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Livery yard liability in the Netherlands turns on one question: did the yard take the care of a good custodian? The yard must return your horse in the condition in which it received it. If your horse is injured at the stable through a failure attributable to the yard, the yard is liable. As a Dutch lawyer at MAAK Advocaten in Amsterdam, I assess your claim.
If you keep your horse at a Dutch yard for training, breeding or a competition season and it comes back injured or ill, you want to know who pays and what to do next. For the wider framework, see our guide to Dutch equine law.
What kind of contract is a livery agreement under Dutch law?
Dutch law has no separate “livery contract”. Full livery, where the yard cares for the horse and returns it, is safekeeping (bewaarneming). DIY livery may be a lease. Training adds a contract for services (opdracht).
Under Article 7:600 Dutch Civil Code (DCC), the custodian undertakes to keep a thing entrusted to it and to return it. Animals are not things, but the rules on things in principle apply to them (Article 3:2a DCC). A professional yard is entitled to a fee (Article 7:601(1)). A lease is a contract to provide a thing for use (Article 7:201(1)). Riding or schooling is work under a contract for services (Article 7:400(1)). Where a contract meets more than one statutory description, the rules for each apply side by side, insofar as they are compatible (Article 6:215).
| Type of livery | What the yard does | Main Dutch rules |
|---|---|---|
| Full livery | feeding, mucking out, turnout, supervision | safekeeping (Art. 7:600–7:605 DCC) |
| Training or competition livery | full livery plus riding or schooling | safekeeping and services side by side (Art. 6:215, 7:401) |
| DIY livery | stable and facilities only | possibly lease (Art. 7:201); the care is yours |
What care does a Dutch livery yard owe your horse?
The care of a good custodian. The yard may only use your horse with your consent or where needed to keep it in good condition. It is liable for its staff as for itself.
The standard of care is in Article 7:602 DCC. Use of the horse, such as riding or lunging, requires your consent unless it is needed to keep the horse in good condition (Article 7:603(1)). Without consent, the yard may not place your horse with a third party unless that is necessary in your interest; it is liable for that sub-custodian as for itself (Article 7:603(2) and (3)). The same applies to staff (Article 6:76). For schooling, the yard owes the care of a good service provider (Article 7:401). What that care means in practice depends on what was agreed: turnout groups, fencing checks, feeding plan, night checks.
When is the yard liable for an injury to your horse?
When it fails to perform and that failure is attributable to it. The yard must return the horse in the condition in which it received it. If the horse comes back injured, the yard has to explain why that lies outside its fault and risk.
The custodian must return the thing “in the state in which it received it” (Article 7:605(4) DCC, our translation). Every failure in performance obliges the debtor to compensate the loss, unless the failure cannot be attributed to it (Article 6:74(1) DCC). That is the case only if it is not due to the debtor’s fault and is not for its account by law, contract or generally accepted opinion (Article 6:75). A horse that cuts itself in normal turnout without any fault of the yard is a different case from one injured while being ridden without your consent.
Who has to prove what after an injury at the stable?
You prove that the horse was delivered healthy, that it came back injured or ill, and what your loss is. The yard has to put forward, and if necessary prove, why the failure cannot be attributed to it. Record the facts straight away.
The party relying on the legal consequences of facts bears the burden of proving them, unless a special rule or reasonableness and fairness requires otherwise (Article 150 Dutch Code of Civil Procedure). See also our page on negligence in the equestrian industry. If the yard will not cooperate, a Dutch court can order a preliminary taking of evidence before proceedings start (Article 196 DCCP).
Has your horse been injured at a Dutch yard and does the yard deny responsibility? Have your position assessed before you sign anything, by our equine lawyer in the Netherlands.
Which law governs your livery contract?
Without a choice of law, a services contract is governed by the law of the provider’s habitual residence: Dutch law for a Dutch yard. The consumer rule does not help for services supplied exclusively outside your home country.
That follows from Article 4(1)(b) Rome I Regulation, assuming the livery contract qualifies as a services contract. A manifestly closer connection with another country leads to that country’s law (Article 4(3)). The consumer rule of Article 6(1) does not apply to services supplied to the consumer exclusively in a country other than that of the consumer’s habitual residence (Article 6(4)(a)). A clause in general terms is voidable if it is unreasonably onerous (Article 6:233(a) DCC). Against a consumer, a clause excluding statutory liability for damages is presumed unreasonably onerous (Article 6:237(f)), and relying on any clause can be unacceptable under reasonableness and fairness (Article 6:248(2)). Between businesses not both established in the Netherlands, the Dutch rules on general terms do not apply at all (Article 6:247(2) DCC).
What if another horse injures your horse at the yard?
