Expert Witness Journal Issue 63 October 2025 - Flipbook - Page 91
Horses for different courses:
not just personal injury.
by Mrs Peta Roberts, F.B.H.S
I have worked as an equestrian expert witness for
I get enquiries about health and safety, and often have
many years, and have written reports for an amazing
to comment on risk assessments, and safe practices at
variety of cases. Whilst many cases are valuations or
work. I have written reports for council health and
personal injury, other interesting cases include:
safety departments, on topics such as ring ropes at
A
report
written
for
a
local
council's
shows, health and safety procedures, risk assess-
planning
ments,
department, where a planning applicant had built
'stables'
that
local
parties
had
complained
lorry
parking,
and
routes
to
be
taken
in competition. I have also written reports for trad-
were
ing
unsuitable for horses, but could easily be adapted for
standards,
when
purchasers
have
bought
unsuitable, misdescribed horses.
human habitation. I inspected the stables, and wrote
a report for the planning council, stating why they
Welfare of horses is now becoming a hot topic, and I
were actually unusable as stables. Amongst other
authored a report where horses were not being kept
problems there was a beautiful brick step into the sta-
or worked as agreed by the owner, and their care had
bles, that the horses would have had difficulty negoti-
become a welfare issue.
ating. Despite a foreign witness saying that in their
Valuations of horses is always a difficult subject, as
country horses go up flights of stairs to sleep on the
there is no published guide, as there is with cars.
upper floor of their houses, the planning council won
Realistically a horse is worth whatever someone is
their case.
prepared to pay for it, and some of them are actually
I have undertaken several cases involving tack and
a negative asset!
equipment failures, resulting in injury, as well as one
Nearly every case involving horses needs some sort of
involving a person in possession of a large quantity of
input from an equestrian expert, as equestrians talk a
tack and trailers possibly from dubious sources. I had
slightly different language, and non equestrians often
to tell the court how people buy tack second hand,
get the wrong end of the stick. In one case I said that
and often pay cash for it, with no receipt, which was
the pony had never been driven in company, but was
made easier as some of the tack had been legitimately
told that it had, the drivers friend in the carriage on
bought from an acquaintance of mine.
the way to the shop! The phrase 'driven in company'
Another case involved a horse being transported back
means in the company of other driven horses!
from treatment at a vet clinic, and it had died in
Whilst some of the cases are sad, and often make
transit as a result of being tied up incorrectly. The
owner claimed against the vet as the vet nurse
unpleasant reading, it is satisfying when the case
had
concludes with the right outcome, and I learn some-
loaded it, but the staff were absolved as it transpired it
thing from every case.
had been travelled to the vets and home again in an
unsuitable headcollar, supplied by there owner, that
Mrs Peta Roberts
did not break when the horse got caught up.
Equestrian Consultant, Trainer & Expert Witness
I quite often get business management type cases,
www.petaroberts.co.uk
predicting how a business would have grown had the
proprietor
not
been
injured,
or
predicting
what
horses would have been worth had the owner been
able to train them as planned before their accident. I
have also had to comment on what extra equipment
a top class horse rider needed after being seriously
injured in a car accident, to enable the rider to
continue competing at top level.
Another interesting case involved a ridden horse that
jumped over a fence onto a car. The rider had been
following the local hunt, but claimed he was walking
back to his lorry. On investigation it transpired he was
actually going away from his lorry, having a little jolly
over the hedges.
EXPERT WITNESS JOURNAL
89
OCTOBER/NOVEMBER 2025
