The United States Equestrian Federation (“USEF”) recently imposed a seven month suspension on a trainer in what it called a case of “intentional doping,” after a horse the trainer exhibited tested positive for the presence of two sedating medications (and their metabolites) known as acepromazine and detomidine.

USEF expelled a trainer whose conduct the Hearing Committee found “contributed to the unintentional death” of a show horse in her care, custody, and control.

The Supreme Court of New Mexico has ruled that a trainer, who was disciplined after a verbal altercation with a steward, may have no legal recourse against the New Mexico Racing Commission (“NMRC”). According to the Court, the trainer held a license issued by the NMRC and wanted to hire an assistant trainer whose license had been revoked. The trainer intervened on his prospective employee’s behalf, but when his efforts proved unfruitful he got into a heated argument with one of the NMRC racing stewards. As a result, the NMRC initiated an administrative disciplinary action against the trainer, found that he had violated a rule of racing governing integrity and decorum, and fined him $500.

The United States Tax Court recently sustained the IRS’s disallowance of loss deductions a Louisiana couple claimed were attributable to their Arabian horse activities. The IRS had audited the couple for the years 2004-2009 and determined that they were not engaged in their Arabian horse activity with the requisite profit motive to be entitled to the business loss deductions they claimed. The IRS determined deficiencies in the couple’s federal income tax payments totaling around $100,000.

A racing enthusiast sued his trainer for failing to claim a racehorse he wanted. The case went to trial in a Maryland state court with the trainer emerging victorious on all counts. The trial court’s ruling was affirmed on appeal. According to the appellate court’s decision,

A South Carolina appellate court affirmed a trial court’s resolution of an insurance coverage dispute in favor of an insurance company that declined to offer underinsured motorist (UIM) coverage on an insured’s camper and horse trailer. The trial court had granted the insurance company

Montana recently enacted revisions to its equine activity liability act, providing for waivers of liability for participants in equine activities, and requiring waivers to include very specific language in order to be enforceable.

Two Massachusetts-based harness-racing trainers sued the Harness Horsemen’s Association of New England, Inc. (“HHANE”), after their membership applications were rejected because they had crossed out language on the application form. The trainers had been members of HHANE for many years and previously served on its board. Over time, the trainers became dissatisfied with the organization and its contract negotiations with a local harness racing track operator.

Controversy around the carriage horse industry in Charleston, South Carolina became heated when animal rights advocates used social media to disseminate video of carriage horses falling to the ground during a carriage tour in 2017. In response, Charleston Carriage Works, LLC filed suit against the Charleston Animal Society and Charleston Carriage Horse Advocates (and its president) alleging the information they had posted on the internet gave rise to claims for defamation, civil conspiracy, intentional interference with business relations and civil rights violations.

A recent ruling from the Court of Appeals of New York has dramatically changed the New York law of negligence liability for harm caused by domestic animals. A 2006 case in New York held that there can be no common-law negligence liability when a domestic animal causes harm. That case significantly changed the landscape of animal liability law in New York by eliminating common law negligence claims