Was the Coping & Plaster Damaged by a horse?

Was the Coping & Plaster Damaged by a horse

Homeowner, Steven Reed, the insured, reported to his insurance company that his pool had been damaged by horses. He said that the back gate to their property had been left open, because of this, three horses had entered the property causing damage to the pool. The pool is an inground, geometric shaped pool, with plaster interior finish. It was stated that one horse went through the cover, coping and plaster.

Horses that have metal shoes can cause damage to the plaster and coping. The insured’s contractor and adjuster did go out to the pool and confirmed there was damage to the coping and plaster. The coping made of brick, showed several pieces with new cracks from the hooves of the horses. The plaster sustained multiple deep vertical gouges that were visible. The pool cover material and track sustained damages as well.

The interior to the pool was in good condition prior to the damage. Both the tile and the decking were in good condition as well. The structure was intact and had no signs of damage according to the contractor and the inspector. It had been determined that the entire coping must be removed and replaced to match to have the same bonding sealant. Once the coping is removed, tile below it will fall off. This occurs in every case where the coping is removed. This would then lead to the complete replacement of the tile. The paver decking was seen to be in ok condition. The pool equipment did not show damage and should not have been affected. The pool inspector could not assess the equipment fully due to the pool being empty at the time of the inspection.

It was the professional opinion of the inspector and contractor, that the damages to the pool were in fact caused by the horses.

Lessons learned:
Horses can do damage to pools, spas, and hot tubs, etc. and all gates should remain closed.