The short answer
Horse owner insurance is a set of covers for people who own horses for pleasure, showing or trail riding. Mortality cover pays if the horse dies or must be humanely put down for a covered reason, and major medical cover helps with surgery and treatment costs. Liability cover responds if your horse injures someone or damages property. Trailers and leases add their own questions, and a licensed broker can assemble the pieces.
- Owners who board a horse at someone else's stable
- Riders who trailer to shows, clinics or trail rides away from home
- Families who keep one or two horses on their own acreage
- Owners leasing a horse to another rider, or leasing one themselves
- Anyone who has just bought a horse and has a value to protect
No broker in the network handles this yet. You can still prepare and save the request now. It is kept, and requests like it show us which brokers to find next.
Outside Alberta, Canada you can prepare and save a request today; sending opens place by place. Brokers answer with their own quotes. Broker.insure does not quote, advise or take commission.
01 / What it covers
The parts worth understanding
Mortality cover
Pays the insured value if the horse dies from illness, injury or accident, or is humanely destroyed for a covered reason. Theft is sometimes included. The value usually follows purchase price, training, show record and use.
Major medical and surgical
An add-on to mortality that helps pay vet bills for covered illness or injury, and for surgery where included, usually up to a yearly limit and after a deductible. Ask what is excluded from the start.
Loss of use
Pays part of the insured value if the horse survives but can no longer do the work it was insured for. It is not offered for every horse and has strict definitions, so read them closely.
Owner liability
Responds if your horse kicks a visitor, gets loose on a road or damages a neighbour's property. A home policy may limit or exclude animals this size, so ask whether a separate equine liability policy is needed.
Care, custody and control
Cover a boarding stable or trainer carries for horses in its charge. It protects the business against its own legal responsibility, not necessarily your horse, so ask the barn what it holds.
Trailers and transport
The tow vehicle policy usually extends liability while towing, but damage to the trailer and the tack inside may need a separate listing. Ask how a horse in transit is treated under the mortality cover.
Tack and equipment
Saddles, bridles, blankets and grooming kits stored at a barn may fall outside a home policy. They can sometimes be added to equine or contents cover with a list and values.
02 / Get ready
Bring this, and expect these questions
Gather
- For each horse: name, age, breed, colour, markings, sex and registration papers if any
- The bill of sale, or an appraisal or show record that supports the value you want to insure
- The horse's main use: pleasure, trail, lessons, showing, breeding or competition
- Your vet's name and clinic, and the horse's routine vet records
- Where the horse lives: your property, a boarding stable, a training barn or pasture board
- Your boarding agreement, including any clause about insurance or liability
- Any lease agreement, whether you lease the horse out or lease one yourself
- Trailer details: make, length, serial number and the vehicle that tows it
- A list of saddles and other tack, with rough values
- Your home or farm policy, to see what it says about animals and liability
A broker will ask
- How many horses do you own, and what is each one used for?
- What value do you want to insure, and what supports that figure?
- Where is each horse kept, and does the barn carry its own insurance?
- Who rides or handles the horse besides you?
- Do you trailer to shows, clinics, trail rides or across the border?
- Is the horse leased out, part-boarded or used for lessons by anyone else?
- Do you ride on roads, public trails or other people's land?
- Would you like major medical or loss of use added to the mortality cover?
Not sure of an answer? Leave it. "Not known yet" is a fine answer, and a broker will help you fill it in.
03 / Build your request
Answer a few questions. Get your own list.
Pick what fits. Your answers shape the list beside them, and they are saved to your request as plain facts a broker can read. "Not sure yet" is always a fine answer.
04 / Three situations
See which one sounds like yours
A first-time owner at a boarding barn
An adult rider bought her first horse, a quiet trail gelding, and boards him at a stable outside Edmonton. The boarding contract mentions that the barn has insurance, and she took that to mean her horse was protected.
First steps. Read the boarding contract and ask the barn manager in writing what its policy covers for horses in its care. Bring the bill of sale and vet records to a broker and ask whether mortality, medical and owner liability should be arranged separately.
An owner half-leasing a pony to another family
A family's pony is getting less use since their daughter moved up to a bigger horse, so they agreed to half-lease it to another child who rides three days a week. Nobody has discussed what happens if the child falls or the pony is hurt.
