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Montana
27-1-724. Limits on liability of livestock owner or property
owner in accidents involving motor vehicles and livestock.
(1) Except as provided in Title 60, chapter 7, part 2, for
the highways referred to in 60-7-201, a person owning, controlling,
or in possession of livestock or a person owning property
has no duty to keep livestock from wandering on highways and
is not subject to liability for damages to any property or
for injury to a person caused by an accident involving a motor
vehicle and livestock unless the owner of the livestock or
property was grossly negligent or engaged in intentional misconduct.
(2) As used in this section, the following definitions apply:
(a) "Highway" has the meaning provided in 60-1-103(19);
(b) "Livestock" has the meaning provided in 15-1-101;
and
(c) "Person" means an individual, partnership, corporation,
limited liability company, limited liability partnership,
or association.
History: En. Sec. 1, Ch. 28, L. 2001.
27-1-725. Purpose. The purpose of 27-1-725 through 27-1-727
is to assist courts and juries in defining the circumstances
under which persons responsible for equines may be found
liable for damages to persons harmed in the course of equine
activities. It is the policy of the state of Montana that
a person is not liable for damages sustained by another
solely as a result of risks inherent in equine activities
if those risks are or should be reasonably obvious, expected,
or necessary to persons engaged in equine activities. It
is the policy of the state of Montana that an equine activity
sponsor or equine professional who is negligent and causes
foreseeable injury to a participant bears responsibility
for that injury in accordance with other applicable law.
History: En. Sec. 1, Ch. 119, L. 1993.
27-1-726.
Definitions. As used in 27-1-725 through 27-1-727, the following
definitions apply:
(1) "Engage in an equine activity" means to ride,
train, drive, or be a passenger upon an equine, whether
mounted or unmounted, or to assist a participant, equine
activity sponsor, or equine professional. The phrase does
not mean activity by a spectator at an equine activity,
unless the spectator is improperly in an unauthorized area
in immediate proximity to an equine activity.
(2) "Equine" means a horse, pony, mule, donkey,
or hinny.
(3) "Equine activity" means:
(a) equine shows, fairs, competitions, performances, or
parades that involve any breed of equines and any of the
equine disciplines, including but not limited to dressage,
hunter and jumper horse shows, grand prix jumping, 3-day
events, combined training, rodeos, driving, pulling, cutting,
polo, steeplechasing, endurance trail riding and western
games, and hunting;
(b) equine training or teaching activities;
(c) boarding equines;
(d) riding, inspecting, grooming, or evaluating an equine
belonging to another, whether or not the owner has received
monetary consideration or another thing of value for the
use of the equine or permits a prospective purchaser of
the equine to ride, inspect, groom, or evaluate the equine;
(e) rides, trips, hunts, pack trips, or other equine activities
of any type, however informal, that are sponsored by an
equine activity sponsor; and
(f) providing veterinarian or farrier services.
(4) "Equine activity sponsor" means an individual,
group, club, partnership, corporation, or other entity,
whether operating for profit or nonprofit, that sponsors,
organizes, or provides the facilities for an equine activity.
The phrase includes but is not limited to pony clubs; 4-H
clubs; hunt clubs; riding clubs; riding classes and programs;
therapeutic riding programs; operators, instructors, and
promoters of equine facilities; stables; clubhouses; pony
ride strings; farms; ranches; and arenas.
(5) "Equine professional" means a person engaged
for compensation in:
(a) instructing a participant or renting to a participant
an equine for the purpose of riding, driving, or being a
passenger upon the equine;
(b) selling or renting equipment or tack to a participant;
or
(c) providing veterinary or farrier services.
(6) "Participant" means a person, whether amateur
or professional, who directly engages in an equine activity,
whether or not a fee is paid to participate in the equine
activity.
(7) "Risks inherent in equine activities" means
dangers or conditions that are an integral part of equine
activities, including but not limited to:
(a) the propensity of an equine to behave in ways that may
result in injury or harm to or the death of persons on or
around the equine;
(b) the unpredictability of an equine's reaction to such
things as medication; sounds; sudden movement; and unfamiliar
objects, persons, or other animals;
(c) hazards, such as surface and subsurface ground conditions;
(d) collisions with other equines or objects; or
(e) the potential of another participant to not maintain
control over the equine or to not act within the person's
ability.
History: En. Sec. 2, Ch. 119, L. 1993.
27-1-728. Mule and horseracing -- exception. Sections 27-1-725
through 27-1-727 do not apply to the horseracing and mule
racing industry as regulated in Title 23, chapter 4.
History: En. Sec. 4, Ch. 119, L. 1993.
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