Then, besides the yard, the possessor of the other horse may be liable, in principle without fault. But if you claim against that possessor, the yard’s own mistakes in looking after your horse are attributed to you.
The possessor of an animal is liable for damage caused by it, unless it would not have been liable if it had control over the animal’s behaviour (Article 6:179 DCC). If the animal is used in a business, for example a riding school horse, the business operator is liable instead (Article 6:181(1)). Where damage is done to a thing that a third party held for the injured party, circumstances attributable to that third party are attributed to the injured party (Article 6:101(2) DCC). For insurance of that risk, see liability and insurance in Dutch equine law.
How quickly must you complain, and when is a claim time-barred?
Complain in writing straight away. If you do not protest within a reasonable time after discovering the defect, you can no longer rely on it. A damages claim is time-barred five years after you know of the damage and the liable party.
The duty to complain is in Article 6:89 DCC. The five-year period starts on the day after you became aware of both the damage and the liable person. In any event, the claim is time-barred twenty years after the event that caused the damage (Article 3:310(1) DCC). If the yard holds your horse over an unpaid invoice, note that you can in principle demand its return at any time. The yard may, however, suspend return until a related invoice that is due has been paid (Articles 7:605(1) and 6:52 DCC). If you provide sufficient security, that right lapses unless payment would be unreasonably delayed (Article 6:55 DCC); see disputes in the horse industry.
Practical example: a showjumper injured during lunging
Suppose an American amateur rider keeps her showjumper in training livery at a yard in Brabant for the European season. The contract says the horse may only be ridden by the trainer. While she is away, a groom lunges the horse on a hard surface, and the horse comes back lame with a tendon injury.
The yard owed the care of a good custodian and a good service provider (Articles 7:602 and 7:401 DCC) and could only use the horse with consent or where needed to keep it in good condition (Article 7:603(1)). It is liable for the groom as for itself (Article 6:76). Before a Dutch court and without a choice of law, Dutch law in principle governs the contract (Article 4(1)(b) Rome I), and the consumer rule does not apply because the services are supplied only in the Netherlands (Article 6(4)(a)). She protests in writing the same week (Article 6:89 DCC) and asks a vet to report on the injury.
This is a hypothetical example for illustration only, not a real case.
How do we help you with a claim against a Dutch livery yard?
Our aim: your loss compensated and your horse properly cared for, without you having to run the dispute from abroad.
- Review the livery contract, terms, applicable law and deadlines, and secure the evidence.
- Hold the yard and its insurer liable and negotiate.
- Litigate where necessary. We act for clients before Dutch courts at first instance and on appeal.
I first ask the yard what happened, who was there and what was done. Only then do I hold it liable. While your horse is still at the yard, a businesslike tone is in your interest.
If your horse was injured on the way to or from the yard, read horse transport damage in the Netherlands.
Frequently asked questions about livery yard liability
Is a livery yard liable if my horse is injured at the stable?
If the yard failed to take the care of a good custodian and that failure is attributable to it (Articles 7:602 and 6:74 DCC). It must return the horse in the condition in which it received it (Article 7:605(4)).
Can a Dutch livery yard ride my horse without permission?
Only where that is needed to keep the horse in good condition (Article 7:603(1) DCC). Otherwise it needs your consent. Put the rules on riding and lunging in the contract.
Does Dutch or my home country’s law apply to my livery contract?
Without a choice of law, the law of the yard’s habitual residence for a services contract (Article 4(1)(b) Rome I). The consumer rule does not apply to services supplied exclusively in the Netherlands (Article 6(4)(a)).
Who is liable if another horse kicks my horse in the field?
Possibly the yard, if it failed in its care, for example in grouping horses. The possessor of the other horse is liable for the damage it causes (Article 6:179 DCC), but the yard’s failings are then attributed to you (Article 6:101(2)).
How long do I have to claim against the yard?
Protest within a reasonable time after discovery (Article 6:89 DCC). The claim is time-barred five years after you know of the damage and the liable party, and in any event twenty years after the event (Article 3:310(1) DCC).
Primary sources
- Dutch Civil Code Book 3: Article 3:2a, 3:310
- Dutch Civil Code Book 6: Article 6:52, 6:55, 6:74, 6:75, 6:76, 6:89, 6:101, 6:179, 6:181, 6:215, 6:233, 6:237, 6:247, 6:248
- Dutch Civil Code Book 7: Article 7:201, 7:400, 7:401, 7:600, 7:601, 7:602, 7:603, 7:605
- Dutch Code of Civil Procedure: Article 150, 196
- Regulation (EC) No 593/2008 (Rome I), Articles 4 and 6
Has your horse been injured at a Dutch livery yard? Send me the details before you sign anything or move the horse: call +31 20 210 31 38 or get in touch via our equine lawyer in the Netherlands page. — Faranaz Ishak
