est. 2007

Barbados Underground

Bringing News and Opinions to the People

Horses Should Be Banned From Our Roads

Submitted by Old Onions Bag
An example of the damage and injury an accident caused by a horse

Horses should not be allowed to roam freely on the streets of Barbados. This weekend’s death of a 37 year old St. George man should never have happened as it is alleged the animal was unattended and slammed into his vehicle instantly killing him as well as itself.

This is by no means the first accident on our road with such animals. There are numerous reports of damage to vehicles by the equine. In many cases, as the animals are often untethered, the owners of the vehicle have no recourse to recoup damages. Many  times, I personally can recall near misses with the animal. The beach is also a favourite stomping ground for ex-race horses.

Could you imagine the irreparable damage done to tourism should a visitor be killed by an unattended horse?

Why are we seeing an increase in horses on our roads either running freely or ridden by young boys anyway?

For one, I am made to understand, some of these animals once they have served their useful purpose as racehorses, are cheaper to expend as gifts to grooms and help hand of the turf-ites than to continue feeding or putting down.

Should we allow wealthy turf-ites to avoid their responsibility by this disingenuous and selfish ploy to both the unsuspecting public as well as the animal?

Time has long passed for our laws to be changed to stop this malfeasance. Yet today on our law books, there is no law prohibiting a horse from being ridden on our roadways, would you believe? It is quite common to see an inexperienced youth on a 700 pound animal with no saddle, boot nor helmet, a piece of twig in hand as a whip, galloping uncontrollably as on a free range. What are we waiting on now? The death of someone in high places before laws are passed to put an end to this travesty? Heavens forbid…it may be a MP or one of his kin.Then and only, some may one see it fit to pay attention to this pending danger.

  1. millertheanunnaki Avatar
    millertheanunnaki

    “The death of someone in high places before laws are passed to put an end to this travesty? Heavens forbid…it may be a MP or one of his kin. Then and only, some may one see it fit to pay attention to this pending danger’

    It is exactly this type of event that would trigger action by the authorities.
    But the scenario on the beach involving serious injuries to white visitors especially from North America would indeed set the cat among the pigeons or more appropriately allow “the horse to bolt from the stable”.
    A law suit involving millions would really up the ante on the government’s finances.

  2. old onion bags Avatar
    old onion bags

    Once while on a Sunday drive in St Philip , near Casa Blanca, I escaped possible death when a horse bound across the road, from one cart road to another traversing the public road. I was shocked.If we had collided, it would have been death or injury to Onions and kin for sure….Lord I thank thee for sparing we.

  3. Crusoe Avatar
    Crusoe

    Playing devil’s advocate, in the [ast five years how many deaths on the roads have been caused by the folllowing:

    – due to horses
    – due to drunk driving
    – due to reckless car driving including cyclists killed (I think two cyclists in the past two years alone)
    – due to ZR vans
    – due to motorcyclists riding recklessly

    Res Ipsa Loquitur, as the lawyers say.

    So regulate the horses, but regulate the rest too.

  4. old onion bags Avatar
    old onion bags

    But Crusoe
    Horses bolting across the roads..is one CERTAIN unnecessary risk…..why your position is no different to a band of young gun owners…..shooting across a highway at passing vehicles…..Both have a great and unnecessary element of reckless risk.
    Have you ever been in you car with your family and young ones… when a horse begins to kick and prance on the road..and you as driver ..can find no escape….left at the grace of God ? It is terrifying….Horses like guns are lethal weapons when not properly handled and controlled.a ZR has a reason to be on the road as well as those other vehicles. in all cases the fault may lie on the driver’s recklessness.These cannot be compared to a horse left to roam or riding horses on the highway .There is a big big difference.

  5. millertheanunnaki Avatar
    millertheanunnaki

    @ Crusoe | July 9, 2012 at 8:03 PM |
    “Res Ipsa Loquitur, ”

    Since the above is incontrovertible evidence that this society is one of abandoned indiscipline one can conclude that there is absolutely no way that Bim could even be described in a thousand years as a “First World” country. What’s the sense of having aspiring first world amenities but with a degenerative third rate mindset to adulterate them with that degrading substance called indiscipline? “The thing speaks for itself” in every facet of modern Barbadian society.

