As cities grow, more and more equine professionals could find themselves at odds with new non-horsey neighbors. Handling a dispute before it gets serious can be the best way to preserve your business.
By Kristin Pitzer
Robert Frost coined the phrase “good fences make good neighbors,” and in an urban setting, that might be true. But when you bring livestock into the mix, even good fences can’t prevent flies, smells, dust, or people with bad intentions from crossing a boundary.
As an equine professional, especially if you’re located on the outskirts of a city, you need to be extremely respectful in how you treat their neighbors, said Jordan Willette, an attorney based in Phoenix and San Francisco. As city centers sprawl out into what was once ranch land, more and more conflicts are bound to arise between city folk and horse owners. Unfortunately, in many situations, lawsuits will likely favor the non-equestrian neighbor and end with the horse owner either looking for a new place to live or being subjected to certain restrictions.
Be a Good Neighbor
Neighborly disputes between horse owners and suburbanites are becoming more and more frequent as cities grow and expand beyond their initial footprint into what was once “the country.” When that happens, conflicts can occur just from everyday life as a horse owner. Dust blowing from arenas, smells drifting over from pastures and manure piles, and excessive amounts of flies can make life on bordering properties unpleasant.
If neighbors’ concerns go ignored by the equine facility, and property owners escalate things to the city government, the stable owner could lose the ability to keep horses on the property, or things can even turn malicious. There have been cases where angry neighbors attempted to retaliate by poisoning horses or spooking them while being ridden, resulting in human and animal injuries.
“You don’t want to create such a negative environment for your neighbors that it becomes what we call a nuisance suit,” Willette said. “I’ve been aware of cases where there was a barn in the middle of the city, and the flies and dust created a public nuisance. It affects the homeowners around that farm and their ability to enjoy their properties. If the horse barn loses the suit, the horses could be forced to leave. You don’t want to have it get that severe.”
By being a good neighbor, you can likely keep any complaints from ever forming. Keep your arenas and pastures watered down to prevent dust from blowing, have your manure piles hauled off regularly, practice fly-prevention measures, and keep noise levels to a minimum, for starters. Even maintaining the curb appeal of your property can help it become a beloved part of the community, rather than the local eyesore.
Talk It Out When Possible
Usually, the best way to handle neighborly disputes is by talking things out in person. This way, a lawsuit is less likely to be filed, and things can get resolved more quickly and less expensively.
“My best advice would be to try to have a conversation,” Willette said. “It doesn’t hurt to be the good neighbor from the olden days where you walk over and introduce yourself. Handle it as informally and politely as possible.”
If you discover a new neighborhood is being built around your ranch, take some initiative and introduce yourself to the new homeowners. One way you can do this is by mailing flyers or business cards out to the community that share your name and contact information. As an added bonus, if you offer lessons, this can be a great way to garner some new local business.
Befriending your neighbors might seem like a lot of work, especially when your schedule is already packed with training, events, veterinary appointments, and property maintenance. But, maintaining those relationships can go a long way should problems come up in the future. For one, they might be more willing to overlook a slight nuisance, like a temporary increase in fly activity during the summer. Second, they’ll probably be less likely to resort to litigation. As long as you’re receptive to constructive criticism and willing to make changes when needed, you can keep most conflicts out of court.
Bring in a Third Party
Being friendly with your neighbors won’t solve every problem. There will always be people who can’t be pleased or are just plain unfriendly. If your safety, or the safety of your animals, is ever in question, don’t be afraid to call in a third party, such as the police.
“Even if they can’t do anything, sometimes that contact from a law enforcement officer puts people on notice and can help resolve the problem,” Willette said. “Sometimes it’s better to get that third party involved and say hey, we can’t handle this anymore.”
Law enforcement might have to get involved if people intentionally trespass on the property, for instance. Whether it’s done maliciously, where someone continuously dumps grass clippings on your property even though you’ve asked them not to, or ignorantly, like children climbing through your fence to pet your horses, you’ll want to put an end to it as quickly as possible for both the animals’ and humans’ safety.
“If it becomes a serious issue, trespassing is a criminal charge—there’s also civil trespassing, but at the end of the day, if somebody’s repetitively trespassing and it’s becoming an issue, it’s going to be a safety concern,” Willette said. “Civil cases work much slower than criminal actions, so if you need something done fast, a criminal complaint is going to be the way to go. That has to be done through law enforcement because it has to be enough that the state, county, or city will file charges.”
It’s almost inevitable that conflicts between non-horsey neighbors and horse owners will develop at some point. If you can set a good relationship from the beginning and respect your neighbors’ spaces, you can likely get through the disputes with just a friendly conversation. Otherwise, be aware that the law may not be on the horse owner’s side. If all else fails, it might be time to look for a property farther outside the city.
