Horse Agistment Is All About The Contract!

The best horse agistment providers are people who get the balance just right between professionalism and personal care. The best horse agistment providers love horses and know that your beautiful individual animal will not be coming their way unless you can be reassured of TLC all the way. The best way to reassure you is with a comprehensive individual contract for you and your horse. Only with professional attention to detail can you rest assured that your horse will get the best of attention.

The emotional and financial value of your horse make the days of a horse agistment deal on the strength of a handshake a thing of the past. The best horse agistment providers will have long experience of all the possible things that can be called for when caring for someone else’s horse.

All of that experience will be written in to the agistment contract. But all horses are individual and special as are the requirements of the owner. Therefore there should be no such thing as an ‘off the shelf’ agistment contract. As the careful loving owner of your horse you should be equally professional and have the contract checked and cleared by your legal advisor.

A horse agistment contract is a ‘what if….then’ document that clarifies who has responsibility to do what, in every conceivable situation that may arise while your horse is in agistment.

What if your horse becomes ill? Then who is responsible for calling which vet and how will the vet expenses be covered and by whom. The agistment provider must inform owners at the earliest signs of a problem. All this must be specified within the contract.
What if your horse damages the property of the agistment provider or injures another horse while in agistment? Then who is liable and what insurance must be in force during the agistment. All parties and contact details must be in the contract.
What if the agistment site became unfit for use due to say infestation or drought? Then the responsibility for notifying horse owners is with the agistment provider.
What if the horse is injured during its stay? Then, who is responsible for what actions?
What if you cannot make a welfare visit to your horse due to some unforeseen circumstances? Then, who is responsible for caring for the animal and how far should they go in substituting for the owner?
What if you have some specific and special requirements of your horse agistment? Then what are they in detail and who is responsible for carrying which aspects of them?
What if you fail to pay your agistment fees in part, whole or on time? Then there will be a lien on your horse to enable the provider to recover all debts owed. This is a legally enforceable right but all good professional agistment contracts would include this ‘non-payment’ clause anyway.

Both the agistment provider and the horse owner under their contract are liable for checking and maintaining the horse's welfare on a daily basis. Blame for any neglect or cruelty will go to both parties. You should read and understand ALL of the clauses of your agistment contract. Detailed and comprehensive contracts are a reassuring sign of an experienced and caring agistment provider.

February Events

9/02/09 11:00am: We thought it would be helpful to our readers/listeners to post upcoming educational events. Please subscribe to receive this information directly into your RSS reader. If you have an event you would like to post please send an email to info@equineU.com. Non-profit or free events may be posted at no charge. For profit groups may .

NY Equine Liability Workshop

25/09/08 10:00am: Cornell Cooperative Extension will hold an Equine Liability Workshop in Orange County, NY. Date: October 6, 2008 1-4 pm (registraion deadline 10/1/08/) Topics to be covered include increasing safety on your premises and your operation, available assistance programs, research and resources, liability releases & waivers, statutes for all equine businesses, NY Sate’s assumption of risk and public .

Safety of Dietary Supplements

16/09/08 10:00am: Safety of Dietary Supplements for Horses, Dogs, and Cats CONCLUSION: The new study on supplement safety for pets concluded that there is not significant data to determine safe levels or report adverse affects. To assist in making decisions about the safety of dietary supplements for horses, dogs, and cats, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) asked .

AAEP Vaccination Guidelines Now Available Online

13/02/08 11:00am: Many changes have been made to the Vaccination Guidelines that are now readily available online. Based on the professional judgment of those involved with the development of these guidelines, the recommendations for vaccine administration in this document may differ from the manufacturer’s recommendation. However, it is incumbent on each individual practitioner to reach a decision .

EquineU.com 01-2008

17/01/08 11:00am: www.equineU.com Click Here to view complete show notes and links Episode Topics: Rancher rides across America on horseback, the AAEP has added new horse owner articles, National Animal Identification System article, Ford recalls diesel trucks, How-to: Bandaging a Wound. CLICK HERE TO VIEW VIDEO IN FLASH FORMAT (loads quickly) Player below requires QuickTime. To download free QuickTime click here.

