For ownership, control is the ability to physically move an animal or the ability to manage access to that animal at the time of the injury. In Beggs, an owner of the property who allowed his friend to temporarily pasture horses at his property was found as an owner, even though he did not provide them with food or water, nor did he have any active involvement with the horses. 913 N.E.2d at 1237. Because at the time of the injury the defendant was present and maintained the ability to control the horses away from the injured party, the court found him in “a position of some control like that an owner would maintain.” Id. at 1237. Thus, the court’s standard for ownership in Beggs was the ability to control the injurious or access to the animal
