Looking for and people who have been involved in legal cases involving equine law for quick pre-query research.
Equine Law
- Thread starter Tish Davidson
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Horse stealing? Horse trading? Brand inspection? The general law that once a cribber, kicker, bolter, always a cribber, kicker, bolter? I've been around horses for years but I don't know what you mean by "equine law."
For this query mainly liability issues related to horse ownership. Other areas of equine law deal with racing regulation, breeding and insurance fraud, sale and lease transactions, syndication of race horses, tax issues related to commercial horse ownership, veterinary malpractice.
MacAllister
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Tish, IANAL, but I've trained and given lessons for years at sport-horse places large and small. Depending on the state you're in, equine law can be pretty forgiving, in terms of liability--The Montana and Washington state codes, for instance, are both pretty horse-facility friendly.
Essentially, you post a sign on your premises with a copy of the equine statute (Horses are dangerous, you could be bit, kicked, stepped on, crushed to death, or fall off and break bones and stuff, you're on this facility messing with these horses at your own risk and now you've been so informed--MT Statute yadda yadda)--and you're pretty much covered, except in cases of clear negligence on your part.
The very few liability cases I know of, in those states at least, generally go in favor of the horse facility.
Essentially, you post a sign on your premises with a copy of the equine statute (Horses are dangerous, you could be bit, kicked, stepped on, crushed to death, or fall off and break bones and stuff, you're on this facility messing with these horses at your own risk and now you've been so informed--MT Statute yadda yadda)--and you're pretty much covered, except in cases of clear negligence on your part.
The very few liability cases I know of, in those states at least, generally go in favor of the horse facility.
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Tish, you might try the link below. It will take you to a Colorado equine law page, but if you scroll on down the page a bit it gives a link where you can find info on the other states, plus some links for federal equine laws, broken down in specific subjects.
http://law.ulv.edu/~lawlib/rguide_%20Equinelaw.html
You may already be aware that now when registering a stud, you send in samples so they can have its DNA on hand. At least we registered one a while back with AQHA and had to send in hair samples. Kind of slows one avenue for fraud down I would think. Not sure if they are doing foals and mares DNA these days or not, but you could probably find out on the AQHA website. I'm assuming if AQHA is doing the DNA thing, its probably the same for thoroughbreds too.
I know this isn't the type liability you're talking about in your post, and don't know if it is applicable to what you are doing, but just in case: in my state, horse owners are liable for damages if a horse gets out on the road and an accident occurs. There may be an exception if you are in the act of trying to get it back in. Most people (in my area anyway) do not brand their horses so you hear about people not claiming their horse if it is on the road and causes an accident.
http://law.ulv.edu/~lawlib/rguide_%20Equinelaw.html
You may already be aware that now when registering a stud, you send in samples so they can have its DNA on hand. At least we registered one a while back with AQHA and had to send in hair samples. Kind of slows one avenue for fraud down I would think. Not sure if they are doing foals and mares DNA these days or not, but you could probably find out on the AQHA website. I'm assuming if AQHA is doing the DNA thing, its probably the same for thoroughbreds too.
I know this isn't the type liability you're talking about in your post, and don't know if it is applicable to what you are doing, but just in case: in my state, horse owners are liable for damages if a horse gets out on the road and an accident occurs. There may be an exception if you are in the act of trying to get it back in. Most people (in my area anyway) do not brand their horses so you hear about people not claiming their horse if it is on the road and causes an accident.
As a horse owner AND a lawyer, I can give you the best answer.
It depends.
Sorry. That was unforgivable.
Seriously, the law can vary so much by state on these issues that I would check with the State Bar Association for the state in which your story is set and I would ask to speak to someone on a related committee (Equine Law if they have one. If not ask for someone from the Veterinary Law Committee.)
Thanks and good luck.
I used to have money. Now I have horses.
It depends.
Sorry. That was unforgivable.
Seriously, the law can vary so much by state on these issues that I would check with the State Bar Association for the state in which your story is set and I would ask to speak to someone on a related committee (Equine Law if they have one. If not ask for someone from the Veterinary Law Committee.)Thanks and good luck.
I used to have money. Now I have horses.
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The same is true in Colorado. However, if you run down an animal on open range (and many highways go through such areas -- there are warning signs), you are responsible for whatever happens, not the animal's owner. In fact, you need to pay the owner for loss of the animal, be it horse, cow, or sheep.MacAllister said:
We had a neighbor who stole semen from another neighbor's stallion, and managed to inflict it upon his poor innocent mare, who had a colt.
I belive that ultimately the owner of the ah, sire, was given possession of the colt.
I belive that ultimately the owner of the ah, sire, was given possession of the colt.
ColoradoGuy said:
In investigating more, I'm finding significant differences between laws in the more densely settled East Coast states and the much more sparsely populated states with lots of ranch land in the West.
Medievalist said:
I'm fascinated. I can imagine turning someone else's a stallion loose with a mare in heat and letting nature take its course, but I would not want to be the one to get a mechanical sperm donation from a stallion under clandestine conditions.
If you want to read more about the mechanics of Thoroughbred horse breeding, pick up Stud: Abventures in Breeding by Kevin Conley. My daughter was reading it in high school and one of the teachers throught from the title that it was a dirty book. I think he was disappointed when it turned out to be about horses.
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