EAST TENNESSEE RIDING CLUB

AND HORSE SHOW ASSOCIATION, INC.

BY-LAWS

Updated June 21, 2007

GENERAL RULES AND REGULATIONS

1.                Safety and good horsemanship by all members and/or guests will be paramount at all times on Club grounds.

2.                Any member observing a violation of the rules or unsafe act should inform a Board Member. Violators will be subject to disciplinary action by the Board.

3.                ETRC assumes no responsibility for accidents involving member and/or guests on Club property, or the theft of members' horses or members' equipment.

4.                No smoking or lighted materials, including forges, will be permitted in the barn.

5.                Cigarette butts must be disposed of properly and not thrown onto the grounds of ETRC. This is considered littering. There are ashtrays provided for members to extinguish their cigarettes.

6.                 Dogs must be kept on a leash at all times while on Club grounds.

7.                The speed limit for all vehicles is 5 MPH on Club grounds.

8.                No alcoholic beverages may be consumed on Club grounds except in the Clubroom at a social event approved by the Board of Directors.

9.                All copies of rules, regulations, forms and By Laws will have the date of the latest approved revision written in the upper right-hand corner of the initial page of each document.

10.             Any rule may be relaxed or suspended temporarily by permission of the Board of Directors. All requests must be made in writing.

11.            All children under 16 must be supervised at all times while on Club grounds.

12.             Any member who does not meet the required number of annual work day hours, must pay to ETRC the equivalent of the current minimum wage, doubled, for each hour unfulfilled. Members must sign Log Sheet to have hours credited.

 

FACILITIES

 

1.                 Containers must be used for feed and grain. Hay must be baled and stored in tack rooms.

 

2.                The last person using the ring is responsible for turning off the lights.

 

3.                Stalls must be fully enclosed and may not be structurally modified without permission from the Board of Directors.

 

4.                Only one horse may occupy a stall except in the case of nursing mares. Newly weaned foals may be kept together for a maximum of six weeks.

 

5.                Members are not allowed to leave any fan, heater, or similar device unattended in a stall or tack room. No alterations may be made to plumbing or wiring except by a person authorized by the Board of Directors.

 

6.                Horse may be fed hay in the pastures. Hay must be kept away from fences separating adjacent paddocks.

 

7.                Stalls and tack rooms must be locked.

 

8.                No more than $200. May be spent on capital improvements in Club facilities or grounds without the approval of the general membership.

 

9.                Insurance regulations prohibit the acceptance of payment by any member for any service involving the training, breeding, or leasing of horses; and riding lessons may not be given by any member unless the member can show proof of personal liability insurance with limits equal to the ETRC liability insurance currently in effect, and listing ETRC as "additional insured."

 

10.             Horses may be left in paddocks for up to 12 hours at a time. No horses may be left in paddocks for a longer time without being returned to their stall for an equal or greater time.

 

 

GUESTS

 

1.                A member may authorize a non-member to perform horse-related duties subject to approval by the Board of Directors. In all cases, the member is responsible for the actions and safety of any guest.

 

 

STALL ASSIGNMENT and RENTAL

 

1.                Requests for stalls must be presented in writing to the Barn manager, and stalls will be assigned on a first-received basis. The date of receipt of the application for membership with fees included will determine the order of stall assignment.

 

2.                Stalls may be occupied only when they are assigned by the Barn Manager. A signed lease agreement is required.

 

3.                Lists of stall lease and sublease requests, stall rent payments, and members with delinquent stall rent will be maintained and posted on the bulletin board by the Barn Manager.

 

4.               Stalls are leased on a calendar-month basis, and the rent will be prorated by the week.

 

5.               Rent is due on the first day of each month, and delinquent after the third Thursday of each month. No cash payments will be accepted for stall rent. Checks or money orders must be made payable to ETRC.

 

6.               Members must inform the Barn Manager is writing of the date on which a stall or tack room will be vacated. Stalls and tack rooms must be cleaned by the date given. The stall and tack room will then be locked by the Barn Manager.

 

7.                Stalls may be sublet with the approval of the Board and/or Barn Manager. The stall must be sublet to a barn member in good standing in accordance to the stall request list. A Sublet Form is available through ETRC and is required in order to sublet and a copy must be provided to ETRC. Should sub-Lessor want to take possession of stall, sub-Lessor must give a thirty (30) day written Notice To Vacate, to sub-Lessee.

 

8.               If a member fails to pay their stall rent for ninety (90) days then ETRC reserves the right to change the lock on that member’s tack room. Possession of contents will be held as collateral. Member will then have thirty (30) days to bring stall rent back to a current status. When debt has been paid then tack room will be relinquished back to assigned member.

 

9.                Stalls that are rented by a member but left vacant for a period of ninety days or longer, will be re-assigned according to to the stall assignment policy in effect at that time.

 

CONTROL OF HORSES

 

1.                 Horses must not be ridden into, out of, or inside the Barn.

 

2.                Horses may be turned out only in paddocks.

 

3.               No horse is to be left unattended at any given time in the arena, round pen, grass arena, dressage area, or any common     area inside or outside the barn. If a horse is being allowed to run free in any of these areas it must be accompanied by a     responsible party at all times. Riding and training take precedence should another member come with their horse to             perform either, then they shall be given immediate access and ‘horse-at-play’ must be removed.

 

4.                Horses must not be turned out during a horse show.

 

5.                Horses, regardless of age or sex, must be kept under control and supervised any time they are taken out of the stall.

 

CARE OF HORSES

 

1.                Horses will be treated humanely at all times. Humane treatment consists of proper water, rations, exercise, veterinary care, hoof care, bedding and grooming. A member with a horse which shows signs of untreated illness or injury will be contacted by a member of the Board  of Directors or given a Health and Safety Notice. If the member fails to provide proper medical care, a veterinarian will be contacted as stated in the Permission to Treat form.

2.                All horses must show proof of vaccination for Tetanus, Influenza, EEE, WEE, Rhino, Rabies and West Nile Virus within one year, and proof of a negative Coggins test within the last calendar year. Proof must be renewed annually.

 

3.                All incoming horses must be accompanied by a Veterinary Health Certificate not more than two weeks old; proof of vaccinations (listed above) and a current, (within the last 12 months), negative Coggins test. A horse is considered incoming if new to ETRC or has been absent from the ETRC barn for 30 days or longer.

 

4.               If a horse is gone from ETRC longer than 29 days a new health certificate is required. If horse is brought back to ETRC within the 29 days it must be present for 24 hours to avoid having a new health certificate. If a stall is being sublet to another horse during assigned horse’s absence, then horses must alternate turn-out shifts in order to accommodate the required 24 hour return.

5.               Horses should be tied up for grooming, saddling, or other general purposes, outside of or across from their assigned stall only. Tie ups should be positioned either adjacent to or across from each stall according to stall positioning. Exception will be made when multiple horses are being tied out in the same area at the same time. Then, and only then, a horse may be tied up at an area that is not in use. Member borrowing a tie up must relinquish that station if the horse of that tie up is being taken out of or brought into their stall. Tie up stations at exit doors should be used only if no other stations are available. Cleaning after grooming is a must regardless of where you tie your horse.

 

STALLION RULES

 

1.                 Colts are defined as stallion at nine months of age, or unless otherwise determined by the Board of Directors.

 

2.                Stallions may be turned out only in the stallion paddock.

 

3.         Stallions must be under the direct control of an adult club member when out of the stall. It should be noted that anyone under age 18 is not an adult and therefore not eligible to be in control of a stallion, except by special permission of the Board of Directors.