Endurance.Net Ridecamp Archives

It’s very sad that the horse died, but sadder still that the owner feels they should sue the runner. Horses need to be better trained than to spook & bolt if they are going to be taken out in public. Where I live deer will pop up right next to you, vultures will suddenly take flight over your head, a covey of quail will make a huge ruckus leaving a bush they’d been hiding in, a coyote will run right across the trail in front of you, cats are good for laying hidden near the trail & suddenly jumping up & running. Who should I sue if my horse spooks & bolts? No one, it’s my responsibility to train my horse to listen to me, just as much as it’s my responsibility to keep the brakes, tires, lights, wipers functioning properly on my vehicle, so when I need it to respond quickly in an emergency, it will. I sure hope the runner does not face any liability in this suit, and I hope you, Kristi, can pass along horse owner responsibility information to him. Worse than speed limit signs on the trail, I’m concerned that frivolous lawsuits like this will get horses eliminated from the trails since there will always be things out there with the potential to spook a horse. 

Kathy

Hubby's coworker isn't a distance rider, but last

Saturday he was doing what many of us love to do -

trucking on down the trail. As he popped up over a

rise, he spooked two horses and they bolted. The

riders both fell off and sadly, one of the horses was

injured and died. Apparently, the horse's owner is

going to sue the rider who spooked the horses, on the

grounds that the rider was going faster than was

prudent. Sigh...next thing you know we'll have speed

limit signs on the trail.

This happened at a park where I've been trying to get

permission to hold an AERC ride, but the park manager

has told me he doesn't want a 'race' in the park due

to the number of pleasure riders. I fear that this

incident only solidifies in his mind that 'speed

kills'. 

I'm sharing this just as a reminder that when you're

trotting or cantering down the trail, really pay

attention to sight lines and possible blind spots,

etc. As more and more 2 mph riders hit the trails,

this scenario may unfortunately become more common.

Kristi