2012 Michigan Compiled Laws
Chapter 691 — JUDICIARY
Act 351 of 1994 — EQUINE ACTIVITY LIABILITY ACT (691.1661 - 691.1667)
Section 691.1662 — Definitions.

EQUINE ACTIVITY LIABILITY ACT (EXCERPT)
Act 351 of 1994

691.1662 Definitions.

Sec. 2.

As used in this act:

(a) Engage in an equine activity means riding, training, driving, breeding, being a passenger upon, or providing or assisting in veterinary treatment of an equine, whether mounted or unmounted. Engage in an equine activity includes visiting, touring, or utilizing an equine facility as part of an organized event or activity including the breeding of equines, or assisting a participant or show management. Engage in equine activity does not include spectating at an equine activity, unless the spectator places himself or herself in an unauthorized area and in immediate proximity to the equine activity.

(b) Equine means horse, pony, mule, donkey, or hinny.

(c) Equine activity means any of the following:

(i) An equine show, fair, competition, performance, or parade including, but not limited to, dressage, a hunter and jumper horse show, grand prix jumping, a 3-day event, combined training, a rodeo, riding, driving, pulling, cutting, polo, steeplechasing, English and western performance riding, endurance trail riding, gymkhana games, and hunting.

(ii) Equine training or teaching activities.

(iii) Boarding equines, including their normal daily care.

(iv) Breeding equines, including the normal daily care and activities associated with breeding equines.

(v) Riding, inspecting, or evaluating an equine belonging to another, whether or not the owner receives monetary consideration or another thing of value for the use of the equine or is permitting a prospective purchaser of the equine or an agent to ride, inspect, or evaluate the equine.

(vi) A ride, trip, hunt, or other activity, however informal or impromptu, that is sponsored by an equine activity sponsor.

(vii) Placing or replacing a horseshoe on or hoof trimming of an equine.

(d) Equine activity sponsor means an individual, group, club, partnership, or corporation, whether or not operating for profit, that sponsors, organizes, or provides the facilities for an equine activity, including, but not limited to, a pony club; 4-H club; hunt club; riding club; school- or college-sponsored class, program, or activity; therapeutic riding program; stable or farm owner; and operator, instructor, or promoter of an equine facility including, but not limited to, a stable, clubhouse, ponyride string, fair, or arena at which the equine activity is held.

(e) Equine professional means a person engaged in any of the following for compensation:

(i) Instructing a participant in an equine activity.

(ii) Renting an equine, equipment, or tack to a participant.

(iii) Providing daily care of horses boarded at an equine facility.

(iv) Training an equine.

(v) Breeding of equines for resale or stock replenishment.

(f) Inherent risk of an equine activity means a danger or condition that is an integral part of an equine activity, including, but not limited to, any of the following:

(i) An equine's propensity to behave in ways that may result in injury, harm, or death to a person on or around it.

(ii) The unpredictability of an equine's reaction to things such as sounds, sudden movement, and people, other animals, or unfamiliar objects.

(iii) A hazard such as a surface or subsurface condition.

(iv) Colliding with another equine or object.

(g) Participant means an individual, whether amateur or professional, engaged in an equine activity, whether or not a fee is paid to participate.

History: 1994, Act 351, Eff. Mar. 30, 1995