Editorial regarding recent comment on the AVMA

7/01/08 11:00am: Your comments are always welcome at EquineU.com. In the spirit of fair reporting, we will post comments you submit as long as they do not contain explicit language or content. I felt it was necessary to comment on the horse slaughter prevention bill. Please click here to view editorial Read Recent Comments

Wall Street Journal article: Leaner Patures: As Horses Multiply, Neglect Cases Rise

7/01/08 11:00am: Reported in the Wall Street Journal on January 7, 2008. “Across the U.S., the number of horses whose owners won’t or can’t properly care for them is mushrooming. Spurred by retiring baby boomers and their penchant for second homes in the country, horse ownership boomed in the U.S. over the past decade.” READ THE COMPLETE ARTICLE

Exportation of horses to Mexico for slaughter increases 312%

7/01/08 11:00am: Below is an excerpt from an article posted at the American Veterinary Medical Association. To read the complete article please go to: http://www.avma.org/onlnews/javma/jan08/080115a.asp . Read the AVMA position statement on S 311 the “Horse Protection Act”. Since all three U.S. horse slaughter operations were ordered closed last year, the number of horses exported to Mexico .

Dec 2007 Duplicate Post

3/01/08 11:00am: This is a testing post to see if the video will sync with video ipods.

EquineU.com October 2007

25/10/07 11:00am: Take Our Survey Click Here According to a recent study, potential for injury while riding horses is on par with rugby and is riskier than car racing, motorcycle riding, football and skiing. Riding was also found to have the highest mortality rate of all sports. www.ucalgary.ca/news/newsmakers/research Equine Influenza www.avma.org/public_health/influenza/default.asp#equine Healthy Horses Workshop. Designed for horse owners and equine .

1 Day Left to Enter our Drawing!!

14/09/07 10:00am: Tell us what you really think!! Just a quick reminder, our contest ends at midnight PST on 9/15/07. We will have additional giveaways through out the year. You only need to fill out the survey once to be eligible for subsequent drawings in 2007. Win the Horse and Rider First Aid & Emergency Planning Course CD. Complete our .

Home & Barn Preparedness

31/08/07 10:00am: _uacct = “UA-1947311-4″; urchinTracker(); September is National Preparedness Month. This video is a great intro to planning for emergencies, especially for horse owners. More information and forms are available at www.equineU.com or call our 305-517-7669. CLICK Here to view video quickly and in larger format.

Raise Awareness for Home & Barn Preparedness

21/08/07 10:00am: Help Raise Awareness for Home & Barn Preparedness September is National Preparedness Month. EquineU.com is inviting all equestrian related businesses, bloggers and horse owners to participate in the Raise Awareness for Home and Barn Preparedness campaign. To help educate horse owners EquineU.com will distribute an online preparedness toolkit for businesses to use to promote horse owner .

Horse News, Interview with Ange Finn and more

9/08/07 10:00am: Show Notes Win the Horse and Rider First Aid & Emergency Planning Course CD. Complete our survey and you will be entered to win. Drawing ends 9/15/07. Click Here California wrangler uses CPR to save a life. http://www.jems.com/news San Juan Capistrano Emergency Planning Article http://www.ocregister.com San Juan Capistrano Equestrian Coalition http://www.sjcec.org/engine/emw.exe/*qshome=home Connecticut Emergency Preparedness Course http://thehorse.com/ViewArticle.aspx?ID=10076 Hagyard Equine Medical Institute Rescue Training http://www.hagyard.com/rescue/training.php Ange Finn, .

Wildfire Safety Tips, News & More

2/07/07 10:00am: In this podcast: News about the Women Luv Horses event, Ange Finn author of The In-Gate, Equestrian Injury Study from Canada, Healthy Horses Workshop to be held in Fort Collins, Colorado, Barn Fire in Kentucky kills 24 horses, Safety Tip – Wildfires, Our Featured Rescue Organization is Wasatch Humane of Utah. Links from this show, .