  6. Crusoe Avatar
    Crusoe

    Onions, I sympathise, but I disagree, there is no difference. I have cowered pulled to the roadside on occasion while a transport board bus, ZR or truck has passed FLYING on a narrow road, clearly taking up a couple feet of my side of the road. And it has happened on many occasions.

    You mention tourists being hit. Like the ones who have been flattened by ZR’s on the coastal highway, on more than one occasion?

    Dont see how that is any different. But yes, the animals should not be loose. THAT recklessness on the part fo the owner, is what contributes to the danger.

    Thus, is is reckless whether horse or truck, that causes the danger.

  7. ac Avatar
    ac

  8. ac Avatar
    ac

    @ onions

    are you mad at the horse or the owner, in i any case the responsibility lies with the owner so then are we to except rules and guidlines i am kinda of at a loss as what you are trying to get at. also see you trying to relieve some responsibility from the reckless Z r drivers who seem to have no care or thought about their driving and the dangers it poses on citizens ,the horse has no sense of direction unless it is provided by its owner or caretaker so in this case place blame where necessary another thought of interest would be up to the citizens who know or see these animals roaming idly or out to pasture for a long period of time without any personnal care to contact proper authority . BTW when the horse stampede in your away did you ever report the incident .

  9. old onion bags Avatar
    old onion bags

    Tell me ..if these rich turfites were required to close off the careers of these now less than majestic animals….do you see this problem happening ? I never saw a race horse that was making good money loose or being ridden on the highway by a teen….Bet you know why….Similarly….laws of keeping track of these equine rejects should be put in place at the turf club…and I bet we won’t have these problems.

  10. victor Avatar
    victor

    Let’s wipe out the last traces of Barbadian agrarian society and let the RULE OF THE CAR dominate! Idiots driving around, one to a car with darkened windows and “fully loaded” though they may have not a penny to their name, getting moralistic about a few horses, for heaven’s sake. The “white tourists” referred to are, in Barbados, mainly English, a nation of notorious animal lovers, including horses. You’d never get a Brit to eat horsemeat unlike the French and the countryside of England is adorned with ancient monuments to the horse. The ancient cult of Epona the horse goddess, left a legacy which is imprinted into the mentality of Britons, whether they are aware of it or not. They see the horse as a creature somehow heroic and no wonder, since it has played such an important part in British military history. There’s a new shrine to the horses who valiantly played their part in the first world war right on Park Lane, people getting teary-eyed and laying flowers. Anytime there is cruelty to horses highlighted in the press, the British public rises in uproar and massive amounts are donated to save the creatures.
    So don’t use tourists as an excuse. If irresponsible people are riding dangerously or failing to keep their animals safe, that should be addressed, of course, just as cows wandering around off their ropes should be and I bet there are more cow incidents, let alone sheep and goats wandering at random.
    If you are a pedestrian and a horse is on the loose you have a lot more chance of staying alive than if there is a lunatic driver of a car or bus in your vicinity.

  11. islandgal246 Avatar
    islandgal246

    Onions you like you is a cat wid 9 lives! Leff de horses alone! Yuh gots cows, sheeps, Pigs (two foot and 4 foot wuns), dogs, cats, chickens, and birds does be pon de road. Yuh eva had a bird hit yuh windscreen? Birds does down planes yuh know. So what yuh gine do ban de birds from flying? Nowadays yuh does gots to drive like yu in a mine field. Looking out fuh any and everyting dat might cum muh way. Sorry to hear bout de fella and de horse BUT dat is a fluke more peoples does gets killed in road accidents caused by people like yuh and me. We too reckless pon de roads. Imagine a Bajan woman telling a Tourist how tah drive in Barbados dat he gots to wait pon she when she overtaking ova a double line. Stupse…..

  12. John Avatar
    John

    I have a friend who told me years ago that when returning home late at night stopped because he saw something glistening up ahead.

    Turned out it was a cow chain with a cow at the one end.

    He was riding a motorcycle and reckoned he barely escaped decapitation.

    No animal, particularly one the size of a horse or cow, should be wondering about freely by day or night …… particularly in this day and age.

    I have had a close

  13. old onion bags Avatar
    old onion bags

    Tell that to the dead man’s family….and kids….what about compensation ? do you think the owner will come forward ?

