
Welcome to The Horse Expert
Specialised Equine Expertise
The Horse Expert offers a range of expert witness services (single or joint), case reviews, welfare assessments, valuations and court attendance ensuring thorough and comprehensive professional support for your equine legal needs.
Explore Horse Expert resources, recommendations and insightful blog.​


Suzannah Cotterill
Equine Expert Witness
Professional Memberships include;
Expertise and Experience
Suzannah Cotterill, is an experienced barrister, who specialised in equestrian law and family law, often undertaking ‘horsey divorces”.
She has a robust background in financial remedies, company/partnership disputes, and high net worth cases, often involving international elements, and was renowned for her precise case presentation and forensic preparation.
Suzannah also has significant expertise in sports law and mediations, particularly equestrian related issues. She has served on various panels, currently at the British Equestrian Federation and British Eventing and as a mediator for Sports Resolutions.
With a BSc (Hons) in Applied Animal Behaviour, Suzannah combines her legal acumen with a deep understanding of equine matters. Suzannah’s degree, and her continued studies in equine psychology and sports horse welfare, enable the helpful provision of multi faceted understanding of equine issues. This enables Suzannah to combine insights from the most recent research and studies alongside a lifetime of horse ownership; shaping and sieving out the puzzles presented by horses and providing clarity in expectations of horse behaviour. Bringing this evidence based explanation to central question, “why horses do what they do?” provides a sharp focus in understanding both the why and the mechanics of how equestrian issues have arisen, and also how they may be solved.
Providing equine science, learning theory and some common sense enables complex situations and issues to be understood and importantly communicated to the Court. Opinions are reinforced by case studies, and statistics where appropriate to add the emphasis a scientific background to provide weight to observations decoding the difficulties often encountered in horse human interactions.
Suzannah’s expert witness services are also based on decades of horse ownership, international event organisation, national and international stewarding together with competitive riding, all complimented by a detailed scientific understanding of horse behaviour. Together this provides a strong base for her observations, and baseline for all assessments and opinions, providing a comprehensive understanding and clarity in often complex matters.
In the world of equine law,
expertise is the key to success.
Our Philosophy