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Are There
Any Four-Legged Liabilities In YOUR Barn?
If you run a lesson
program or a trail string, any horse in your program
with a history of dangerous behavior is a four-legged
liability. For example, the
family of a child who was severely bitten by a horse
is suing an Aspen outfitter, claiming that the
outfitter was negligent by allowing its guests to come
into contact with a horse that had a history of biting.
When a student or trail ride customer is injured by
one of your horses, the mere fact of injury is not
enough basis for a legal case against you. Instead,
the injured party has the burden of showing, by a
preponderance of the evidence, that you were
negligent. Showing that you breached your duty of care
to the injured party is an essential element of
negligence. However, if you are aware that a horse in
your barn has a particular behavior problem, say
biting, and that behavior problem then results in
injury to one of your customers, you have just made
the plaintiff's case against you much easier to prove.
The plaintiff can show that although you were aware
that the horse had a problem, you breached your duty
of care by not taking appropriate steps to protect the
plaintiff from the particular harm that you knew might
result from this horse's behavior. Sometimes, it's
virtually impossible to protect the plaintiff from the
possibility of a horse exhibiting dangerous behavior,
such as with a horse that is spooky by nature. In such
cases, the horse in question is indeed a four-legged
liability and should be removed from the lesson
program or trail string.
Additional
Information:
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