1 Horse Power

[Chattonmill]

MIL was going past a hunt on Christmas Eve behind two other cars, she heard a bang and looked in her rear view mirror to see a horses belly
The rider had tried to go past her for some reason and the horse had taken fright, gone up in the air and landed on the rear window.
Thankfully she didnt have the grandkids in the back otherwise there could have been some serious injuries.
Made the familly meal more bearable as we had something to talk about...... ever cloud has a silver lining

 

[Howard]

Do horse people have insurance ? who is going to pay for the damage to her car ?

 

[Chattonmill]

Not sure about individuals, but this guy is a Pro Jockey so I assume will have, it now transpires that the hunt will pay for it, although I think his FIL is going to stump up instead as his MIL is a Master.
To confuse things further My SIL works for the riders FIL so who is going to pay? Not sure, but certainly not my MIL!

 

[neilrr]

Horses are not liable no matter what they do unless you can prove negligence on the part of the rider, apparently.

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/motoring...situations-and-a-carbon-footprint-fright.html

 

[Beetnik]

I can see the headline now "Hunt Saboteur reverses car into innocent horse"

 

[Chattonmill]

Horses are not liable no matter what they do unless you can prove negligence on the part of the rider, apparently.

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/motoring...situations-and-a-carbon-footprint-fright.html

I think the fact that he had obviously had a few tipples during the day and that he ran up the back of her with witnesses may swing in her favour.

 

[Howard]

Seems harsh , imagine if you didn't have fully comp insurance ...

The rider should be in control of her animal , if it damages your car , due to her failure to control it , why should i ( or anyone else ) have to pay for the damage ?

If you can't control it , it shouldn't be on the road.

 

[219]

It should equally be just as much of an offence to be 'drunk in charge' of an animal on the highway as of a vehicle - though it may be argued that the animal and not the rider was the one in charge . It may have been the case that if the police were called out to the incident , both parties could have been breathalysed , as is routine , and if the rider was found to be intoxicated it would make negligence easier to establish .

I'm pretty sure there have been past cases of people drunk in charge of horses , horse & carriage combinations and even bicycles - but it may just be folklore .

 

[Chattonmill]

She didnt call the Police because of the connection to the familly, but had she been a random passer by I think he would have been in trouble for the drink.
Scary for a 68 year old though..

 

[x332race]

As a horse owner and rider, I make sure that I have 3rd party insurance for such eventualities and most other owners/riders I know will have similar cover...horses can be unpredictable and it is impossible to guarantee what they will do however well they are trained.

I do not know the ins and outs of the law in respect of liability in such a case but I would have expected the horse/rider to be responsible for costs. However, Honest John usually gives good advice...I would speak the the insurers of your car and the horse to see what they say in this instance.

 

[Chattonmill]

Luckily the costs are going to be covered by the FIL or hunt, if it was down to the insurance then they would write the car off (E reg Saab) But it is worth more to her with all the dents than the 50p she would get get from the insurance!

 

[BTB 500]

I've never understood why kids that are too young to have a moped can legally ride a large horse on the road.

 

[Dieter]

Hi,

An amusing story with a happy ending.......but what does FIL, SIL, MIL etc. mean....I expect it's obvious once you know

Cheers,

 

[Chattonmill]

Father in Law etc.....

 

[Beetnik]

father in law; mother in law etc

 

[gina2201]

I have public liability insurance (and horse insurance) whenever I go out on the road. Although I don't believe it is the law.

 

[neilrr]

I think the fact that he had obviously had a few tipples during the day and that he ran up the back of her with witnesses may swing in her favour.

I missed the part where it was claimed that the "fact" was "that he had obviously had a few tipples".

Where did you see that?

 

[talbir]

If the horse belongs to a club then the club will likely have public liability insurance and this will be triggered in this event.

talbir

 

[poppypiesdad]

I've never understood why kids that are too young to have a moped can legally ride a large horse on the road.

Or a kid can have a pitbull on a lead

or it could be that that is there past time and they like it

p.s as a owner of 13 horses each one insured for third party liability which include escapes from the field, on road, private land,competitons and lessons

 

[BTB 500]

Or a kid can have a pitbull on a lead

Only with a muzzle on.

When I lived in Hampton Court there was an incident where a young girl was riding a horse along a busy main road in the rush hour. It bolted onto a major roundabout (Sunbury Cross, where the M3 becomes the A316), causing an accident involving a bus and a car. The girl and the horse both died.

She was too young to be in charge of a moped, so why should she have been allowed to ride a horse in the same circumstances?

We have a horse BTW (with 3rd party insurance), and young children who ride.