Court Opinion

ID: 8037515
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2022-09-09 03:22:38.835864+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T16:37:11.692543
License: Public Domain

Rose, J.,
dissenting.
As found by the jury on ample competent evidence, defendant, in my judgment, was guilty of actionable negligence in driving his automobile at an excessive speed in a place of danger close to the east curb of the pavement against plaintiff’s horse, when nearly all of the paved roadway was a place of safety, being entirely free from traffic at the time.
Plaintiff had a right to ride horseback on the pavement, but rode on the unpaved shoulder of the highway except while going around the concrete spillway which was too wide for the horse to jump. It shied at a paper box; upon returning to the shoulder of the highway, its left rear hoof slipping back over the curb to the pavement. The horse’s left rear leg and hip were broken when struck by defendant’s automobile close to the east curb. Before leaving the shoulder of the pavement to make the short curve around the spillway, plaintiff looked backward and saw defendant’s car approaching at a distance of about 200 feet. Except for the negligence of defendant, plaintiff would have avoided danger by going around the spillway. Defendant negligently drove his car into the place of danger without any excuse *434for doing so. He was in the rear where he could see the horse and the rider and the roadway. The driving of the automobile close to the horse at the time and place under the circumstances was negligence for which the jury properly found defendant liable for resulting injuries and damages suffered by plaintiff.
Defendant was a farmer and knew the inherent tendency of a horse to shy suddenly when frightened, or was chargeable with such knowledge. Scientists account for this wild trait in the domesticated horse by the tendency of progenitors to shy when in panic from fear of ancient enemies in the native habitat of the aborigines. The rattle of reeds and the swish of long grass, where powerful wild animals waited in ambush to pounce upon their prey, were signals for the wild horse to jump aside and flee for life. The rattle of paper or the sight of a strange object may produce the same fear. This natural tendency to shy, jump aside and run to escape danger as the result of fright has been transmitted through domestication to the remotest progeny of the equine family. Whatever may have been the origin of this wild trait, the fact of it in the domesticated horse is common knowledge chargeable to motorists on the highways. Entertaining these views, I cannot concur in the opinion of the majority of the court. The judgment should have been affirmed.