# BO Do you have a Animal abuse clause for boarders?



## thesilverspear (Aug 20, 2009)

I'm can't answer your question directly -- just offer condolences and an anecdote showing what one BO has done in a similar situation. You're not the only barn owner in this boat. A horse at a barn I was boarding at colicked. The owner was one of those people who didn't "believe in Western medicine" and refused to call the vet. The vet would not treat the horse without the owner's permission. The BO was demanding the owner forget her daft beliefs and call the damned vet. Finally, she said that the owner needed to either call the vet or the horse would be kicked off the property then and there, as the BO would not have a horse suffering like that at her stable. Owner conceded, called vet, horse was saved.


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## twh (Feb 1, 2010)

Had I been BO in this situation, I would have called the state on this person. Withholding necessary medical treatment is abuse in the eyes of the law.
_Posted via Mobile Device_


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## proequine (Jul 9, 2009)

The animal welfare investigator came yesterday.. Stated that it was not against the law to be "stupid" or a "as#hol%" ..?? I commented that I would understand if the horse had been in his backyard and he was unaware of EPM symtoms, but this man was told by myself, a chiropractor, farrier, VET, other boarders, and printed material off the web, and still did nothing! *At what point does it become neglect and abuse instead of stupid?* 
I also ask the investigator if I had called them sooner, what could he have done? He gave me no answer....
The investigator was going to visit with the vet next..


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## starlinestables (Nov 24, 2008)

I have the following in my boarding agreement:
Section 8. Standard of Care
(a) If medical treatment is needed, the Stable will call the Owner. In the event the Owner is unavailable; the Stable has the authority to secure emergency veterinary care totaling $_______________ in fees. However, the Stable has no responsibility to pay for such care and is authorized to arrange billing on the Owners behalf.
(b) The Owner guarantees that the said horse(s) is properly vaccinated, sound, healthy and has no other medical conditions than listed above and that the horse(s) is not contagious of any diseases. The Owner agrees to pay any incurring cost of care or treatment in affect an illness occurs to said horse(s) or said horse(s) infect other animals.
(c) The Owner agrees to abide by the Stable's standard of care or be charged for services deemed necessary to care for the horse such as, but not limited to extra feed, hay, worming or ordinary veterinary care. The Stable will give notice before services are rendered at the expense of the owner.


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## proequine (Jul 9, 2009)

Starline, thanks for your post. Do you interpet your (c)clause to mean that a boarder could refuse treatment, and be made to pay for treatment? Do you think a court would uphold? 

Here is the clause in my contract:
_M. BOARDED HORSE EMERGENCY CARE, ILLNESS OR INJURY I/WE AGREE THAT: Should the horse(s) become sick or injured, the facility shall attempt to notify the BOARDER. If the boarder does not immediately respond regarding measures to be taken, or if the state of the animal's health requires immediate action, Bridlewood Equestrian is authorized to request the services of a veterinarian and/or blacksmith care of its choice or to give any other attention that appears necessary. The BOARDER shall promptly pay all expenses for all services within fifteen days.. Bridlewood Equestrian is authorized to arrange direct billing by said care provider to the OWNER.
Preferred Veterinarian Name _______________________________ Phone_________________________ If *boarder is unavailable*__, the Maximum dollar amount of emergency services is $_________________. I authorize Bridlewood Equestrian and a DVM. to decide on a humane decision if necessary to euthanize, without my presence. Initial_______

When I studied my clause, it was written "_if boarder is unavailable." and in immediate emergency..?_

I do like your _"*standard of care portion of the clause"*_ I'm just not sure how to phrase going against a owner's decision of treatment??? (when it does not affect another horse on the facility)

Any more thoughts? Thanks again..


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## littrella (Aug 28, 2010)

I board at a private farm, no other horses but mine. My BO has not only my cell, my work, my husbands cell, his work, farrier # and vet #. It's in our contract that if she cant get ahold of me in case of emergency, she can auth. care by my farrier, my vet or if my vet cant get there in reasonable time, her vet. Gave my vet the address, name & ph# of my BO & told him, if she ever calls, do what ever needs to be done. I don't understand how people can not care for their animals when it needed, if you cant afford it, at least put them out of their missery


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## Saddlebag (Jan 17, 2011)

My boarders had to agree to medical responsibility if I deemed it necessary to call the vet.


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## ponyboy (Jul 24, 2008)

proequine said:


> _I authorize Bridlewood Equestrian and a DVM. to decide on a humane decision if necessary to euthanize, without my presence._


Perhaps you meant it to signal the use of an acronym, but the period after the word DVM makes the next bit look like a sentence fragment. Things like that can matter if your contract is ever disputed.


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## Beauseant (Oct 22, 2010)

Refusing treatment because you cannot afford it is going to be tough to prove in court as animal abuse....which is termed as causing willful harm to an animal.

Many years ago, We had a horse with suspected EPM. he was in his mid 20s, with severe arthritis and blind in one eye...and we loved him and treasured every day we spent with him.


