been close enough to be kicked, and rider of horse that kicked should pay half cos their horse did it.
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I must disagree. It is purely the rider of the injured horses negligence for being too close to the other horse to be within kicking range. I would never ask a friend to pay my horses vet bill because their horse kicked out.
Horses will be horses.
 
jess_ said:
I must disagree. It is purely the rider of the injured horses negligence for being too close to the other horse to be within kicking range. I would never ask a friend to pay my horses vet bill because their horse kicked out.
Horses will be horses.
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I agree with this. It's not the other rider's fault that the other horse was allowed within kicking range. I'm sure that most of us let our horses do that when they are with others they seem to get on with, but the risk is ours.
 
Tinypony said:
I agree with this. It's not the other rider's fault that the other horse was allowed within kicking range. I'm sure that most of us let our horses do that when they are with others they seem to get on with, but the risk is ours.
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I hope that those who do allow their horses to get too close have read this thread and taken note.
It really does amaze me sometimes how little knowledge some owners appear to have.
 
montanna said:
1000000000000000000000000% the responsibility of the owner of the kicked horse, no question.
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What if the kicker was napping & ran backwards into range of the kicked horse? I have seen this when a driven pony was kicked when stood at the side of a road and another horse had a hissy fit, running backwards at speed, and double barreled the poor pony. No way was the owner of the pony to blame.
 
[/QUOTE] injured horse is not insured[/QUOTE]

i'm amazed someone would ride a horse on the roads with no insurance, what would happen if the horse caused an accident involving a car/pedestrian/cyclist??? doesnt bear thinking about - very irresponsible, at least get third party insurance with the BHS gold membership, it costs as little as £6/month.

the vet bills part, i wouldnt expect to claim of anyone elses insurance, but then all mine are insured - with a minimum of 3rd party for those that are not ridden.
 
My friends horse kicked my horse in the field. I still paid the bill (well the insurers did) and it was massive.

Horses are horses and as far as I'm concerned your own horse is your own responsibility. Unless there has been some frightful negligence (like the vet leaving a swab inside it or something) then the owner should sort out their own animal.
 
If the owner of the horse who did the kicking knew that he did kick, then they should (or at least offer to contribute). However, if it was just pure bad luck, then the owner should.
 
s4sugar said:
What if the kicker was napping & ran backwards into range of the kicked horse? I have seen this when a driven pony was kicked when stood at the side of a road and another horse had a hissy fit, running backwards at speed, and double barreled the poor pony. No way was the owner of the pony to blame.
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You would need witnesses and the ability to prove it in court :)
 
Responsibility for paying the vet's bill rests with the owner of the injured horse, without exception. If the vet has been called then the owner of the injured horse should expect to pay that bill promptly and the vet should expect to be paid without any delay or arguments over who was responsible for the accident; it is not their problem.

If the owner of the injured horse feels that the kicker's rider was responsible, they could then pursue a recovery of the cost of treatment from them. As said above however it is not simply a case of the one who caused the injury is responsible. Sometimes accidents do happen and anyone who has spent any amount of time around horses should know that they are unpredictable and have the potential to kick. If you get that close then in my view it is hard to argue that you have not voluntarily accepted that risk.

If the owner of the injured horse does attempt to pursue such a claim then, successful or not, I would not be surprised if they rapidly find they have no one prepared to ride with them in the future!
 
Yep, I'd sure hesitate to ride out with someone who was into making claims for stuff like that.

Both my horses have kicked the same rider when out hacking (not when I have been on them or with them, I don't ride them!), I guess it's possible that they both just don't like that person, or they're both mardy gits at times, or perhaps even it could be that maybe that person lacks control of their own horse in certain situations and lets them get too close. Hard to say.
 
skint1 said:
Both my horses have kicked the same rider when out hacking (not when I have been on them or with them, I don't ride them!), I guess it's possible that they both just don't like that person, or they're both mardy gits at times, or perhaps even it could be that maybe that person lacks control of their own horse in certain situations and lets them get too close. Hard to say.
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If that person is the only one that either of the horses has ever kicked when ridden, then I would imagine that it is because this is a careless rider who takes no notice of horses' body language and allows the horse she is riding to get too close to other horses. Why don't people take notice of the 'one horse length' rule, which was drilled into me as a child?

