> basically, from what I understand, if you even have someone over to > your house to ride with you, you are "an equine activity sponsor" > Janice
Janice - This is a misunderstanding about these liability laws and signs - we have the same thing in NC. Even with those signs if a person can prove that there is negligence, all the signs in the world can't stop them from suing or protect you and they don't apply to children, even if their parents are right there. As the case that Renee sent shows - what those people were trying to say is that the horse owner knew the bit was faulty or they didn't maintain it correctly so they were negligent - which would negate the liability law - which in MI is the same as in FL or very similar. I was involved in working to get those laws and signs into NC through our horse council - they are based on the same type of laws used by ski resorts/facilities - but they do NOT give you blanket protection and a lot of people mistakenly think they do. In the case that Renee sent, the liability law protected the horse owner becasue they couldn't prove negligence - they couldn't prove that the horse owner had any reason to believe that the tack wasn't safe. In NC there was a very similar case, where a horse stepped in a small hole in the arena while a potential buyer was trying a horse to buy - the horse stumbled, fell and the riders leg had a compound fracture. The plaintiff in that case won because they proved that the barn owner knew the hole was there and didn't take any precautions to prevent the horse from stepping in the hole - they had the sign also. .-- Laree in NC Doppa & Mura Simon, Sadie and Sam (the "S" gang) "Yet when all the books have been read and reread, it boils down to the horse, his human companion, and what goes on between them." - William Farley
