Horses and other animals are the personal property of their owners. This is a basic tenet of the law in all 50 states and it means that the owner of a horse, or a dog, or a cat that is harmed by someone else can win only the economic value of the animal in a successful lawsuit. Monetary recovery for emotional distress, pain and suffering, and loss of companionship generally are not available for the loss of an animal.

All personal property is not created equal, though. Animals enjoy a special status because they are living creatures that depend on their owners for food, water, shelter, and care. This dependency has generated a variety of state and federal animal protection laws, some good, some not so good. The clash between the legal status of animals as property and their special treatment under animal protection laws has lead to numerous creative attempts by animal owners to recover non-economic damages