  14. old onion bags Avatar
    old onion bags

    We duz talk and talk …..saying Oh that can never happen to me….but don’t be too sure….these animals [Mr. Norville RSPCA]…need to be tagged so that we can pursue these delinquent owners..its about time…

  15. David Avatar
    David

    The legal parsing of this matter suggests that this horse matter falls under the common law doctrine of mansuetae naturae and unless it can be proved that the horse was in the habit of straying on to the road or that the owners were in the habit of allowing the horse on the road, it becomes a difficult case to proove.

  16. Colonel Buggy Avatar
    Colonel Buggy

    For the longest while travelling across Edgerton Road, many horses could be observed in the unfenced fields nearest the plantation house. It was only a matter of time before they start crossing the highway in search of fodder, as much of the abandoned cane fields were burnt at the start of the crop season, but we always wait until something happens to cry foul.
    But subject to correction, if a property owner encourages a dog, owned by someone else to frequent his property by feeding it or otherwise , if that dog attacks someone directly from that property, then that property owner is deemed liable. The same should apply in this case to the horse.
    In cities like San Juan,and Tampa, there is a thriving business in horse drawn carriages which transport visitors mainly through the city, what a pity that these discarded horses cannot be utilised by some enterprising venture to pull such vehicles. Years ago Tony Tony had tried it, maybe the time is now ripe, with all this Going Green talk floating around to have another go at it.
    Like the prisoners on remand, we must find something for these retired nags to do.

  17. islandgal246 Avatar
    islandgal246

    Colonel now that is a great idea( the horse drawn carriages) especially around our heritage sites. But like most things people will complain about the horse’s ass!

  18. old onion bags Avatar
    old onion bags

  19. islandgal246 Avatar
    islandgal246

    Onions that driver got to be blind as a bat. If you see horses coming towards you wouldn’t you try to avoid them or stop? That fool continued driving through those animals. We need someone with an equestrian background here to give us some horse sense.

  20. old onion bags Avatar
    old onion bags

  21. Amused Avatar
    Amused

    @Islandgal. I am not a horse expert, but have a certain passing acquaintance with law.

    Therefore, I can confirm David’s statement. Horses fall under the common law doctrine of “mansuetae naturae”, in other words, animals that are inherrently tame. This is as opposed to “ferrae naturae”, which is animals that are inherrently savage – like ZR drivers. There is a whole body of case law on this matter from many common law jursidictions. Most relevantly Peyronnin v. Riley, 15 La. App. 393 (La. Ct. App. 1931) wherein the principal is set out that every man has the right to keep and harbor animals mansuetae naturae.

    So, with the deepest condolences to the family of the deceased man – AND the deepest sympathy for the owners of the horse, it appears to me that there is no case to answer in law.

    But I am going to take this a step further. Horses are defined in Barbados as “agricultural”. When I was a little boy, I used to beg for a ride on the donkey and horse carts that were so integral a part of our society and culture. Today, as I am driving along the country roads of Barbados, it is unusual NOT to come across animals, including cows and sheep, that have strayed into the road. Bearing in mind that they belong to someone who probably does not have the means or space to confine them, I simply slow down or stop until the road is clear. It would be unthinkable to go charging through, possibly injuring (read vet’s bills) or killing the animals to the financial detriment of some poor person to whom they belong. Unfortunately, there are too many a**h***s on the road whose desire to show off is far greater than their empathy and respect for our traditions and for their fellow Bajans.

    Now, I have no information on how this accident occurred, other than the to-be-unrequited rantings of those who think they see a financial benefit. My knowledge of horses is slight. But I have NEVER heard of a case where a horse charged a car. A dog, maybe – a horse, never. So, it looks to me as if the driver, not the horse, charged.

    So, I agree with Islandgal (as always) and I think it is time that Old Onions took his meds and went back to bed. Onions, read my lips. THERE IS NO CASE!!!!! Just a lot of legal costs for the person who tries to bring it.

