Chris: Don't know what your legal parameters
are in your state for liability responsibility. If you have access to
legal advice in your state I would get them to create something that is
appropriate for your area and what you plan to.
What we do is that everyone that comes on the ranch
to ride (or work the brandings) signs a general liability release that covers
horse and cattle activities. It also covers wildlife and that sort of
stuff, falling rocks, rattlesnakes you name it. Here in California even if
you have one of these things signed it won't prevent you from being sued, but at
least it puts everyone on notice.
We also have an internal rule here at the
ranch. Those that ride here have to be either with myself or my husband,
no exceptions.
Last year I had a girlfriend of mine come out here
(she is a trainer) with two of her clients and they didn't check in at the
house. They saddled up and rode out to our large arena (which you can't
see from my house) and they were out there for an hour before I realized
it. I saddled up and hot footed it out there with my liability releases
and let her know that was TOTALLY not acceptable.
She told me, oh these folks are really nice and
they won't sue you. Yeah that is what everyone says until they get hurt,
have exhausted all their own medical insurance then come after you because they
have no where else to turn. Sorry, not taking the chance of losing our
family ranch over someone telling me that another person is nice and won't
sue. Some say I am a pessimist, sorry I am a realist!
We have been asked to hold competitive rides here,
and so far I have not gotten the rest of the family to agree. Maybe they
will someday, but with this being such a sue happy society, I doubt that we will
open ourselves up to the risk.
Also, I was watching Clinton Anderson a few weeks
ago on RFD TV and he was doing a clinic. In the middle of his talk he
stopped the horse he was riding and got off on the subject of liability and
responsibility. It was a wonderful soap box talk about how we need to take
responsibility for our own actions as riders and quit blaming other folks for
our mistakes and accidents with horses and not be so ready to sue
everyone. He said that the horse he was riding belonged to someone else
and he made the personal decision to ride the horse. If he gets bucked off
and kicked in the head he would not sue the owner, he would not sue the
facility, it was his responsibility to take that chance by getting on the
horse.
Anyway it was a good talk and I wish more
clinicians would discuss that subject!