First steps. Put the lease in writing, naming who pays vet bills, who carries liability and what riding is allowed. Bring the draft lease and the pony's papers to a broker and ask how the other family's cover and yours fit together.
Trail riders who haul to the foothills
A retired couple trailer two horses to the foothills most summer weekends and ride Crown land and provincial park trails. Their gooseneck trailer has living quarters, and the tack room holds two good saddles.
First steps. List both horses, the trailer serial number and the tack with values, then show the broker your truck policy. Ask how liability applies on public trails, whether the living quarters change how the trailer is insured, and what covers the horses in transit.
05 / Words you will hear
The jargon, in plain words
- Full mortality
- Equine cover that pays if the horse dies from almost any cause the policy accepts, including accident, illness and humane destruction, subject to its exclusions.
- Humane destruction
- Putting a horse down to end suffering. Mortality policies usually set conditions, such as a vet confirming it was necessary and the insurer being told promptly.
- Loss of use
- Cover that pays part of the insured value when a horse survives an injury or illness but can no longer do the job it was insured for.
- Care, custody and control
- Insurance a stable, trainer or farrier carries for animals left in its charge. It responds to that business's legal responsibility, not to every loss.
- Declared value
- The value you state for the horse when you apply. It should match evidence such as a bill of sale or appraisal, because the insurer may look at market value after a loss.
- Lease agreement
- A written arrangement letting another rider use your horse, in full or in part, for a fee or in exchange for care. It should set out insurance and vet duties.
06 / Common mistakes
What trips people up
- Believing the boarding stable's insurance pays if your horse dies or needs surgery.
- Insuring a horse for its purchase price years later, after training or a show record changed its value.
- Leasing a horse on a handshake, with no written terms about liability, injury or vet costs.
- Assuming the home policy covers a horse injuring someone on a trail far from the property.
- Forgetting to tell the insurer about a change of use, such as starting lessons or competing.
- Leaving tack at the barn with no record of what it is or what it is worth.
Ready when you are
Turn this into one clear request.
Save it, add what you know, and choose when to send it. A licensed broker who handles horse owner insurance takes it from there.
07 / Questions people ask
Straight answers
What is equine mortality insurance?
It is cover that pays the insured value if a horse dies from a covered cause, or has to be humanely destroyed for reasons the policy accepts. Insurers usually ask about the horse's age, use and value, and may want vet records for higher values. Ask the broker how the value is set and what could lead to a claim being refused.
Does the boarding stable's insurance cover my horse?
Usually not in the way owners hope. A stable may carry care, custody and control cover for horses in its charge, which protects the business when it is legally responsible for a loss. It does not normally pay for an illness or accident that is nobody's fault. Ask the barn for its insurance details and discuss your own cover with a broker.
Am I liable if my horse hurts someone while I am out riding?
You can be. A horse that kicks another rider, spooks into a car or runs onto a road can lead to a claim against the owner or the rider. A home policy may cover some animal liability, limit it or exclude horses. Ask the broker whether your liability extends off your property and to other people who ride your horse.
Can I add major medical cover later?
Sometimes, but insurers usually set conditions, such as a waiting period or exclusions for anything the horse already has. Adding it at the same time as mortality cover can be simpler. Ask the broker what each insurer requires, what the yearly limit and deductible would be, and how a claim is handled with your vet.
Who insures a leased horse?
It depends on the lease. Often the owner keeps mortality and medical cover while the person leasing carries liability for their own riding, but every arrangement differs. A written lease should say who insures what and who pays any deductible. Bring the lease to a broker so both sides can be checked before the horse moves or the riding starts.
Is my horse covered while in a trailer?
Mortality cover often applies while a horse is being transported, but some policies limit long trips or travel to other countries. The trailer itself and the tack inside are separate questions, usually answered by the auto policy or a listed trailer. Tell the broker where and how far you haul, and ask for the transport terms in writing.
General information, not insurance advice. Broker.insure is a directory and request service: it is not an insurer and does not quote, bind or advise. Policy terms, availability and what is required where you live depend on your situation and on licensed professionals. Updated 2026-10-31.