  22. Amused Avatar
    Amused

    I want to expand on this just one step further. I cite the Northern Ireland case of Hall v. Wightman in which a car collided with the defendant’s cow which had strayed onto the highway. The accident was late at night and it was established that there as no negligence in the driving of the car. Although there were a number cows (the four-legged variety) near the accident, they were not causing an obstruction. The court held that there is no obligation on the owner to keep his animal from straying onto the highway and there being neither negligence nor nuisance on his part the defendant was not liable. The court, however, expressly declared that the matter might have been different if a lot of cattle were causing an obstruction on the highway at the time of the accident.

    If we ban horses as Old Onions and his cohorts wish, then we diminish ourselves culturally. I like to go to the races and I love to watch the horses swimming in the sea. And yes, horses are expensive to keep so it is elitist. But Onions seems to be intent on making Barbados as small and as boring as possible, out of a sort of perverted and inverted snobbery.

    Onions ASSUMES that the driver of the car was travelling within the speed limit and driving with due care and attention and not under the influence of any chemical or alcoholic substances. That is to assume facts not in evidence. And Onions’ response is the equine equivalent of “hang ’em high”. Banish them from the roads – effectively, get rid of all horses in Barbados.

    Onions forgets (if he had the capacity to realise in the first place) that before the car, the reliance was on horses. And if things continue the way they are with petrol prices, we may well find ourselves going back to horses. Maybe it is time Onions took a few riding lessons – then watch him change his tune if some jackass like him suggests that he is not allowed to ride his horse on the road. Whether it is true or not, he gone claim to be a taxpayer, you know.

  23. old onion bags Avatar
    old onion bags

    @ Amused
    I like to go to the races and I love to watch the horses swimming in the sea.
    *************************
    We would not expect an avid turf-ite…possibly owner to craftily pose his legal brief any different. One kick from a horse can kill a man.animals mansuetae naturae what ….Have we not been changing these old arcate English Master Servant Laws that were on our books since Adam was a lad ? A far a English law is concern there are two types, caste , call of person. Don’t touch the Master’s beast….it was written on law books to protected his property and dominance.” Riding in high on his white horse”..dominance exemplified . Have we not just moved in the direction to better the employee’s rights by the new Labour Legislation ? Come on man…days of riding a horse to Bridgetown for viddles is long gone…

  24. Carson C. Cadogan Avatar
    Carson C. Cadogan

    Horses should be banned from our roads. Only onions and the BLP would come up with something like that.
    Horses were here before cars. Drivers need to be more careful.

  25. David Avatar
    David

    Should we not separate the issues? Why should race horse owners bestow horses past their prime to others who are less than equipped to securely care for them?

  26. old onion bags Avatar
    old onion bags

    Thank you David
    Some will try their hands to twist the obvious. Was it not your horse?….
    Why with all the money you have acquired from racing and breeding it..can’t you see fit to treat it to properly to the end….Its most disgusting and disingenuous of you Mr. Rich TURF–ITE…Again I have never seen a productive race horse being ridden on the road by ill provided youths….nor running wild on a pasture opposite the Spring Garden Highway.

  27. Amused Avatar
    Amused

    @Old Onions. You see, there we have your problem. YOU look at horses as a master/servant thing. You have, sadly, un-evolved thinking where you try to bring everything down to your level of prejudice, instead of looking at what others have achieved (including ownership of horses) as a goal to which you can aspire if you choose. I do not own horses. I am not “an avid turf-ite”. I, like MANY other Bajans, enjoy, from time to time, going to races pon a Saturday and having a little flutter and drinking a few beers and eating some fish cakes and talking nuff sh**e with friends. I have noted that avid turf-ites, apart from the owners and trainers, are not in either the master nor the servant category, but range from all the people in the stands to those who park their cars and sit round the race track. But you, onions, based on your outdated and self-serving prejudices, wish to deny us that pleasure and instead put in place draconian measures so that the very idea of people having ANY tame animals is rendered impossible.

    @David. I believe that it is wrong to give any animal to any person who is not capable of looking after it. Whether it is a horse or a dog or a parakeet.

    @CCC. This is becoming far too regular. We agree again!!

  28. old onion bags Avatar
    old onion bags

    How apt we are to do these things nowadays..once we invite international owners Re Gold Cup Races…..We never saw such before when things were as per Amused simplicity..Nowadays…its ramped up to profiteering at all cost…..don’t be fooled while eating your fish cakes.

