The Law and You
Horse Liability
Elyned Ashcroft
Elyned Ashcroft is a solicitor with Cartmell Shepherd of Carlisle who are ranked the top agricultural law practice in the North West by the independent Chambers guide. She lives on a hill farm in the Pennines with her husband and three children, where they keep Kendal Rough sheep and registered Fell ponies. Her contact is eda@cartmells.co.uk
Out the side door... | © Midge Todhunter
"If you lend a horse to a friend, or a Riding School hires one to a client, it pays to be open and tell the rider if the horse has known vices."
That is the moral of a case heard recently in the Court of Appeal.
A riding school offered a horse to a lady called Mrs Freeman, an experienced rider, for a two-hour hack. They told her that the horse was "a lively forward going horse who occasionally bucks when going to canter but not in a dangerous fashion".
Mrs Freeman decided she could handle the horse, and continued even after it had bucked once. Later in the hack the horse bucked violently, which it had never done before, throwing its rider and causing her serious injuries.
Under the Animals Act 1971, a horse owner is liable for damage it causes where damage is likely and is likely to be severe if it happens, the likelihood comes from that particular horse’s nature or that of horses in general in certain circumstances, and the characteristic was known to the owner or its employees.
However, section 5 of the Act removes liability altogether where the damage is entirely the victim’s fault, or where the victim voluntarily took the risk. The Court decided that Mrs Freeman knew the risk and decided she would take it, and as a result the riding school was not liable for her injuries.
Mrs Freeman would probably have lost her case anyway because the horse had never bucked in this way before, and it was not a known characteristic of horses in general in those circumstances.
If a horse is known to be easily spooked, have vices or to act erratically in certain circumstances, the owner must tell riders and handlers beforehand. The rider then has the choice to take the horse or not.
Honesty really is the best policy.