Equine Accident Claims

The team here at McCarthy + Co Solicitors LLP has extensive experience in bringing successful public liability claims, including cases involving equine accidents. Circumstances that can give rise to an equine injury claim include:

• negligence by a horse’s owner or handler, such as failing to secure or control a horse, or failing to warn of a known dangerous tendency;
• unsafe premises, such as poorly maintained stables, arenas, or riding paths;
• an unsafe working environment for an employee, such as a stable hand or instructor, or a lack of proper training;
• negligence during a lesson, trail ride, or event, such as inadequate instruction or supervision, or an unsuitable horse for the rider’s ability;
• a horse straying onto a public road because of inadequate fencing, causing a collision;
• the negligent or careless driving of another road user, startling or striking a horse; and
• defective tack or equipment, such as a faulty saddle or bridle.

If you have sustained an injury and would like to know if you have the grounds to bring a claim, arrange a time to speak with a solicitor here by completing our quick and confidential online form.

The law on horse-related injuries

Equine injury claims can arise under several different legal principles, and identifying the right one is central to a successful claim. Most commonly, a claim is based on negligence, where an owner, handler, instructor, riding school, or employer failed to take reasonable care, and that failure caused the injury. Where the accident happened on someone’s premises, the Occupiers’ Liability Act 1995 also imposes a duty on the occupier to take reasonable care for the safety of visitors.

Irish law also has a special rule for animals, known as the scienter principle. A horse is treated in law as a domesticated animal, not naturally dangerous, so its keeper is not automatically liable for injuries it causes. However, where the keeper knew that a particular horse had a dangerous or vicious tendency, and it then caused injury of that kind, the keeper can be strictly liable, meaning you do not have to prove negligence. Evidence of the horse’s history and behaviour can therefore be very important.

For accidents on the road, the position changed with the Animals Act 1985. It abolished the old rule that an animal’s owner could not be held liable for the animal straying onto a public road, and instead requires owners to take reasonable care, for example through proper fencing, to prevent their animals from straying. So, where a horse wanders onto a road through inadequate fencing and causes a collision, the owner may be liable.

Where a defect in tack or equipment caused the injury, a product liability claim may lie against its manufacturer or supplier. Separately, the Control of Horses Act 1996 and the Animal Health and Welfare Act 2013 place responsibilities on horse owners in relation to control and welfare, and a breach can support a claim in the right circumstances.

Inherent risk and the grounds for a claim

Riding and handling horses carries risks that everyone involved accepts to some degree, and Irish law recognises this. Since the Occupiers’ Liability Act was amended in 2023, a person who voluntarily takes on a risk that they fully understand may not be able to claim in respect of it. A horse behaving unpredictably, in the way horses sometimes do, may be one of the ordinary risks a rider accepts. That is very different, however, from an injury caused by negligence, such as being given an unsuitable or badly behaved horse, defective tack, poor instruction, or an unsafe and poorly organised activity. The key question is usually whether your injury flowed from an inherent risk of the activity, which you accepted, or from someone’s failure to take reasonable care, which you did not. This distinction can be fine, so it is well worth having the circumstances reviewed.