Starting up a new business in this day in age can be a daunting task. One of the many concerns an entrepreneur faces, is the legal environment in which the new business will operate. In my case we have a fledgling equestrian facility dealing primarily in boarding, but to a lesser extent facilitating a wide range of other equestrian activities. It does not take much imagination to see that riding a one-thousand pound animal in an environment of rock and cactus poses some dangers. The question is how much liability risk is there in an equestrian business for an owner/operator, and how can those risks be mitigated. Arizona law provides some basic guidelines on who assumes the risks in equine activities. One possible service offered by our business will be training. Activities that require professional instruction have legal rules of their own. The case of Morganteen v. Cowboy Adventures demonstrates that instruction can increase businesses chances of being held liable in the event of an incident.
Bareback riding at the Russian River Rodeo, Califo...
English: Young Tibetan equestrian. Close to Tingri...
A bareback rider.Ultimately the risk of injury or death is inherent in participating in equestrian activities. Another aspect of equestrian activity is recreational land use law. A common practice amongst equestrian facilities is allowing outside riders use of the property, an open gate policy so to speak. Recreational land use laws protect land owners from liability when they allow riders access to private land.
Arizona law basically states that an owner or agent of a horse is not responsible for a person who has taken control of that animal. Notice that I say ÃÂtaken controlÃÂ instead of rider. This is an important distinction that may easily go unnoticed. The difference here is that an owner can still have some influence over the horse while someone else is on top of the horse. Say for instance an...