The Hawaiian star. [volume] (Honolulu [Oahu]) 1893-1912, 1895-09-10
QUESTION AND ANSWER.
When n Defective Foal Is Born, who Pays
the Damages?

When n Defective Foal Is Born. Who Pays
the Damages?
Question: bred my mare to stand
ard bred horse When the colt was foal-
ed, 1t was an imperfect one and would
have died had l not doctored it, Will I
have to pay for it, or can collect dam
ages of the owner for losing the use of
the mare?
Answer-There is no general rule OF
law or custom which will cover such
cases, but each one depends for answer
upon its own state Of facts The service
is made either with or without guar
! antee. If without guarantee, then, to
1 avoid payment of the service, 1t would
have to be shown conclusively that the
imperfect colt was due wholly to tho
stallion. If it could be shown that the
: stallion had been getting just such i'm
| perfect colts, and that frequently, and
that the owner knew of this fault. but
concealed the fact from the owner of
the mare, then the chances would be in
, favor of recovering damages from tho
stalliong for loss Of the use of the
mare Itwould be an extreme case when
this could be done, however.
Ordinarily, without special contract,
the owner Of the mare would have tc
pay the service Fee The problem OF
life' is one Of the apparently unsolva-
BILE mysteries-at least it is unsolved-.
and if in the mating the stallion has
begotten foal that is as much as he is
required to do. The strength, condition
and general health of the foal depend
almost wholly on the care given the
mare during the next 10 or 1 / months,
and with this the stallioner has nothing
to do. He simply says: "My stallion is
potent. The mare is brought. The stall
the fee is due.
On the other hand, many stallioners
take the view that they can gain more
friends for their horse by losing the
service where it does not result in actual
profit to the mare owners. In such cases
tho guarantee is made that "the colt
shall stand and suck or no charge fol
service. This rule is very frequently
adopted in farming communities, and
in effect the stallioner guarantees the
potency Of his horse, the efficacy of his
service, the treatment by the owner
during the pregnancy of the mare and
the skill of the midwife. He draws the
line only at the ills of colthood, but up
to the time the foal stands and sucks
the risk is the stallioner's. Even in a
case of this kind it is no more than the
duty of the owner of the mare to do all
he can to get the foal fairly started on
its life journey. If it is weakly, it is
more than probable that it is the result
of some improper treatment the mare
has received at his hands, and if little
doctoring (the less the better usually
and good nursing will put the foal on
its feet he should attend to 1t and pay
the fee.
If the foal is actually deformed or is
of such sickly disposition as to be
practically ralueless, and if the mare
has produced strong foals by other
horses, then a plain, fair, straightfor-
ward discussion of the matter with the
stallioner will in nine out of ten cases
result in mutually satisfactory adjust
ment If not, the cheapest plan is to pay
the bill and then take the mares and the
neighbors' mares to another stallion the
next season. Another plan is lawsuit
A calf worth SO has been to the Iowa
supreme court three times, costing the
litigants over SIS, 900. Two real good
fighters could make foal cost more
than that.-Breeder's Gazette