Equine Law – New Year’s Resolutions For The Equine Industry

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96 – November/December, 2025

By Julie I. Fershtman, Attorney at Law · www.equinelaw.net

Planning ahead for a successful 2026? You might consider “success” to mean great recognition and results in your horse-related showing, breeding, and training activities.  But a successful new year could also include making a few extra efforts to protect yourself from a legal dispute. This article provides a few suggestions.

Check Your Contracts

Contracts found online or shared with others are quick and often free of charge. However, they can run a serious risk of including illegal or unenforceable provisions or failing to comply with your state’s laws.  For example, many of the 48 state equine activity liability acts (as of October 2025, all except California and Maryland have some form of law in effect) require equine professionals, equine activity sponsors, and possibly others to include special “warning” or other language within contracts.  Requirements differ widely from state to state.  A small number of state laws specify that those who fail to comply with these requirements could potentially lose any liability limitation benefits from the law.

Also, states differ as to liability waiver/release documents, whether they are enforceable, and how they are enforced.  (As this author has written in the past, courts in a majority of states have shown a willingness to enforce waiver/release documents if they are properly worded and properly signed.)  Evaluating these state-by-state differences typically requires reviewing the most current statutes and court rulings.  For the best protection, retain knowledgeable counsel to do the work for you and update or draft your waiver/release documents.

Read and Comply With Applicable Equine Activity Liability Acts 

Click here to read the complete article
96 – November/December, 2025