Rider Injured in Fall From Horse Stung By Fire Ants Cannot Recover

Gamble v. Peyton, 182 S.W.3d 1 (Tex. Ct. App. 2005).

In this case a woman who bought a horse from Peyton mounted the horse while on Peyton's ranch and was thrown because the horse had been stung by fire ants, which Peyton had mentioned had been a problem on his ranch.

The landowner invoked the Texas equine activity statute to bar liability. The statute, contained in Tex. Civ. Prac. & Rem. Code. sect 87.003 (2005) provides an exemption from liability when injuries result from the inherent risks of participating in an equine activity.

The Gambles disagreed, arguing that a factual issue of whether a dangerous latent condition of land existed that precluded summary judgment, pointing to 87.004(3). The court noted that Gamble misread the statute which says "a dangerous latent condition of land", not "or land".

The court concluded by noting that a horse's natural reactions to other creatures is an inherent risk of equine activity, and affirmed the trial court's grant of summary judgment for the landowners.