Have you considered adopting from a horse rescue center? The benefits of equine rescue are tremendous for horses and for those who love them.

Jenkins Fenstermaker’s Allison J. Farrell helps protect you from legal disputes in the horse business with the right contracts and liability protections.

Horse clubs serve as an excellent resource to horse owners, breeders, trainers, and others interested in engaging with the equine industry. These groups create communities that provide education, experience, and exposure as well as information and skills needed to be a responsible member of the equestrian society.

Many horse lovers—like myself—dream of making a living doing what they most enjoy and decide to start a horse business. In addition to launching The Legal Equine, my husband and I founded our farm-based business, Almost Heaven Vanners, LLC, the same year.

Pets bring people joy, reduce our stress levels, serve as workout partners, and provide health benefits such as reducing blood pressure, improving cholesterol levels, and easing mental health issues. However, when you need to be away and cannot take your pet with you, you have to find someone to take care of them in your absence.

Owning a horse is a childhood dream for many. We lived these dreams as children through common childhood play experiences, such as begging our parents for toy rocking horses, carousel rides, and having ponies at our birthday parties. For some, that dream never dies, but owning a horse can be costly. Leasing a horse is a viable option for both the beginner and the budget-conscious.

Owning horses can bring amazing experiences. They are a conduit of physical activity, showmanship, sportsmanship, and therapeutic connections. Caring for horses is richly rewarding. Except for when it isn’t. As large animals with minds of their own, they are capable of causing damage or injury. What can you do when a horse causes damage?

People who own horses or run equine businesses and organizations are an adventurous breed. After all, these activities are not for the faint of heart, and both horse ownership and equine business pursuits require significant commitments of time and energy. While horse people are not afraid of hard work, when it comes to equine risk management, some may be tempted to muck that stall tomorrow. That procrastination could be costly.

Even when you are an equine attorney and you have overthought everything to the point where you are sure your plans are foolproof, Mother Nature can still pull a fast one. For me, a recent effort to breed a mare underscored the importance of careful review and attention to equine breeding contracts.

Horses require a great deal of routine care that can be quite costly. Feed, water, shoes, veterinarian care, and stabling all add up. You can try to earn a return on your investment by starting an equine business. You may even want to look into some equine business loan considerations to help bridge the financial gap from hobbyist to professional. However, there is an old joke that bears repeating—Q: How do you make a million dollars in horses? A: Start with three million!