So, have you all heard about the woman who jumped in the polar bear pen?
I can't help it. I HAVE to talk about this! And it's not really that off-topic because I think it relates to all the stuff we see...the tiny little kids bareback on the loose horse, the person who bought a two year old horse for her three year old sister, the baby brushing the foal. WTF! This is an adult woman with a baby who climbed a fence and jumped into a pen WITH BEARS (thankfully not WITH the baby). Her husband is apparently just as stupid as she is because he did nothing to stop her or alert authorities.
The polar bears - are you ready for the shocker? - acted like bears AND BIT HER. At that point, she decided it wasn't so much fun anymore and swam away and got rescued. Wait for the lawsuit...but really, do we have to straitjacket some people to keep them out of trouble? At what point are you expected to have some common sense?
This led me to start looking up frivolous lawsuits with horses, and boy, did I find some doozies.
Bareback rider sues stock contractor because a bronc flips on him. NO! A bronc acted bronc-y? Bronc riding is dangerous? WHO KNEW! Fortunately this was decided correctly.
Stable hand sues because horse steps on his foot, spooked by dog. Horses have stepped on my feet many times. It is what horses do when you are not quick enough to get your foot out of the way of their much heavier foot. If you do not wish to risk that, I recommend employment at Burger King.
How dare you fly over my riding arena? *sigh* Again, decided correctly.
Horse has a stroke but somehow it's the horse owner's boss's fault? I like this case...they try to allege that because there was strangles on the property, that was somehow related to a horse having a stroke. Uh, no. And it's obvious that they only went after the farm owner because she had money. Lame, lame, lame.
Vet sues because horse B kicks him as he's examining horse A in the pasture. OH COME ON! Any vets here who haven't been kicked? Pretty sure that comes with the territory and that if you'd like to reduce your chances, you start by not examining horses in a field with loose horses.
Now this one, I disagree with and think the Plaintiff had a case. Horse show manager run down by snotty girl she admonished. I don't think the "inherent risk of horse activities" includes some bitchy chick deliberately running you down with her horse, do you?
Not sure where I stand on this one except to say, dude, it would have been cheaper to just buy a ticket to the rodeo.
I've been fortunate enough never to have been involved in a horse related lawsuit, except as an expert witness. What about the rest of you? Have you seen some truly ridiculous claims? What about ones you thought were valid? Have you had a case dismissed early on because it was obvious even to the judge that the whole thing was ridiculous?
While you all know that, overall, I don't think horses belong on heavily-trafficked roads, the fact that HAHS is adopting out the seized Chicago carriage horses is ludicrous and illegal. You may recall that these horses were seized because they were "in an unheated stable" which is beyond silly because horses live in ALASKA in unheated stables, for heaven's sake. I never saw a bit of photographic evidence that any horses were seriously thin or otherwise uncared for, and usually that kind of evidence abounds in a case like this, so I have to side with the carriage company on this one. I mean, if you claim a horse is 200 lbs underweight, show me the pictures. You should have plenty. However, EVEN IF the horses had been abused, everybody is entitled to their day in court. That's why the last group of horses that were allegedly owned by Dean Solomon are in foster care - because someone else says the horses had already been given to her and they can NOT be permanently adopted until ownership is legally determined by the courts, in summer 2010. How the hell do HAHS or local authorities think they can do otherwise? Sheesh, HAHS, and I thought you got your act together when you ditched that pro-slaughter beyotch who used to be your executive director. This is disappointing to hear.
And from Wisconsin "my horses are healthy - they are fat." Really? Even the dead one? I have a local who says the place is full of moldy hay and barbed wire, and the proprietorr says the horses are skinny because they are old. You ALL know what I think of THAT excuse.
