Can You Get A DUI On A Horse?

Wondering if riding a horse or sitting in a buggy with the horse’s reins in your hands, can you be charged with a DUI while on public roads? The answer is yes, it is possible.

There are plenty of opportunities in St Paul, Minnesota to go horse-riding, with horse-riding schools offering lessons and opportunities for riding in the countryside. But what happens when people drink and they are around horses.

Can you get a DUI on a horse? State laws vary quite a bit regarding aspects of riding a horse as well as driving a cart or buggy pulled by a horse.  After all, there are some communities where horse-drawn carts are a common means of transport still.

Each state has laws that regulate the consumption of alcohol. We all know that if you drink and drive with a blood alcohol concentration over 0.08 you are breaking the law. The same applies to riding a horse when drunk because you are showing that you are irresponsible and do not care how your drunken behavior can cause huge accidents, injure or kill other people as well as your horse.

Drunk or not, if you ride a horse into town, you have to comply with the road rules, just like any motorist has to.

Horse riding and DUI

You are a danger to yourself and your horse

Whether driving a horse-drawn buggy or riding a horse, people sometimes ride away from the normal horse-routes and head towards the city and busy roads. There have been people who have proven to be in no condition to be on country tracks, let alone busy city roads.

These are the kinds of people who when you ask ‘can you get a DUI on a horse, the answer is yes. Riding a horse on busy roads is just plain dangerous, not only for the rider, but for the horse as well.

Stables try to educate people on horses

The different stables around St Paul Minnesota want everyone interested in horse riding to come and learn to ride, interact and care for horses. Quite likely when learning how to ride and care for a horse, the topic of can you get a DUI on a horse will come up.

They want to make sure their horses are well cared for and ridden responsibly. In spite of all this education available, there are people who abuse alcohol around horses and the ride recklessly and in areas where they can endanger themselves, the horse and other people.

What is this DUI?

Being impaired does not only mean riding a horse while under the influence of alcohol. Drugs, prescription medications and any other substance that affects your ability to drive a vehicle or ride a horse dangerously on a busy road can be considered DUI.

Referred to also as DWI, the person is under the influence of a hazardous substance that impairs both driving and riding abilities. It is someone who has a blood alcohol concentration (BAC) of more than .08%. When you are charged with such an offense, you face two kinds of penalties – criminal as well as administrative and the severity of these penalties will increase when there are aggravating factors involved. These penalties can be imposed right at the scene or soon after.

There is punishment

If the intoxicated horse-related riding or driving occurs in a public place, some jurisdictions look at the public intoxication statutes for prosecution. It can result in fines, jail time or community service.

Local legal statutes vary a great deal in this and other regards. What’s more, a person under the influence can also have animal cruelty charged added in. When all is said and done, when answering the question can you get a DUI on a horse, yes you can. The legal consequences are much the same as a DUI with a motor vehicle. For first-time offenders, this can include time in jail, fines and rehabilitation.

Only a lawyer can help you

Maybe you live in St Paul Minnesota and you have been charged with riding a horse under the influence of alcohol. Whenever you find yourself on the wrong side of the law, regardless of what the crime is, the best decision you can make is to get professional legal help on your side.

Not only can the lawyer help you get a less form of punishment than you have coming your way,  but they can help the process along much quicker so that you can get the embarrassment behind you and start leading a normal life again.