who should pay vets bill?

If you had proof then I would certainly want an apology at the least and the offer of contribution depending on the severity.
But.......... if there are several horses in the same field I think you'll find it hard to say for certain which horse it was and should just put it down to horses being horses and accidents do happen which aren't anyone's fault.
 
aintgotnohay said:
if your horse was kicked in the field by another one and you knew which horse had kicked yours.would you expect them to pay your vets bill or at least contribute towards it??
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No, i would expect to pay it myself.
But then i wouldn't put my horse out with another that is known to kick either but then, accidents happen, horses get silly and over exuberant at times so it's a calculated risk turning them out with others.
I know my horse can be a bit kicky with new horses so i will always tell people this and if they still want to turn their horse out with mine then its at their own risk. I wouldn't expect to pay their vets bill if my horse kicked theirs.
 
thats what i was thinking cos one owner is saying i should pay her vets bill as my horse kicked hers today and she gone mad and said she doesnt want mine in with hers again.

he is not a known kicker but has to be shod on all four as he is flat footed and goes lame otherwise.
 
No - happened to my horse last winter, £900 vets bill later, my problem, my risk, I chose to turn my horse out there, and these things happen. Nothing to do with the other horse owner at all, and I neither asked nor expected them to pay a penny!
 
aintgotnohay said:
thats what i was thinking cos one owner is saying i should pay her vets bill as my horse kicked hers today and she gone mad and said she doesnt want mine in with hers again.

he is not a known kicker but has to be shod on all four as he is flat footed and goes lame otherwise.
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Its her horse and no, you are not obliged to pay. I would tell her you are sorry that her horse has become injured. If its sever I would consider seperating your horse from the others using electric tape
 
aintgotnohay said:
thats what i was thinking cos one owner is saying i should pay her vets bill as my horse kicked hers today and she gone mad and said she doesnt want mine in with hers again.

he is not a known kicker but has to be shod on all four as he is flat footed and goes lame otherwise.
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Horses will be horses and it is the risk everyone takes when turning out in a herd. Sorry the person is being stupid; you have no control over your horses behaviour in a turned out environment - not like you can have a 'word' with him! If he starts to do this regularly then maybe he would need to be separated, but it will be a pecking order scrap no doubt.
 
A few years ago another livery's mare jumped out of her paddock and then jumped in the paddock that my mare was in, they both had their bums facing and just kept double barrelling each other. I didn't even get an apology.
 
No, this happened at my yard over the summer. One of the more dominant horses escaped into a field with a gelding and 'his' mares. The dominant gelding kicked the other in the knee and despite many attempts to sort the knee out infection got in and the horse was PTS a month later. The owner of the horse PTS said horses will be horses - no one was to blame.
 
aintgotnohay said:
thats what i was thinking cos one owner is saying i should pay her vets bill as my horse kicked hers today, and she's gone mad and said she doesnt want mine in with hers again.

he is not a known kicker but has to be shod on all four as he is flat footed and goes lame otherwise.
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Obviously you say how sorry you are that it's happened, if it was your horse. And leave it at that.
 
If my horse got hurt by a kick I would pay it myself. That's horses for you.
It would be nice to have a card and flowers as a token but not a must.

The only situation I would challenge would be if a known kicker was kept in a different paddock to mine, but a numpty owner put it in with with mine, even though they shouldn't be together. It has happened before. Then it would be different as it would be the other owners fault.

Or if a horse jumped in with mine, due to poor fencing. But only if the issue had been spoken about and they failed to fix it. Again has happened. Then I would think a part payment would be fair.
 
No way these things happen. Horses will be horses. I would not even expect a apology , it's not like it's the owners fault that her horse kicked out. My horse had it's leg broken in the field by another horse, I did not expect the owner to apologise , it's not her fault. Tell the woman to stop being so silly. If it bothers her that much tell her to go rent a field somewhere and stick her horse in it on it's own.
 
