Horseback riding comes with risks, and it’s easy to have a horseback riding accident in Nevada.
Horses can spook, buck, stumble or react unexpectedly. Even experienced riders can fall, and an accident can happen without a barn, trainer or horse owner doing anything wrong.
Nevada law recognizes those inherent risks and provides significant liability protection to people and businesses involved in equine activities.
But that protection has limits.
If a barn provides defective tack, puts an inexperienced rider on an inappropriate horse, fails to address certain dangerous conditions or disregards a rider’s safety, a serious injury may involve more than simply an unavoidable risk of horseback riding.
And if you signed a liability waiver before riding, don’t automatically assume that means you have no legal options.
Here’s what Nevada law says about horseback riding accidents and when a barn, trainer or other equine professional may still be liable.
Nevada Law Protects Barns and Trainers From Inherent Risks of Horseback Riding
Nevada Revised Statute 41.519 provides civil liability protection to sponsors, equine professionals, veterinarians and others when a participant is injured or killed as a result of an inherent risk of an equine activity.
Nevada’s definition of equine activities is broad.
It includes riding lessons, training, trail rides, competitions, shows, boarding horses, using another person’s horse and a variety of other activities involving horses and other equines.
The law also recognizes that certain dangers are simply part of being around horses.
Those inherent risks include a horse behaving in a way that could injure someone, unpredictable reactions to sounds or sudden movements, collisions with animals or objects, certain hazardous conditions and a rider’s failure to maintain control of the horse.
In other words, the fact that someone was injured while riding a horse does not automatically mean the barn or trainer was negligent.
But Nevada law doesn’t stop there.
Nevada’s Equine Liability Protection Has Important Exceptions
NRS 41.519 specifically identifies situations in which a person is not immune from civil liability.
Those exceptions can become extremely important after a serious horseback riding accident.
Depending on what happened, a claim may involve:
- Defective tack or equipment
- Failure to reasonably determine whether the rider could safely participate or control the horse
- A dangerous latent condition on the property
- Willful or wanton disregard for the rider’s safety
- Intentional injury
- Failure to act responsibly while conducting an equine activity or maintaining an equine
There is also an exception for product liability claims.
That means determining whether an accident resulted from an inherent risk of horseback riding is only part of the analysis.
The next question is why the accident happened.
What If the Barn Provided Defective Tack or Equipment?
A saddle, girth, stirrup, bridle, reins or other riding equipment can become an important part of a horseback riding accident investigation.
Under Nevada law, the statutory immunity does not apply when someone provides defective tack or other equipment that causes the participant’s injury and the person knew or should have known about the defective condition.
Consider a saddle or girth that has been showing signs of damage.
If the barn knows — or reasonably should know — that the equipment is defective but continues providing it to riders, and it fails during a lesson or trail ride, that presents a very different situation from a horse unexpectedly spooking.
The accident may have involved horseback riding, but the alleged cause of the injury is defective equipment.
Was the Horse Appropriate for the Rider?
This is particularly important for beginners and people taking riding lessons.
Nevada law specifically addresses situations in which someone provides the horse involved in the accident.
The statute looks at whether reasonable efforts were made to determine the participant’s ability to safely engage in the activity and control the particular horse based on what the participant represented about their abilities.
Imagine that someone tells a riding stable that it is their first time on a horse.
A trainer knowingly placing that rider on a horse requiring an experienced rider could raise very different liability questions than an experienced rider losing control of an otherwise appropriate horse.
After an accident, relevant questions may include:
What did the rider tell the barn about their experience?
What did the trainer know about the horse?
Was the horse normally used for beginner riders?
Had the horse demonstrated behavior that made it unsuitable for that rider?
How was the decision made to pair that particular rider and horse?
Those facts can matter.
Dangerous Conditions at a Barn or Riding Facility Can Also Matter
Not every horseback riding accident is caused by the horse.
Nevada’s statute also contains an exception involving certain dangerous latent conditions on property or facilities controlled by the person whose immunity is at issue.
A latent condition is generally one that is hidden or not readily apparent.
If an injury results from such a dangerous condition and the person responsible for the property knew or should have known about it, statutory immunity may not apply.
