Legal Question in Civil Litigation in Washington
Horse Injury
Two weeks ago I found a horse that I really liked the look of and the owner told me that I could take the horse on a two week trial to see if I wanted to buy him. I trailered the horse off the property to the stable where I board my horses. The horse was in an outdoor arena and kicked a metal fence causing swelling of his leg. The owner of the horse assured me that the horse was fine to test out at a walk as she had called two vets to make sure. Now that I've decided not to purchase the horse she wants me to sign a paper saying that I will be responsible for the vet care if the leg doesn't heal since I had my trainer ride him when he was injured. I don't mind paying for a vet check on the leg but I don't want to be responsible for possible further injuries of the horses leg as the horse will no longer be in my care. I know that her property is very rocky and the horse could even more easily injure itself there and I don't know what she will do with the horse after I deliver it back to her. Should I sign this paper or not? What should I do?
Thank-you
1 Answer from Attorneys
Re: Horse Injury
And this is a classic example of why you should have the terms and conditions of an agreement in writing before you start performing an agreement.
The two of you can draft an agreement now. You can't be held responsible for consequences that are too remote - though it would have been better practice to immediately call a vet and have the horse checked out when the accident happened, so as to establish a baseline of injury.
The owner is going to have a hard time proving that any subsequent injuries are due to that kick when she has a rocky pasture.
Bottom line is don't sign anything you don't understand. Call if you want to talk more -
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