Equine Law Blog
Horse trainers and their clients have every incentive to document their relationship with a contract. Horse owners could potentially bring a variety of legal challenges against the trainer, including:
Breach of contract
A lawsuit might claim that the trainer breached (broke) the terms of a contract by failing to properly train.
Negligence
Trainers have been sued under the theory that they gave negligent (unreasonable) care to a horse in their care and custody, which resulted in the horse’s lameness or other problems.
Deceptive Trade Practice Laws
Possibly, a state consumer protection law (also called “deceptive trade practice law”) could apply to the trainer-client relationship. These laws typically protect consumers who claim they were deceived into spending money on items or services. Check your state’s law.
Fraud
In a fraud claim, the horse owner could assert, for example, that the trainer made false statements when he said the horse was being trained, and the owner paid money in reliance on those statements.
Which legal theories apply to a particular dispute will depend on the facts and the applicable state’s law.
ShareholderJulie Fershtman is considered to be one of the nation's leading attorneys in the field of equine law. She has successfully tried equine cases before juries in four states. A frequent author and speaker on legal issues, she has written ...
