Abandoned Horses: Who Owns Them and Who is Liable?

An abandoned horse on your land isn’t automatically yours, but you could still be responsible for caring for him. Find out what else you need to know if you’re faced with an abandoned horse.
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Imagine the scenario: When collecting your horses from the pasture for breakfast one morning, an extra (and unfamiliar) horse follows your herd to the gate. Or one of your boarders—maybe one who's repeatedly late on paying bills—stops turning up to the barn, leaving her horse behind. Regardless of how it happens, you're now faced with an abandoned horse on your property. What should you do? Here are a few things to know about handling abandoned horses.

Who's Responsible for Abandoned Horses?

Recently, a Kentucky farm owner defended himself against multiple animal cruelty charges by telling the court that several horses were abandoned by their owners on his property. But such claims might not be enough to save him from prosecution, said attorney Rachel Kosmal McCart, nor does it guarantee the farmer's ownership of the animals.

McCart, the founder and principal attorney of Equine Legal Solutions PC, an equine law firm based near Portland, Ore., said horse abandonment is a frequent occurrence, especially during hard economic times. But a horse left on someone's farm—like the one in our first example—isn't automatically the land owner's property.

“In situations where the property owner wakes up one morning, finds an extra horse, and truly has no idea where the horse came from, the property owner still doesn’t own the horse,” McCart said. “It’s not 'finders keepers

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Written by:

Pat Raia is a veteran journalist who enjoys covering equine welfare, industry, and news. In her spare time, she enjoys riding her Tennessee Walking Horse, Sonny.

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