Co-riding is the stage between lessons and owning your own horse: riding, without the burdens of ownership. But one burden doesn't automatically transfer along with that arrangement — the insurance question. Anyone riding someone else's horse sits in a triangle of owner, rider, and horse, and each corner needs its own cover. This guide runs through them for anyone who co-rides, helps care for a horse in exchange for riding it, or regularly gets on someone else's horse.
Who Is Liable When Something Goes Wrong
Under Dutch law, the possessor of the horse is in principle liable for damage the animal causes — even if you're the one in the saddle. How that works, and when part of the damage can still land on the rider after all (think of contributory fault or agreements made), is covered in liability around your horse. The practical lesson for co-riders: this isn't a clean-cut division, and that's exactly why you want the agreements in writing — more on that below.
Your Own Injury
For medical costs after a fall, you're covered at the basic level in the Netherlands through your health insurance. An accident insurance policy comes on top of that: it pays out for permanent injury, regardless of whose fault it was. With a policy like this, explicitly check whether equestrian sport is covered — most policies simply cover it, but some treat riding as an exception. Anyone who's a federation member should first check what's already arranged there: KNHS (the Dutch equestrian federation) membership usually includes collective accident cover for members; you'll find the current scope and terms directly with KNHS.
Damage You Cause — and the Custody Clause
If you as a rider cause damage to a third party, that falls under your own personal liability insurance (AVP — Aansprakelijkheidsverzekering voor Particulieren). But there's a catch in almost every AVP policy that hits co-riders specifically: the care, custody, or control clause (opzichtclausule). Damage to things that are "in your care" — the borrowed horse itself, the saddle, the tack — is often limited or excluded under that clause. Riding someone else's horse is the textbook example of this kind of custody. So don't just ask your insurer "am I covered when I ride" — ask specifically: "is damage to the horse and the owner's equipment covered while I'm co-riding?"
Put It in Writing
The insurance triangle only closes properly once owner and co-rider agree who carries what: whose liability cover applies in which situation, whether the owner has the horse insured, and whether the co-rider is included under it. That doesn't need to be notarized — a one-page co-riding contract with the insurance agreements spelled out prevents the discussion after the fact. The owner can read the flip side of this in liability insurance for your horse.
In Belgium
For riders in Flanders, the baseline is different: club membership there usually automatically brings basic cover for physical injury and liability during club activities. How that system works — and where the gaps are — is covered in rider insurance in Belgium.
In Short
Riding someone else's horse means checking three types of cover: your health insurance plus possibly accident insurance for your own injury (with equestrian sport included), your AVP for damage to third parties, and — the most commonly missed point — the custody clause for damage to the borrowed horse and the owner's equipment. Set out the division in a co-riding contract, and as a federation member, first check what the federation's liability insurance and accident cover already arrange. What else comes into play before getting your own horse is covered at the Just Starting Out level.
See also: Horse Lease and Co-Riding Contracts · Liability Insurance for Your Horse · Horse Owner Liability · Liability insurance · Level: Just Starting Out · In Belgium: rider insurance in Belgium