Joy of Joys. The NYS Equine Inherent Risk Law Signed

It has been a long and arduous road to success but finally it is here! Woohoo! Governor Cuomo signed the New York State Inherent Risk Law into reality. 

Many organizations have been stalwart in their push for this much needed bill. New York Farm Bureau and the New York Horse Council among others, have pushed hard for many many years, fighting the status quo.

With the exodus of corrupt lawyer politicians that have since been jailed or sentenced, the door was finally open for this bill, which has always had stellar grass root support, to finally pass. As a horse owner, horse business owner, and lover of everything equestrian life I give sincere thanks and kudos to all involved in supporting this bill and getting this job done.

What will it mean to the average horse lover?

Hopefully it will mean more availability to ride horses. Many horse businesses e.g. trail riding horse entities, have been forced to stop offering trail rides and horse riding opportunities because of ridiculously high insurance premiums that have prohibited their growth. These premiums, theoretically, should now become more affordable as New York horse businesses will be better able to compete for the tourism dollar with the offer or more services for the equestrian.

In fact tourism is a key reason that the bill passed. With the vast amount of open riding land, maintained trail systems and parklands, New York State offers the equestrian boundless pleasures on horseback. 

While the Inherent Risk Law does not mean that folks still can't sue for damages, (so keep those waivers signed folks), it does mean that the number of court cases and suits issued should diminish. It should also mean more favorable outcomes of law suits for the horse owner.

Many amateur riders that own horses say to me, " Why does it matter to me? I don't own a business?"

It does matter to you. If you want to conserve riding trails and openland for horse riding and horse keeping, the state needs to be horse friendly. If you don't want your riding lessons to cost an arm and a leg financially, then you want your local barn or boarding facility to be able to afford their insurance premiums. If you want others to provide shows, events and clinics for your enjoyment and participation at reasonable fees, then the insurance premiums need to be affordable. Many, many shows have disappeared as the costs to run them have skyrocketed on the insurance side.

Additionally most Homeowner policies do not cover livestock liability. So as a horse owner you may have thought you had protection that indeed you did not. As an amateur you can obtain coverage through membership of the New York Horse Council, still worth checking out.

Personally, I am extremely grateful to all that put in to secure this outcome. I urge you to support your Horse Council and other organizations that helped us with this win. Who knows what is next? Talk of making us license and register every horse, register every horse transport or movement, horse microchipping requirements by municipalities. The list goes on and will continue to grow.