2009 Texas Code
CIVIL PRACTICE AND REMEDIES CODE
TITLE 4. LIABILITY IN TORT
CHAPTER 87. LIABILITY ARISING FROM EQUINE ACTIVITIES OR LIVESTOCK SHOWS  

CIVIL PRACTICE AND REMEDIES CODE

TITLE 4. LIABILITY IN TORT

CHAPTER 87. LIABILITY ARISING FROM EQUINE ACTIVITIES OR LIVESTOCK

SHOWS

Sec. 87.001. DEFINITIONS. In this chapter:

(1) "Engages in an equine activity" means riding, handling,

training, driving, assisting in the medical treatment of, being a

passenger on, or assisting a participant or sponsor with an

equine animal. The term includes management of a show involving

equine animals. The term does not include being a spectator at an

equine activity unless the spectator is in an unauthorized area

and in immediate proximity to the equine activity.

(2) "Equine animal" means a horse, pony, mule, donkey, or hinny.

(3) "Equine activity" means:

(A) an equine animal show, fair, competition, performance, or

parade that involves any breed of equine animal and any equine

discipline, including dressage, hunter and jumper horse shows,

grand prix jumping, three-day events, combined training, driving,

pulling, cutting, polo, steeplechasing, English and Western

performance riding, endurance trail riding and Western games, and

hunting;

(B) equine training or teaching activities;

(C) boarding equine animals;

(D) riding, inspecting, or evaluating an equine animal belonging

to another, without regard to whether the owner receives monetary

consideration or other thing of value for the use of the equine

animal or permits a prospective purchaser of the equine animal to

ride, inspect, or evaluate the equine animal;

(E) informal equine activity, including a ride, trip, or hunt

that is sponsored by an equine activity sponsor;

(F) placing or replacing horseshoes on an equine animal; or

(G) without regard to whether the participants are compensated,

rodeos and single event competitions, including team roping, calf

roping, and single steer roping.

(4) "Equine activity sponsor" means:

(A) a person or group who sponsors, organizes, or provides the

facilities for an equine activity, including equine facilities

for a pony club, 4-H club, hunt club, riding club, therapeutic

riding program, or high school or college class, program, or

activity, without regard to whether the person operates for

profit; or

(B) an operator of, instructor at, or promoter for equine

facilities, including a stable, clubhouse, pony ride string,

fair, or arena at which an equine activity is held.

(5) "Equine professional" means a person engaged for

compensation:

(A) to instruct a participant or rent to a participant an equine

animal for the purpose of riding, driving, or being a passenger

on the equine animal; or

(B) to rent equipment or tack to a participant.

(6) "Livestock animal" means:

(A) an animal raised for human consumption; or

(B) an equine animal.

(7) "Livestock show" means a nonprofit event at which more than

two species or breeds of livestock animals are gathered for

exhibition or competition.

(8) "Livestock show sponsor" means a recognized group or

association that organizes and sanctions a livestock show,

including a political subdivision or nonprofit organization that

is exempt from federal income tax under Section 501(a), Internal

Revenue Code of 1986, as amended, by being listed as an exempt

organization in Section 501(c)(3) of that code.

(9) "Participant" means:

(A) with respect to an equine activity, a person who engages in

the activity, without regard to whether the person is an amateur

or professional or whether the person pays for the activity or

participates in the activity for free; and

(B) with respect to a livestock show, a person who registers for

and is allowed by a livestock show sponsor to compete in a

livestock show by showing an animal on a competitive basis, or a

person who assists that person.

Added by Acts 1995, 74th Leg., ch. 549, Sec. 1, eff. Sept. 1,

1995. Amended by Acts 2001, 77th Leg., ch. 1108, Sec. 2, eff.

Sept. 1, 2001.

Sec. 87.002. APPLICABILITY OF CHAPTER. This chapter does not

apply to an activity regulated by the Texas Racing Commission.

Added by Acts 1995, 74th Leg., ch. 549, Sec. 1, eff. Sept. 1,

1995.

Sec. 87.003. LIMITATION ON LIABILITY. Except as provided by

Section 87.004, any person, including an equine activity sponsor,

equine professional, livestock show participant, or livestock

show sponsor, is not liable for property damage or damages

arising from the personal injury or death of a participant in an

equine activity or livestock show if the property damage, injury,

or death results from the dangers or conditions that are an

inherent risk of an equine activity or the showing of an animal

on a competitive basis in a livestock show, including:

(1) the propensity of an equine or livestock animal to behave in

ways that may result in personal injury or death to a person on

or around it;

(2) the unpredictability of an equine or livestock animal's

reaction to sound, a sudden movement, or an unfamiliar object,

person, or other animal;

(3) with respect to equine activities, certain land conditions

and hazards, including surface and subsurface conditions;

(4) a collision with another animal or an object; or

(5) the potential of a participant to act in a negligent manner

that may contribute to injury to the participant or another,

including failing to maintain control over the equine or

livestock animal or not acting within the participant's ability.

