Just leave details and I’ll call you back at a convenient time. An upwards and increasing figure of £4billion a year is spent on horses in the UK. According to British Equestrian Trade Association’s latest national survey, approximately 4 million people are taking up the reins and getting involved with our equine friends. We have all seen the viral news of some horrific Road Traffic collisions inv
olving horses on Facebook. The British Horse Society estimate there are 3000 horse related accidents a year. The inevitable outcome is that there is an increasing number of legal disputes, falls, accidents and injuries. The Lincs and Notts Air Ambulance attend 2 horse-riding incidents per month and numerous emergencies involving entrapment in machinery. A second air ambulance service reports they have carried more people seriously injured from our sport than motorcycle accidents over a 12 month period. We all know it can be a very dangerous sport. Horses have a propensity to be unpredictable. By their very nature they are a flight animal. However, some accidents are not the fault of the horse or the rider. Such accidents can cause very serious injuries. They can happen on the road, whilst working, at competitions and hunting to name a few. Contracts - More people are buying abroad without actually viewing the horses. More people are buying from the internet. These lead to disputes and/even possible negligent vetting claims. More and more people are seeking advice and such disputes and is a rapidly growing area of law. There have been radical changes in Britain due to the European Legislation and the strict interpretations of our legal Courts. This is resulting in more legal agreements being put in place for buying and selling equines (although this is likely at the high end of the markets). My services are to primarily highlight whether you have a potential claim and I will refer you onto a Specialist Panel Solicitors whom will also investigate rehabilitation services for you. I am a qualified Fellow of the Institute of Legal Executives (FCilex) and have an insatiable love for the horse, their welfare and riding generally. I personally own an Ex-racehorse, an ISH show jumper and a KWPN show jumper. From my own personal experience, my family has been subject to equine rogue traders or ‘horse dealers’. The problem is you can become attached to the horse of your dreams and returning it despite possible chronic issues is not an option. I recently purchased a gelding where the dealer insisted a wound site was from a removal of a wart. The sale was conditional upon certain criteria and one was that the animal was free from sarcoids. The wound transpired to be a poorly removed sarcoid which returned with vengeance but I chose to keep him as he is my perfect horse and treat his affliction but it would cause another complexity to the dispute. Another horse purchased from a ‘horse producer’ had a wound to his chin which the producer insisted was a little nick which he had accidently knocked off the scab. As I received the horse back at home the vet was called on the next working day. This horse had been suffering from a broken jaw and broken roots of a tooth together with infection. Due to the fact that the ‘producer’ had not once attempted to seek proper medical treatment for this animal, and despite the fact that I could have sued the producer for breach of contract under the Sale of Good Act 1979 or indeed the Misrepresentation Act 1967 and returned the animal to him, I chose to keep him in the good home he deserved. A double course of antibiotics and you be pleased to hear he is well on the road to a full recovery without any further surgical intervention. He was lucky. Road Accidents - my previous horse had been ‘rear ended’ by a car (he did recover completely and I competed him BSJA as a teenager). More recently, whilst riding my daughters horse, she spooked after we had overtaken a parked car on seeing a plastic bag fly up. The bus should never have attempted to overtake us in such a small road space and her quarters collided into the side of the bus. No serious damage was done, but had it been otherwise, a successful claim, on a balance of possibility, was highly likely in both instances. Finally although I would love to give services out for free, there is a variable fee involved for my services but this will be presented to the Solicitors Practice for payment on any successful claim. Thank you for reading.