...two vet clinics were called, the EPM test was negative.....we chose not to do the EPM treatment, which was mega expensive back then and only SOMETIMES effective, we were told....but rather the horse was put on steroids to see if there was a neck problem causing his hind end progressive lameness that might heal ..... it did not. he continued to worsen until he had to spin to keep on his feet....despite mega doses of steroids. Our local vet did not have the necessary equipment to do a full set of neck x rays (which he advised were costly, and depending on the results, possibly not curable) so our horse would have to be trailered to New Bolton.....an impossible option....physically and financially. He would never be able to stand in a moving trailer as he was using his stall wall to stay upright at all....

He further deteriorated to where his breathing was compromised and we had him put down.

His condition had all the earmarks of EPM, but the negative test was shocking because it SEEMED as if he had EPM.... vets said it could be a number of other things, including arthritis in his neck, neck bone fracture, pinched nerve, other neurological diseases....etc

Still...if he had had EPM, with the treatment cost at the time, and it's questionable success rate, and the fact that this horse had other medical issues and was in his mid 20's, which would lessen his chances of successful treatment with the meds due to his immune system.....i would not have chosen to try the treatment. 

Prince.... RIP golden boy









He will never be forgotten. We loved our horse, and we did the best we could for him. But refusing the EPM treatment does not signify abuse or neglect just because you disagree with it. 

Our BO agreed with our decision, she actually thought we should have put him down sooner....but we held out hope that the steroids would work and whatever was causing his lameness would heal....be it a pinched nerve in his neck or what....we stayed the course till it was obvious that ALL hope had gone.

And I thank GOD our BO didn't call the humane people on us. That would have hurt us more than we already were hurting.


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## mls (Nov 28, 2006)

Our contract states we will call the vet in the case of an emergency and the owner will be billed by the vet clinic.

Do we recommend the owner call the vet - and they don't - sure. Abuse - no. Stupid and or cheap - yes. If they don''t follow what you consider to be the rules of your facility, you have the right to ask them to leave.

I have to say - the story about the brand new horse owner pulling the horse over on an incline with the riders exact weight and the degree of the incline was not necessary. 

As far as the EPM goes - new owner could go back to previous owner and suggest they knew horse was positive when the horse was sold.

Watch how many cans of worms you want to open.

Just saying.


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## Dreamcatcher Arabians (Nov 14, 2010)

Bridlewood, you have to remember one thing here in OK. Horses are livestock and thus, property, and the owner can pretty much do as they please with them and that includes refusing to spend money on a vet. About the only thing you can do is to put a 'standard of care' clause in your boarding contract that basically states "the owner agrees to maintain a standard of care that equals or exceeds the standard of care at the boarding facility, Name, located at: Adress, City, County, State, Zip Code". That way you can always say, "At this facility the standard of care is ............ and you agreed to uphold that when you signed the contract to board your horse here. If you now choose to not uphold the standard of care you MUST move the horse off this property IMMEDIATELY.". If they want to stay they will give in.

And for me, refusing EPM treatment is not abuse, however I would have had the horse euthanized immediately upon receiving the results of the test. Since he died before the results came back, then it turned out not to be necessary and the meds wouldn't have made a differance, more than likely.


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## starlinestables (Nov 24, 2008)

Animal abuse - ESPECIALLY LIVESTOCK - is extremely difficult to prove. As long as they have food (or don't look emaciated) and water they can have gaping open wounds and it still doesn't count as animal abuse. 

Horses are property and property disputes are a civil matter. In the eyes of the law, its like paying your neighbor to park your rare car at his place.. you refused to cover it or park it under cover and now it has severe hail damage which you refuse to fix and now your neighbor is POed that he now has an ugly car sitting on his property. He can't make you fix it and the only recourse he has is to ask you to take it off. HOWEVER, if you signed an agreement that has a "must keep your car pretty" clause where you agree to fix damage to the car with in X amount of days or pay a fine and you don't pay the fine.. he can take you to small claims court and get his fine. Small claims is a whole different world and its completely subjective base on 1 judge's (or jury if you pay for it) opinion.

Your only recourse as Dreamcatcher said is to have a standard of care agreement and kick them out if you and the vet don't agree. I have certain rules about worming and farrier care BUT like I said, I'll override it with a vet's permission or two. I try not to be a dictator.. Its obvious that opinions on horse care vary WIDELY. Unfortunately it's impossible to predict future situations.. You live, learn and update your boarding agreement/rules to cover such instances so it doesn't happen again.


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## proequine (Jul 9, 2009)

starlinestables said:


> You live, learn and update your boarding agreement/rules to cover such instances so it doesn't happen again.


 Adding "the owner agrees to maintain a standard of care that equals or exceeds the standard of care at the boarding facility,

Thanks for the help! 

I did notice from a few of the posts that several were _not up to date on EPM.. Only s_everal years ago it was a death sentence, *not now*. If caught early and treated most horses go on to normal routines and even still compete and win. BO might want to "goggle" and be aware of the early possible signs before "clinical symptoms" start showing. 