After an accident, photographs and video of the area can therefore be important.
The physical condition that existed when someone was injured may later be repaired, altered or difficult to reconstruct.
What If a Trainer Disregarded a Rider’s Safety?
Nevada’s statute also removes immunity when an act or omission was in willful or wanton disregard for the safety of the participant and caused the injury or death.
That’s important.
Nevada’s equine liability statute is designed to protect people and businesses from liability for the inherent risks of equine activities. It isn’t blanket immunity for every action taken by a barn or trainer.
The statute also separately removes immunity when someone fails to act responsibly while conducting an equine activity or maintaining an equine.
The facts surrounding the accident therefore matter.
But What If You Signed a Liability Waiver?
Many Nevada riding barns, trainers, trail-riding businesses and equestrian facilities require participants to sign a release or liability waiver before participating.
A waiver can be important.
But don’t make the mistake of assuming that the existence of a signed waiver automatically determines whether you have a claim.
A liability waiver and Nevada’s equine liability statute are two different things.
The statute establishes legal protections for injuries resulting from inherent risks of equine activities — and identifies circumstances in which those protections do not apply.
A liability waiver is a contractual agreement.
After an accident, both may need to be considered.
The wording of the waiver, what risks it actually covers and the conduct that allegedly caused the injury can all matter.
Does Gross Negligence Automatically Void a Nevada Horseback Riding Waiver?
This question needs to be approached carefully.
A person injured in a horseback riding accident shouldn’t assume that simply labeling conduct “gross negligence” automatically makes every waiver unenforceable.
Likewise, a barn or insurance company shouldn’t assume that having a signed release automatically eliminates every potential claim.
Nevada’s equine statute itself identifies conduct for which its statutory immunity does not apply, including willful or wanton disregard for participant safety and failure to act responsibly while conducting an equine activity or maintaining an equine.
The better question is not simply:
“Did I sign a waiver?”
It is:
“What caused the injury, what protection does Nevada law provide for that particular risk, and what does the waiver actually cover?”
Those questions require looking at the circumstances of the accident and the language of the agreement.
A Waiver Does Not Turn Every Accident Into an “Inherent Risk”
This distinction is particularly important.
A horse unexpectedly reacting to a sudden noise may be an inherent risk of horseback riding.
A saddle failing because someone provided equipment they knew or should have known was defective presents a different issue.
So could providing an unsuitable horse to a rider without making reasonable efforts to determine whether the rider could safely control it.
The fact that all three accidents occurred while someone was riding a horse does not necessarily mean Nevada law treats them the same way.
That is why the cause of the accident matters.
What Evidence Should Be Preserved After a Horseback Riding Accident?
If you’ve suffered a serious injury, preserve as much information as possible.
That may include the liability waiver or riding agreement you signed, photographs and video of the accident area, photographs of tack or equipment, witness information and communications with the barn or trainer.
Depending on what happened, information concerning the horse, the rider’s lesson history, the horse’s training and the circumstances under which the rider was matched with that particular horse may also become relevant.
If defective equipment may have contributed to the accident, identifying and preserving that equipment can be particularly important.
Don’t throw away documents simply because someone tells you that you signed a waiver and therefore cannot bring a claim.
Injured in a Horseback Riding Accident in Nevada?
Nevada law recognizes that horses are unpredictable and horseback riding involves risks that cannot be completely eliminated.
But Nevada’s equine liability law also recognizes circumstances in which a barn, trainer, equine professional or other person may not receive statutory immunity.
If you’ve suffered a serious injury, determining what caused the accident may be just as important as determining whether you signed a liability waiver.
Kim Welch Law represents people injured through the negligence and wrongful conduct of others in Las Vegas, Henderson and throughout Nevada.
Before representing injured clients, Attorney Kim Welch worked on the other side representing insurance companies. For more than 30 years, she has used that knowledge to represent injured people.
If you or a loved one has been seriously injured in a Nevada horseback riding accident, contact Kim Welch Law for a free consultation. Personal injury cases are handled on a contingency basis, so there are no upfront attorney fees.