Equine law involves the law as it relates to all aspects of horses and horse-related activities.
We are able to assist horse owners, businesses, professionals, insurers, associations, clinicians, event sponsors, national and international competitors, and facilities with several things including:
- Draft, review, or negotiate equine-related contracts (such as purchase and sales agreements, leases, stallion service contracts, liability waivers/releases, facility use agreements, stallion management agreements, training agreements, and boarding contracts)
- Set up corporations, partnerships, syndications, or Limited Liability Companies
- Assist with tax planning and resolving tax disputes, including "hobby loss disputes" with the government
- Help plan and document real estate purchases or transactions
- Handle or resolve equine ownership disputes
- Handle or resolve zoning and land use disputes
- Handle or resolve disputes involving breaches of professional duties such as sales agents, trainers, stables and others
- Advise equine industry clubs and associations regarding management, rules, bylaws, disputes and regulations
- Help avoid liability through risk management consulting
- Draft or review equine insurance policy language and provide counsel in evaluation and litigation of coverage disputes
- Represent people, associations or businesses when disputes or lawsuits arise out of any of the matters described above
Recent Blog Posts
- Damage Caused by Boarded Horses -- Who Pays for It?
- New Year's Resolutions for the Equine Industry
- New York is 48th State to Enact an Equine Liability Law
- Dog Bite Liability – What Horse Owners and Stables Should Know
- Fine Tune Your Equine Lease to Avoid Legal Battles
- Should You Buy a Horse Sight Unseen?
- Equine Contracts and Genetic Conditions: Horse Owners Beware
- What is an “Inherent Risk” With Horses?
- Half Lease - Whole Problem
- I’m Not a Boarding Stable, BUT …
Publications & Alerts
- Can You Repossess a Horse When the Buyer Fails to Pay?, Miniature Horse News, October 19, 2015
- What You Didn't Know About Liability Insurance, Equine Chronicle, October 19, 2015
- Liability Insurance for Small Equine Businesses, Equine Chronicle, April 3, 2015
- Julie Fershtman on Mentoring, The Mentor, January 27, 2015
- Liability Releases for Agritourism Activities – Myths and Realities, Foster Swift Agricultural Law News, January 27, 2015
- Michigan’s Equine Activity Liability Act: Are We Galloping in the Right Direction?, Foster Swift Agricultural Law Update, January 16, 2014
News
- Fershtman Earns Highest Honor from State Bar of Michigan, Lansing Regional Chamber, September 25, 2018
- WLAM to Present Fershtman with the 2018 Jean King Leadership Award, April 10, 2018
- Crain's Detroit Names Julie Fershtman in 2017 Notable Women Lawyers, Crain's Detroit, December 14, 2017
- Fershtman to Receive Animal Law Award, American Bar Association, August 1, 2017
- Julie Fershtman Selected for Two Additional Michigan Super Lawyers Honors, September 8, 2015
- Foster Swift Attorney Julie Fershtman Selected for Michigan's State Bar 21st Century Task Force, July 17, 2015
- Julie I. Fershtman Sworn in as State Bar of Michigan President, September 15, 2011
Events
- Livestock Liability - Loose Livestock, Cow Out & Trespassing Claims, Agricultural Claims National Conference, March 19, 2019
- Bad Faith in Commercial Agribusiness, Agricultural Claims National Conference, March 18, 2019
- Equine Liability Laws and Exposures - What Every Equine Business Owner Need to Know, equestrianprofessional.com, December 17, 2018
- Equine Activity Liability Acts (Now in 48 States), American Horse Council National Webinar, November 14, 2018
- Emmett J. Vaughan Agribusiness Conference, June 28, 2017
- Common Characteristics of Effective Waivers/Releases: Dissecting the Elements, Emmett J. Vaughan Agribusiness Conference-International Risk Management Institute, May 9, 2017
- Crossfire: Trainers, Boarding Stables & Owner Conflicts & How to Reduce or Resolve Them, National Conference on Equine Law, May 3, 2017