Horse & the Law

[molly34]

Given the number of threads that touch on legal and rights issues, I think an info or links section would be really useful.

The common themes I've seen are
Using the road: how the law applies to us (the Highway Code), BHS advice, where horses can and can't be taken, Hi Vis

Land rights - hacking/bridlepath rights over farmland, other people/dogs coming onto private land

[Denbenj]

good idea! ( I always *try* my best to be law abiding!) :D

I think also hints and tips for loaners/loanees would be useful as recently there have been threads when things go wrong..

[c2b]

...

[--x--Jenny--x--]

This could prove a difficult subject for a couple of reasons.
a) What is legal in one country could be illegal in another. People on this forum are not just from the UK.
b) Giving legal advice I would have thought could possibly be a legal minefield in it's own right. Just guessing here but I would have thought that there could be a possibility of someone ending up in court for giving incorrect advice?

Yep to both of the above. Also what is right in one case can be wrong in another. Especially with rights of way - it can often be very dependant on the facts of the individual case.

This is a none legal opinion so please don't sue me if I'm wrong :D

Shame it might not work as it's a good idea!

[wildponies]

c2b - I sincerely doubt the advice given on an online forum would ever stand up in court. But a disclaimer could put minds at rest (placed as a sticky at top of forum/thread).

Also with regards to legal in one country but not in another - the vast majority of people who use this forum are from the UK as (correct me if i'm wrong) but it is a UK based forum.

If those from other countries felt they would like their own section too then i can't see it would be too difficult to arrange. One section with UK law, another perhaps for international law or for specific countries. Would be a good database of knowledge that we could all contribute to when we found out something law/horse related!

As a law student I think it'd be a fab idea!

[molly34]

This could prove a difficult subject for a couple of reasons.
a) What is legal in one country could be illegal in another. People on this forum are not just from the UK.
b) Giving legal advice I would have thought could possibly be a legal minefield in it's own right. Just guessing here but I would have thought that there could be a possibility of someone ending up in court for giving incorrect advice?
I absolutely agree, which is why I suggested information and links (thinking of sites like BHS and Highway Code) rather than providing 'facts' here.

I was thinking specifically about the UK, because frankly the level of ignorance about rules/laws and rights I've seen in these boards is quite shocking. There's nothing to stop info for different countries being posted here too though.

[Wally]

That's the problem, what is accepted here is not always the case on the mainland, then it changes greatly from English to Scottish law.