Exam M
An Im-Perfect Storm
r. Diplomat from South America was as- signed to work in his country’s embassy in Washington, D.C. When “Mrs. Diplomat”
(his wife) came to join him, she brought along her beloved Warmblood dressage horse. The horse was special to Mrs. Diplomat because
he was now her schoolmaster, after having competed successfully on the international dressage circuit with professional riders from her home country. The horse had even competed in the Pan American Games as an entry from her home country’s Equestrian Team. The couple’s daughter, who was not a horse person
but who attended graduate school in D.C., located a stable outside of D.C. as near as she could find to her parents’ residence. Mrs. Diplomat arrived in the United States less than a week before her horse “Macho” was set to arrive. Prior to Macho’s arrival, mother and daughter drove to the boarding stable to check it out and make preparations for him. Mrs. Diplomat met with the barn manager and
explained to her that Macho was a high level dres- sage horse and that he was accustomed to the highest quality of care and that his “program” did NOT include being turned out. Macho had never been turned out, and Mrs. Diplomat emphasized that despite the vast and inviting fields of grass at the stable, Macho could only be hand-grazed and that his exercise had to be “controlled.” The stable did not have a horse-walking machine or other similar equipment, so it looked like if Mrs. Diplomat did not come to ride Macho, he would be standing in his stall. Mrs. Diplomat was generally uninspired by the
program and quality of care offered by the stable. However, she felt that the stable was close enough to her home that she could oversee his daily care and exercise for a few weeks until she was able to identify a more suitable facility. Macho arrived at the facility on a cold and rainy
winter day. Mrs. Diplomat was there to meet him and she dutifully attended to his every need, including rid- ing him, for about two weeks. Every day she would ar- rive at the stable, groom and ride Macho, then carefully bandage his legs and put on his stable blankets. The more time she spent at the stable, the more convinced
48 July/August 2015
she became that this was not the right place for her or her beloved horse—the atmosphere, while friendly, was very unprofessional and primarily geared towards the children who took lessons there. The children were mostly in charge of the barn chores which they did in exchange for lessons and riding time. While delight- ful for the children, this was not where her fancy show horse belonged! She had located a professional trainer whose facility was considerably further away, but whose program offered the quality of care and training to which she had been accustomed in her native coun- try. She had given the stable notice of her imminent departure, and she only needed to get through the next week before making her move. Unfortunately, ‘old man winter’ was not done tortur- ing the east coast. Five days before Macho was set to be moved, a massive snow storm buried the area in over a foot of snow. Mrs. Diplomat was trapped in D.C. and could not make her daily trip to the barn to attend to Macho. Given the amount of snow on the ground and still swirling in the air, she assumed Macho would remain snug in his stall for the day. Her assumption was misfortunate. The children who frequented the stable were
thrilled to have a snow day and nothing was going to keep them from spending a whole, glorious weekday at the barn! They arrived early and were anxious to help with the day’s chores so they could log more work hours that translated into more saddle time. Although none of the paid help managed to show up, the older children knew the program: hay, water, feed, turn out then muck. Mares in one field, geld- ings in the other. They wasted no time, and before Mrs. Diplomat was done reading the morning paper, Macho was out with the other geldings—resplendent against the snowy backdrop in his colorful stable blanket and standing bandages. When Mrs. Diplomat arrived at the stable the next
morning, she found Macho in his stall wearing no blankets and no wraps. His blankets and wraps were in a wet and muddy heap outside his stall, and his right hock was swollen to the size of a cantaloupe. The vet- erinarian was quickly summoned, but the news was not good.
Test your knowledge of equine law. by Attorney Krysia Nelson
Bar
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