RACEHORSE INJURED

Otago Daily Times, Issue 23046, 24 November 1936, Page 7

RACEHORSE INJURED

ACTION FOR DAMAGES COURT RESERVES DECISION A claim for damages amounting to £llO, allegedly done to a racing mare in a motor collision on the Main South road at Allanton, was heard in the Magistrate’s Court yesterday before Mr J. R. Bartholomew, S.M. The plaintiff was Francis D. Johnson, a fanner, of Momona, and the defendant was Allan Stewqrt M’Connachie, a carrier, of St. Kilda. The plaintiff was represented by Mr W. P. Hartstonge, and Mr W. D. Taylor appeared for the defendant.

In his statement of claim the plaintiff said that he was the owner of a five-year-old pacing mare by Adioo Guy. The defendant was the owner of a Chevrolet truck which, on November 19, 1935, was being driven on the Main South road in the vicinity of Allanton by Alan Anderson, a servant of the defendant. It was claimed that Anderson negligently and without proper care drove and handled the truck, thereby striking and causing injury to the mare; that he failed to keep as near as practicable to the lefthand side of the road; that he did not keep a proper lookout for traffic on the road; and that he did not apply the brakes of the truck so as to prevent a collision with the mare, which at the time of the collision was being led along the road by David Donaldson, of East Taieri, a drover. The plaintiff contended that the mare, which was intended by the plaintiff to be used for racing purposes, was now completely unfit for such purpose, and had consequently depreciated in value to the extent of £llO. Mr Hartstonge said that the claim was for injury to a racing mare, unnamed and unregistered, which was being led along the Main South road by a drover when a heavy milk lorry came round a corner and struck the mare from behind, dragging her along the road for some distance before careering off and colliding with a petrol wagon, and then running into some cattle on the road. Negligence had been admitted, and the question at issue was the value of the mare and the extent of the injuries. The plaintiff claimed £llO as the amount of depreciation of .the mare. Evidence had been given by an' expert in Christchurch to the effect that the value of the mare before the accident was £ 120, and was now about £lO as a brood mare. The defendant had paid £ 5 into court as compensation for the injury to the horse, and also £l2 for attention to the animal after the accident. Evidence on the lines Of counsel’s statement was given by David Donaldson, a drover. The plaintiff stated that he bought the horse from a Southland trainer for £lO and one contingency of £l3 on the first race the mare won. He put the horse in and found her fresh and keen, and not unusually flighty. She had no physical defects and was a nice pacer. He inspected the horse on Donaldson’s farm the day after the accident and found both knees were broken and there were cuts on the legs and below the off shoulder. The skin was also off the offside shoulder and hip and part of the head. He had since discovered that the mare was quite tied up in front, and also lifed one hind leg unduly. In his experience a horse which had broken its knees badly was quite useless, either for a hack or anything else. As a brood mare plaintiff valued her at £3O.

For the defence Mr Taylor submitted that the claim was excessive and that the amounts paid into court, namely £ 12 for the care and feeding of the mafe after the accident, £ 5 to cover depreciation of the animal, and £2 12s for the costs of the summons, were sufficient to meet the ends of justice. Evidence was given by Sarsfleld Lynch, of Riversdale ? the breeder of the mare, find Eric Mitchell, a trainer, who said that the animal was of a nervous disposition, although this would not affect her racing capabilities. William Peirson, a veterinary surgeon, of Gore, said he had examined the mare in February last and found healed scars on the forelegs, something corresponding to a splint on one front leg, and a suggestion of string-halt in a hind leg. He did not think it would be advisable to breed from the mare as string-halt, which was a nervous complaint, could be hereditary. He was not of the opinion that the accident wa's the cause of the string-halt, which he thought was there before the accident and was aggravated afterwards. The splint did not appear to be the result of the accident, as there was no mark on the skin outside it. Decision was reserved.