Asked 10 months ago - Post Falls, ID
FlagI had a healthy, happy 20 y/o Arabian mare. She was my therapy horse. I had to board her at a facility. Before I brought her there, I saw that the stall and corral she was to stay in was thick with horse manure. I was assured that the board included full care and that everything would be clean by the time she arrived. That never happened. So I did it. My horse colicked and had to be put down 2 days later. Also, I paid for a month board and she only lived 2 weeks. Can I sue for the remaining 2 weeks board and for their neglect?
Did you sign a release agreement or contract before boarding your horse? The terms of the contract will be relevant to any suit that you may have. Possible claims are: breach of contract, breach of bailment contract, and negligence. If you signed a release, you will need to overcome the release provision. In Washington, you would need to prove that they were grossly negligent to overcome the release provision or that the release provision was obscure. For a claim of negligence, you will need to prove that they caused the death of your horse.
I am sorry about your horse, but while it depends on what your boarding agreement says, I don't think you can sue for neglect. First of all, horses colic (it is the leading cause of premature death in domesticated horses) so unless you can prove they were feeding her inappropriately or they withheld water, you have no claim for neglect. Secondly, you could have refused to move your mare in until they cleaned her stall and corral, but you cleaned it yourself, so unless it was in the boarding agreement that it would be cleaned prior to move in you have no claim there.
You can certainly ask the barn owner if they would refund the two weeks of board you didn't use, but can you sue for those two weeks of board? Sure, you can take them to small claims court but it will likely cost you more in time and money then any judgment you could win. In addition, even if you did win a judgment you may not be able to collect. Winning a judgment and collecting a judgment are two entirely different things.
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