A number of terrible things have happened to horses I have known or worked with. Blaze escaped from her paddock and wandered onto the road, where she was hit by a truck coming over the hill suddenly and was killed. Sultan caught himself on a piece of barbed wire that cut him from fetlock to withers. April suddenly dropped dead.

All of these situations led to heartache and a lot of expense. While no amount of money can really ease the pain if a beloved horse dies or suffers injury, horse insurance can do something to ease your financial loss. Of course, prevention is better than compensation. Good attention to fencing would have saved Sultan from a painful injury and saved Blaze's life.

Checking a field used for grazing to ensure that no poisonous plants are growing there is also very important. While horse insurance can offer you a lot of peace of mind, it is no substitute for taking commonsense precautions. That being said, horses are natural jumpers and we all know that accidents happen in life. Illness and injury are common tragedies.

Horse insurance, as the name suggests, is a form of insurance policy that makes sure that you will receive some compensation should a tragedy - or other unwanted occurrence - happen to your horse, whether the horse was bought for business or pleasure. But not all horse insurance policies are the same. Cover in the case of death is the most common form of horse insurance, but other policies are available.

Possible policies can cover major veterinary bills in the case of serious injury, as happened to Sultan; loss of use, where a percentage is paid if a horse is permanently prevented from working the way you intended it to (e.g. a showjumper or racehorse); surgery (e.g. for colic), or breeding infertility to cover broodmares and/or stud stallions for reproductive failure. Other policies can give you cover in the case of lightning, fire, theft, etc.

It is very important to talk through all aspects of horse insurance with your insurance broker before signing a policy. You will want to know what the fine print covers before the stress of an emergency situation. Make sure you make a list of any questions you want to ask your agent and be prepared to define your needs exactly.

Ask your agent to explain any parts of the policy that you do not understand, and any difficult words. Insurance agencies may often require certification or other action from a veterinary surgeon for a claim to be validated. You will also need to know what action is required from you in order to make and/or validate your claim. It is also important to find out how to ensure your claim is valid if your horse, for some unfortunate reason, needs to be "put down" or euthanased.

As with all forms of insurance, it is important to shop around and find the horse insurance policy that works best for you and gives you the cover that you need.