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This past week, I had the privilege of sitting in on two sessions at the National Conference on Equine Law, put on by the University of Kentucky College of Law. Since coming home, I’ve asked a few friends how many attorneys they thought were in attendance. The answers ranged from, “I never heard of equine attorneys,” to “about 25.” In general, we horse people have no idea how big the field of equine law is. I was surprised to find 180 equine attorneys at this conference. The important thing about that is understanding that life is more complicated than it used to be, and horse people can get into legal hot water, even when they’re doing things in a common-sense way. The first session had to do with estate planning. The speaker, Turney Berry of Kentucky (www.wyattfirm.com) gave a “heads up” that taxation laws are likely to change soon. This is really important if you have a farm that you want to stay in the family. He advised horse people who have been fiddling around with trusts or estates to contact a good estate attorney to be sure that your assets will be handled in the way you had in mind. He also said that more than half of the states now allow you to set up a trust for your animals, to be sure they’re cared for if you should die before they do. I know many horse people include horses in their wills, so I’m going to interview Mr. Berry in the coming months and do an article for Perfect Horse on that topic. Julie Fershtman of Michigan (www.equinelaw.net) spoke about liabilities involving equipment. She referenced a number of legal cases, many of which involve a saddle slipping, which means that providing a saddled horse for someone may be a liability. She said horse owners often make the mistake of presuming if they live in a state with an equine activity liability law, they are protected. She said limited liability isn’t zero liability, and the laws generally provide an exception pertaining to equipment. Horse owners and professionals often have a false sense of security when it comes to matters of liability, often relying on their sense of the law or generic release forms. I’m laughing to myself, thinking of you reading this and asking, “Maureen, did you really expect to go to a law conference and not hear attorneys say that horse people need good lawyers?” It’s tempting to dismiss the whole thing with that generalization. But sitting there, listening to a reference to case after case told me that matters we took lightly years ago won’t be light matters if it involves us. So a “heads up” is in order on both topics. Of course, you want to operate in as sensible a manner as possible, but that may not be enough these days. Have a good and safe week, and don’t forget to put a few carrots in your back pocket.
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