Of course sometimes it is the kicker (or its rider's) fault. If it was napping backwards rapidly and the kicked horse had nowhere to go, for instance. Or I once saw a rider get kicked, she was escorting a ride, turned her horse across the road to guide the others into a gate way, leaving them plenty of room. One rider allowed her horse, which was a known kicker, to get too close as she passed and the horse lashed out. The rider of the stationary horse got kicked on her leg.

But OP said both horses were standing quietly.
 
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Sadly OP, this sounds like you have tried to get away without paying for/getting insurance and now you are regretting it after your horse is injured, and trying to see if someone else will foot the bill.

Sorry if that sounds a little harsh, but i really do not understand people who dont insure their horses, then skimp on treatment when the need arises. You wouldnt drive your car without insurance so why do it to your horse?! if you cant afford £30-40/per month (or even less as others have quoted) then you can't afford to properly look after your horse.
 
Injured horses owner pays the bill as normal.
Unless kicker horse owner was negligent.
As on they knew the horse was a kicker or bad tempered or did something to cause the horse to kick.

If it was a friend, even if not ay fault, I'd offer to pay at least part.

What would have happened if it was the other way around?
Uninsured horse kicked the other.
 
No help I'm afraid, but I thought I was going to be in this situation a few days ago. Just before I came to take Ned to his new field, I got a text saying "Ned has kicked my pony, he can't be ridden for a few days, my daughter is distraught!!!"
While I was very sorry Ned had done this...really, what could I have done about it? I was over 5 miles away!! Had I been there and I could have stopped it, I would, but that wasn't the case. Horses are horses!
 
Dusty85 said:
Sadly OP, this sounds like you have tried to get away without paying for/getting insurance and now you are regretting it after your horse is injured, and trying to see if someone else will foot the bill.

Sorry if that sounds a little harsh, but i really do not understand people who dont insure their horses, then skimp on treatment when the need arises. You wouldnt drive your car without insurance so why do it to your horse?! if you cant afford £30-40/per month (or even less as others have quoted) then you can't afford to properly look after your horse.
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Bit exreme isn't it! I don't insure any of mine because I begrudge paying that amount of money per month when in the last 5 years I've only needed an unplanned vet visit once. It doesn't mean I can't afford a vet - I instead make sure that I have a 'fund' set to one side for vet bills - or that I can't afford my horses. How do you know the OP isn't in the same situation?
 
It's not always your fault if you get kicked that's a far to simple way to look at things but it's still your responsibility to pay your horses bills.
Sometimes things happen that are nobody's fault .
 
Dusty85 said:
Sadly OP, this sounds like you have tried to get away without paying for/getting insurance and now you are regretting it after your horse is injured, and trying to see if someone else will foot the bill.

Sorry if that sounds a little harsh, but i really do not understand people who dont insure their horses, then skimp on treatment when the need arises. You wouldnt drive your car without insurance so why do it to your horse?! if you cant afford £30-40/per month (or even less as others have quoted) then you can't afford to properly look after your horse.
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I have four horses and would never dream of insuring them ( except third party of course) I simply don't believe in it.
 
Its just a feeling i have about the way the post was written.
As for the rest of it, thats just my opinion. You're obviously more sensible but i know plenty that dont insure and don't have a fund set aside!
 
Goldenstar said:
It's not always your fault if you get kicked that's a far to simple way to look at things but it's still your responsibility to pay your horses bills.
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No it isn't but if you are standing close to another horse's back end (which is how I read OP) and not watching for the tail swish/ears back/pulled face which the vast majority of well-mannered horses would give as a warning, then it IS your fault. I agree about the bills Goldenstar.

ETA, I only have BHS insurance but know that I can pay any vet bills that we are likely to incur.
 
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