Here is some basic info, in laymen terms on EPM:

Neurological- parasitic disease- transmitted mostly by opossum feces in a feed or hay source. Now showing up in states without opossums, due to feed sources being shipped to mills.
70% of horses are exposed to EPM. Most will test low positive exposureon a blood test. Test about $200. May never show clinical signs.
Most horses 98% successfully combat EPM by their own immune system, and do not show "clinical signs."
Clinical symptoms tend to show up *after "stress or a trauma*."
Clinical symptoms are rated at levels 1-4. 1= beginning clinical signs
To confirm "clinical EPM" requires a spinal tap. $6-800.
Currently there are 4 different approved medications. $100-$300 per month. Anti inflammatory drugs are also used to reduce the swelling around the spinal cord. (DMSO, Banamine, Dex, steroids etc)
If treatment is started immediately, most horses recover up to 1-2 levels.
Here is a list of common symptoms, As BO, think about EPM, when "_something just doesn't seem right."_ especially after trauma or stress_._

_Hope this prevents a loss at your barn. Start the meds, don't wait! I caught the symptoms a week before the vet rated EPM at Level 1. The boarder refused the advise of the vet to start medication. 2 people offered to pay for the medication. I still think that is negligence. _


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## proequine (Jul 9, 2009)

starlinestables said:


> You live, learn and update your boarding agreement/rules to cover such instances so it doesn't happen again.


 Adding "the owner agrees to maintain a standard of care that equals or exceeds the standard of care at the boarding facility,

Thanks for the help! 

I did notice from a few of the posts that several were _not up to date on EPM.. Only s_everal years ago it was a death sentence, *not now*. If caught early and treated most horses go on to normal routines and even still compete and win. BO might want to "goggle" and be aware of the early possible signs before "clinical symptoms" start showing. 


Here is some basic info, in laymen terms on EPM:

Neurological- parasitic disease- transmitted mostly by opossum feces in a feed or hay source. Now showing up in states without opossums, due to feed sources being shipped to mills.
70% of horses are exposed EPM. Most will test low positive to exposure on a blood test. Test about $200. May never show clinical signs.
Most horses 98% successfully combat EPM by their own immune system, and do not show "clinical signs."
Clinical symptoms tend to show up *after "stress or a trauma*."
Clinical symptoms are rated at levels 1-4. 1= beginning clinical signs
To confirm "clinical EPM" requires a spinal tap. $6-800.
Currently there are 4 different approved medications. $100-$300 per month. Anti inflammatory drugs are also used to reduce the swelling around the spinal cord. (DMSO, Banamine, Dex, steroids etc)
If treatment is started immediately, most horses recover up to 1-2 levels.
Here is a list of common symptoms, As BO, think about EPM, when "_something just doesn't seem right."_ especially after trauma or stress_._

_Hope this prevents a loss at your barn. Start the meds, don't wait! I caught the symptoms a week before the vet rated EPM at Level 1. The boarder refused the advise of the vet to start medication. 2 people offered to pay for the medication. I still think that is negligence. _


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## Dreamcatcher Arabians (Nov 14, 2010)

"I did notice from a few of the posts that several were _not up to date on EPM.. Only s_everal years ago it was a death sentence, *not now*. If caught early and treated most horses go on to normal routines and even still compete and win. BO might want to "goggle" and be aware of the early possible signs before "clinical symptoms" start showing."

"_Hope this prevents a loss at your barn. Start the meds, don't wait! I caught the symptoms a week before the vet rated EPM at Level 1. The boarder refused the advise of the vet to start medication. 2 people offered to pay for the medication. I still think that is negligence."_

_Depending on how many horses you are supporting whether to start the meds or not is a matter only the owner can decide. Because of the residual effects of EPM once infected, I choose to put a horse down that tests positive and also because of ongoing economic strain that treating such a horse puts on the wallet, I won't treat for that IN MOST INSTANCES. If the horse is a National Champ or has produced National Champs it's a different story but that's only a few out of a large herd. I do agree that not doing SOMETHING really goes against MY personal grain but as a barn owner, I can't legislate or require all boarders to feel/think as I do. In each case, it's totally up to the horse owner to determine the course of action or non-action that they will take and many don't like to think of things like, "What will I do if I have an EPM infected horse? Will I spend the money to treat it or will I euthanize or just cross my fingers?". I see the same sort of Deer In The Headlights looks from most of my new boarders when I ask, "If your horse became ill, say severe colic, and I could not reach you, how much money would you authorize me to spend in treating your horse before I would have to reach you for further authorization? Would you want your horse to be a surgical candidate for colic?". They haven't thought of it and many DON'T want to think of it or to be the one who makes the hard decisions. I have a spot in my boarding contract where they have to spell out exactly what they want done or don't want done and how much I can spend before contacting them. If they refuse (I've actually had one woman who absolutely could not bring herself to even discuss these kinds of plans), then I tell them I cannot board their horse(s). _

_The boarders often don't realize it, but they look to the boarding barn owner to be dispassionate about their horses and to have the emergency plans in place so that decisions can be made without emotion muddying things up. That's why when they are all happy about bringing their nice, healthy horse in, I choose that time to get the emergency stuff written down and signed, so when things are super stressful they don't have to be worrying if they've done the right thing for themselves and their horse. _


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