Interview with Lynn Palm - Women Luv Horses

15/05/07 10:00am: This is an interview with Lynn Palm, accomplished equestrian and founder of “Women Luv Horses” three day retreat to be held May 18-20th in Concord, North Carolina. Lynn shares her inspiration for the event and some great advice for people just getting involved with horses. Links from this show Lynn Palm’s website Music for this show .

Horse & Rider First Aid Course to benefit AEEP

30/04/07 10:00am: Online Horse & Rider First Aid Course to benefit AAEP Foundation Nipomo, CA- equineU.com teams up with the American Association of Equine Practitioners (AAEP) Foundation. In support of the AAEP Foundation, equineU.com is donating a portion of the proceeds from sales of their “Horse and Rider First Aid Course” to the Foundation and raising .

Horse News & Safety 4-11-2007

12/04/07 10:00am: Horse News, Safey Tip - Preventing Barn Fires, Product & Website Review, Featured Organization Links for this episode American Association of Equine Practitioners Horse Owner Page Cup of Comfort - Call for Horse Stories Rabid Racoon in Virginia Unwanted Horse Coalition Barn Fire prevention by NASD Understanding your horses feet - equinefeet.com Buy Fly Predators Integral Horse - Dr. Karen Hayes for iTunes, no sign in required. Horse .

Horse News, Safety, Product Review

8/03/07 11:00am: EquineU.com is open for business. Find information, online courses, purchase supplies and more. Register on the website for newsletters and more. Rescue and Disaster organizations send an email to info@equineU.com to receive a referral code. Help keep your community safe and make money for your group. Click Here Links to articles & information .

Horse & Rider Planning for Emergencies Course

12/02/07 11:00am: Click Here for More Info equineU.com launches the first of its kind online Horse & Rider – Planning for Emergencies course. This comprehensive online course is designed for horse owners and equestrian facility personnel. Topics include: • How to prepare an emergency plan for your horse, family, home and barn. • How to perform a physical exam on .

Heart Month – Horse Heart Health and News

5/02/07 11:00am: Episode 4 Celebrate heart month by learning about the horse heart and diseases of the equine heart. Farewell to Barbaro, a great horse. In the news this week: Horse slaughter prevention bill opposed by the members of the House Committees on Agriculture and Energy and Commerce, Georgia animal neglect case, CA emergency response team and nude .

Episode 3 - News, Exp. Medications & Fly Predators

12/01/07 11:00am: News of the week - horse slaughter, unwanted horses, horse rescue zoning issue. Horse Health - Expired medications. Product Review - Fly predators. Tell us what you think of the new format and the issue of the day. Click on the comments tab below to enter a comment or call our comment line at 305-517-PONY or 305-517-7669. Links .

5 more horses positive for EHV-1 in CA

5/01/07 11:00am: _uacct = “UA-1947311-4″; urchinTracker(); Thehorse.com reported today 1/4/07, “Five more horses from trainer Lloyd Mason’s barn at Golden Gate Fields have tested positive for a neurogenic strain of equine herpesvirus-1 (EHV-1).” None of these horses are symptomatic. One horse recently returned from Santa Anita race track. Additional testing is being conducted at the So. .

EHV-1 Quarantine Effects California Race Tracks

31/12/06 11:00am: Northern California race tracks subject to quarantine due to equine herpesvirus type 1. Updated information for horse owners December 30, 2006. Visit EquineU.Podbean.com for links to more information.

Equine Herpes Virus General Information

28/12/06 11:00am: We changed the name on this podcast. It is a good overview of EHV-1. EquineU.com’s first podcast featuring an indepth look at the latest Equine Herpes Virus (EHV) outbreak and steps to prevent the spread of this disease. EquineU.com is your best source for horse health and safety information.