Added by Acts 1995, 74th Leg., ch. 549, Sec. 1, eff. Sept. 1,

1995. Amended by Acts 2001, 77th Leg., ch. 1108, Sec. 3, eff.

Sept. 1, 2001.

Sec. 87.004. EXCEPTIONS TO LIMITATION ON LIABILITY. A person,

including an equine activity sponsor, equine professional,

livestock show participant, or livestock show sponsor, is liable

for property damage or damages arising from the personal injury

or death caused by a participant in an equine activity or

livestock show if:

(1) the injury or death was caused by faulty equipment or tack

used in the equine activity or livestock show, the person

provided the equipment or tack, and the person knew or should

have known that the equipment or tack was faulty;

(2) the person provided the equine or livestock animal and the

person did not make a reasonable and prudent effort to determine

the ability of the participant to engage safely in the equine

activity or livestock show and determine the ability of the

participant to safely manage the equine or livestock animal,

taking into account the participant's representations of ability;

(3) the injury or death was caused by a dangerous latent

condition of land for which warning signs, written notices, or

verbal warnings were not conspicuously posted or provided to the

participant, and the land was owned, leased, or otherwise under

the control of the person at the time of the injury or death and

the person knew of the dangerous latent condition;

(4) the person committed an act or omission with wilful or

wanton disregard for the safety of the participant and that act

or omission caused the injury;

(5) the person intentionally caused the property damage, injury,

or death; or

(6) with respect to a livestock show, the injury or death

occurred as a result of an activity connected with the livestock

show and the person invited or otherwise allowed the injured or

deceased person to participate in the activity and the injured or

deceased person was not a participant as defined by Section

87.001(9)(B).

Added by Acts 1995, 74th Leg., ch. 549, Sec. 1, eff. Sept. 1,

1995. Amended by Acts 2001, 77th Leg., ch. 1108, Sec. 4, eff.

Sept. 1, 2001.

Sec. 87.005. WARNING NOTICE. (a) An equine professional shall

post and maintain a sign that contains the warning contained in

Subsection (c) if the professional manages or controls a stable,

corral, or arena where the professional conducts an equine

activity. The professional must post the sign in a clearly

visible location on or near the stable, corral, or arena.

(b) An equine professional shall include the warning contained

in Subsection (c) in every written contract that the professional

enters into with a participant for professional services,

instruction, or the rental of equipment or tack or an equine

animal. The warning must be included without regard to whether

the contract involves equine activities on or off the location or

site of the business of the equine professional. The warning must

be clearly readable.

(c) The warning posted by an equine professional under this

section must be as follows:

WARNING

UNDER TEXAS LAW (CHAPTER 87, CIVIL PRACTICE AND REMEDIES CODE),

AN EQUINE PROFESSIONAL IS NOT LIABLE FOR AN INJURY TO OR THE

DEATH OF A PARTICIPANT IN EQUINE ACTIVITIES RESULTING FROM THE

INHERENT RISKS OF EQUINE ACTIVITIES.

(d) A livestock show sponsor shall post and maintain a sign that

contains the warning prescribed by Subsection (f) if the

livestock show sponsor manages or controls a stable, barn,

corral, or arena at which the livestock show sponsor conducts a

livestock show. The livestock show sponsor must post the sign in

a clearly visible location near the stable, barn, corral, or

arena.

(e) A livestock show sponsor shall include the warning

prescribed by Subsection (f) in every written contract that the

sponsor enters into with a livestock show participant. The

warning must be clearly readable.

(f) The warning posted by a livestock show sponsor under this

section must be as follows:

WARNING

UNDER TEXAS LAW (CHAPTER 87, CIVIL PRACTICE AND REMEDIES CODE), A

LIVESTOCK SHOW SPONSOR IS NOT LIABLE FOR AN INJURY TO OR THE

DEATH OF A PARTICIPANT IN A LIVESTOCK SHOW RESULTING FROM THE

INHERENT RISKS OF LIVESTOCK SHOW ACTIVITIES.

Added by Acts 1995, 74th Leg., ch. 549, Sec. 1, eff. Sept. 1,

1995. Amended by Acts 2001, 77th Leg., ch. 1108, Sec. 5, eff.

Sept. 1, 2001.