EQUINE LAW SERVICES

Don't think that your equine transactions are the same as buying or selling a couch!  Your horse is your livelihood, your friend, and your investment.  If you want to buy a horse for a particular purpose, your contract should reflect that purpose.  Likewise, if you make your living training, a proper liability waiver is vital to protect your business and your assets.  Sit down with us for a free consultation.

Services:

• Particular Purpose Contracts
• Installment Contracts
• Contingent Contracts
• Lease Agreements
• Breeding Contracts
• Boarding Contracts
• Liability Waivers / Hold Harmless Agreements
• Hauling Contracts

Key Benefits

• Protect your money and your loved ones.
• Prevent costly litigation.
• Ensure the safety of your business.

Do Instructors have a Duty to their Students?

Instructors do have a duty to provide a reasonably safe lesson environment for students. If they fail to do so and a student is injured, then the instructor and his or her employer can be held legally liable for the injury. California does not have Equine Activity Statutes, and even it did, EAS's do not protect the instructor if the horse is provided by the instructor or the instructor’s employer, so that the instructor has control over which horse is ridden. Finally, an instructor has a legal duty to determine the experience and ability of a student and to take that into account in selecting a safe mount and structuring a safe lesson.

Will a Release Protect Me?

If the language of the release is at all vague, it will be interpreted in favor of the injured person. So, it is imperative that the language employed in a release from liability be precise.  Some releases from liability forms try to do too much and, therefore, encounter strong resistance from courts.  It is important that the form release the stables, owners, and employees from liability for ordinary negligence in the operation of the stables. It should also specifically exclude releasing from liability for gross or willful negligence, so as not to appear over-broad and encounter a court's resistance for that reason.