AS the famous saying goes... "$hit happens!!".
We as humans cannot account for an animals actions, when they are out in their "herd environment".
My horse has been kicked, I know which horse kicked it.
I got the kick sorted and got on with things. I wouldn't pay for someone else's horse's vets bill. Especially if the two horses have been fine previously and have never shown any signs of disliking eachother...
 
No, Horses are horses and if they are regular field companions thats the risk you take.

IF horse was a known kicker then it is up to the owner of the other horse to decide if they want to take the risk and turn their horse out with it. if they decide to go ahead, they accept liability.
 
Unless the accident occured as a result of negligence on the part of the horse's (that kicked out) owner or yard owner then you would be responible for any vet bills incurred. We come across this situation reguraly within my practice and on occasions successful claims can be pursued if for example the owner of the yard turned too many horses out together. However in the vast majority of cases where the accident did not occur as a result of anothers negligence it is the injured horse's owner that has to pay the bill.
 
my horse was kicked at the start of this year,he fractured his radius and it cost almost £5k to fix and a lot of time and effort. I paid the bill.
 
On my old Yard, we were in paired turonut and my horse kicked another, though no vet was needed.

My old YO intonated that I should leave, but another livery who liked me and had no other in her turnout, very generously offered to split her field in half with leccy fencing separating her horse and mine - the owner of the horse kicked was gracious but not exactly patient afterwards in problem solving, though who can blame her?

But, I think I would have offered to pay half if the vet was needed, just to maintain harmony on a very cliquey yard
 
Owner should pay vets bill and should have insurance including vet fees cover in place if he/she would struggle to pay for a major injury.

Keeping horses together always carries a risk of kick injuries unfortunately... (although my horse has managed to kick and injure himself in the past :rolleyes: )
 
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Owner pays, unless negligence can be proven.

The Dizz was kicked. Two weeks box rest (along with Grey Mare as we couldn't split them at the time). Vets bills. I paid.

I wouldn't even say sorry if it was my horse that did the damage. I'd commiserate with the owner (horses, who'd have them and all that), but I wouldn't have directed my horse to do the damage and my horse is not a known kicker/biter/rug ripper etc., so I would have nothing to say sorry for.
 
MrsMozart said:
Owner pays, unless negligence can be proven.

The Dizz was kicked. Two weeks box rest (along with Grey Mare as we couldn't split them at the time). Vets bills. I paid.

I wouldn't even say sorry if it was my horse that did the damage. I'd commiserate with the owner (horses, who'd have them and all that), but I wouldn't have directed my horse to do the damage and my horse is not a known kicker/biter/rug ripper etc., so I would have nothing to say sorry for.
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My sentiments exactly Mrs M.

We were on a yard once where my daughter's then horse got fed up with a huge ISH that kept trying to play with him - this went on all the time with the other horse continually pestering ours. Our horse in the end grabbed ISH (2 hands taller than him) by the neck at the mane and dragged him a few hundred yards up the field. It stopped other horse pestering him, but unbelievably we were 'ostrasised in the yard' - had we done the very deed ourselves we couldn't have been treated worse! No vet was involved - just a precious owner. Numpty owners methinks!!!
 
Would not expect anyone else to foot the bill. Daughters pony got a kick and broke the splint bone in leg in 2 places,horse was on box rest etc.We knew which horse had done it (staff had witnessed it)BUT it could have so easily been the other way round.Horses will be horses and unless a horse is known to be unduly aggressive to others then don't think the offending horses owner can be held liable.
Only thing that annoyed bout that was when the owner just refused to believe that her horse would even kick period!!
Same with ripped rugs definite pain but part of horse ownership unless you want to have them by themselves.
 
No, you defo shouldnt pay and its not your fault. Be nice by all means but I wouldn't even apologise tbh. Anyone who owns horses knows that this is a risk.
 
My boy was kicked a couple of weeks ago and his jaw was fractured. It is healing up very well (it never stopped him eating etc), but he was put back out with his field buddy the next day as he is so much happier being out with him. They are 2 big (17h+) babies who love to play, so as much as it is a bit annoying, my boy probably asked for it, and i wouldn't have dreamed of asking for any contribution towards vets bills!
 
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