Avoid Legal Woes:
Get it in Writing
By: Adam Trenk, Esq
B
y and large horse owners and horse enthusiasts tend to be selfre
liant. This is a wonderful trait to have, but unfortunately, it can
lead these people to overlook the importance of written documents
in their dealings. I have encountered many horse trainers and
boarding facility operators that fit into this category. More often
than not their clients are just as independent minded and trusting
and so they see no problem in doing business without adequate
written documentation. When this happens both parties to a
transaction end up exposed to a variety of potential problems that
could easily be avoided.
Below is a list of some of the issues that every horse owner and
equine professional should have documented before leaving their
horse in the care of another or accepting another’s horse into their
care. By having these items addressed you limit liability, set expectations, and pre-determine the management of issues likely to
arise. Failure to address these matters beforehand can result in a
costly escalation of the most minor issue.
•
Health of the Horse: Upon delivering a horse to a training
or boarding facility, the parties should acknowledge that the horse
is delivered in good health. At a minimum the horse owner should
be required to document that assertion with the appropriate health
records evidencing the horse has a clean Coggins and has been
vaccinated within an acceptable period of time. If the horse owner
does not document this, and unbeknownst to the trainer a horse is
placed at a facility in an unhealthy state, numerous problems can
arise. The horse owner may hold the facility operator responsible,
or worse, if the horse infects other horses at the facility, the facility
operator could be liable to the owners of those other horses.
•
Payment of Board/Training: The cost and terms of payment
for board and/or training must be clearly documented. This may
be a flat fee or it may be based on a menu of services provided. For
example, daily turn outs, worming, assisting with farrier or vet
care, storing equipment, feeding supplements, et cetera, may all
come at additional cost. With regards to trainers, if the trainer is
competing with the horse, will he or she receive a percentage of
winnings as additional compensation? One should also clearly
detail when payments are supposed to be made and any penalties
for late payment. Late payments disrupt cash flow which can be extremely sensitive in the horse business. Of greater consequence is
that if the horse owner fails to make a payment, it is more difficult
to hold them liable if their duty to pay was not defined.
•
Standard of Care: This is extremely important. Boarding
contracts should explicitly describe the minimum standard of care
that will be provided to a client’s horse. This means write out the
following: (1) how many times a day a horse will be fed, (2) the
type(s) of feed, (3)the approximate time or a range of times when
the feeding(s) will occur, (4) how water will be provided and how
often it will be checked/cleaned, (5) how frequently the stalls will
be cleaned, (6) if grooming is included to what extent, (7) how
medical emergencies relating to the horse will be managed, (8) any
additional services that will or will not be offered, et cetera. Similarly, contracts for training should detail the minimum amount
of work the trainer will do with the horse, specifically: (1) how
frequently the horse will be worked, (2) if each work session does
or does not involve actually riding the horse, (3) if the trainer is
allowed to remove the horse from their property and under what
circumstances, (4) how the trainer will deal with lameness or injury, et cetera. Generally speaking, after describing a standard of
care it is advisable to include a disclaimer that the boarding facility
operator and/or trainer is not responsible to do anything beyond
the minimum described therein in writing. By spelling out what a
client is getting for when they pay to board or to get a horse trained
their expectations are set and squabbles over petty issues are
avoided. The horse owner also has peace of mind that the subject
of their substantial emotional and financial investment is receiving
the care that they are paying for.
•
Remedies: Every well written contract must consider what
happens when there has been a breach. When it comes to keeping
horses for another, the most common form of breach is that person’s failure to pay. Every state is different but in most states there
are laws governing the exercise of Agister’s Liens or Feed Liens. As
a boarder or trainer, at a minimum one should reference their intent to enforce lien rights under your State’s laws. In some circumstances it may be appropriate to waive enforcement of a feed lien
and contract for de facto abandonment in the event of non-payment for a certain period of time.
The above outline is not exhaustive. Every boarding facility and
every trainer has a unique regimen and every client’s circumstances are different. For this reason, as a boarding facility operator or
trainer it is best to have a custom tailored contract specific to one’s
own operation. Once that document is created it can be used over
and over again. While a boiler plate form is certainly preferable to
no written agreement at all, be wary of forms down loaded from
the internet. Each state has its own unique laws. Thus, what may
seem to apply at first blush could leave you exposed if it is not written to conform to the appropriate jurisdiction.
As a horse owner one must be cautious about entrusting their
horse without the caretaker’