How much is your horse worth? Or your dog? Or the barn cat that serves as a resident rodent control professional?

Animals are the personal property of their owners, and because property can be bought and sold, an objective value for your horse is fairly easy to calculate. Fair Market Value (FMV) is the price that a willing buyer would pay and a willing seller would accept. FMV, in other words, is what you could actually get if you decided to sell your horse, and how much it would cost for you to replace him. If your horse dies or is harmed through the fault of someone else, veterinary malpractice, for example, or a person’s negligence, your damages in a successful lawsuit generally will be limited to the animal’s replacement value. This legal remedy is called “economic damages” and it is the norm for property damage lawsuits