  29. old onion bags Avatar
    old onion bags

  30. Carson C. Cadogan Avatar
    Carson C. Cadogan

    Amused

    It will happen now and then.

  31. millertheanunnaki Avatar
    millertheanunnaki

    @ Amused | July 10, 2012 at 4:26 AM |

    Amused man, everybody knows you to be the blog’s legal eagle and seeing you are a man with many letters in Law you could gracefully advise us if there are regulations under any Act that govern the ownership of a horse, its operations on the roads and highways and disposal thereof.
    That would shed some light on the matter and allay any fears old onions might have.
    If it is a “free-for-all” for a horse then it should be a level riding ground for the other quadrupeds.
    Or is this a case of the Animal Farm scenario: “All animals are created equal but the horse is more equal than others”:

    “A horse! a horse! my kingdom for a horse!”

  32. Amused Avatar
    Amused

    @Miller. David’s comment on mansuetae naturae (animals categorised in law as being “tame” or “domestic”) is accurate. I believe that I have expanded on the matter already. Horses have the same categorisation as dogs and cows and sheep and goats etc. There is no heirarchy, merely a difference of size. If you bump into and kill a dog on the road, and it happens all the time, you may experience some slight damage to your car. If, however, you bump into a cow or a horse, it is bigger and you may not only damage your car, but also yourself. And that is what happened here. For a horse to have caused so much damage to a car as to kill the driver argues either extremely bad luck OR that the car was travelling at an excessive speed. I am sure that in the fulness of time we will discover all the details.

    Therefore, it IS a level playing field for all quadrupeds and NOT a free-for-all for horses or cows. It is just that horses and cows are bigger.

  33. Amused Avatar
    Amused

    @Miller. If a horse is being ridden or driven on the road, then it is traffic and subject to and possessing the same rights as other vehicular traffic. If you are driving in your car and there is a horse in front of you and the rider/driver signals a right turn and you decide not to wait, but to overtake and you hit the horse or the conveyance being pulled by the horse, you have broken the law. If, like a dog, the horse escapes, then it, like a dog, enjoys the same legal classification as a dog. And if in this instance a dog had been involved and somehow the dog had been killed along with the driver, would there be any witch hunt against the dog’s owners? NO!!! Well, the law takes the same position on horses as on dogs. And I see nothing wrong with that.

  34. old onion bags Avatar
    old onion bags

    @ Amused
    What a heap of horse manure.You speak as though a HORSE is a cool calm collective animal. Many of us with car damage knows different. A horse is easily spooked…then all hell breaks loose..unlike a cow ‘sheep or dog…a horse because of its lethal power and size..when spooked runs..and runs uncontrollably expecting all within it path to GIVE WAY or else be ran over (see video ). I have seen a police horse buck a policeman on station hill pelt him unconscious even wid a helmet..and run across cars as if they did not exist back to the Police Stable…Really how much more crap are you willing to unload….horses belong to open fields and not among noisy traffic.That law of permission to ride horses on our busy streets is old ..and not for today Mr. Amused.

  35. millertheanunnaki Avatar
    millertheanunnaki

    @Amused | July 10, 2012 at 8:41 AM |
    “Well, the law takes the same position on horses as on dogs. And I see nothing wrong with that.”

    So what happens to the owner when the dog is NOT registered or licensed as the LAW requires?

    Must a horse be licensed like a motor vehicle to use the roads in Barbados? And if so whose negligence is it if an “unregistered horse’ uses the road without a controller or rider?

    Those are the areas we were hoping you would delve into; not whether a driver of a motor vehicle seeks to overtake a horse when the rider or controller is signalling to turn right.

  36. old onion bags Avatar
    old onion bags

    Yeah rite Amused
    Try telling these overtaking horses who had a will of their own….time to signal when overtaking or turning right your vehicle…..really full it for all d education

  37. old onion bags Avatar
    old onion bags

    Correct video

  38. old onion bags Avatar
    old onion bags

    Examine the carnage caused by this “vehicle”…..
    Kids in the back of the rampaging animals carriage from hell….”taken over control by its engines”…poor old lady on the ground once obeying all road rules…yeah Boss….animals mansuetae naturae……gimme a break

  39. old onion bags Avatar
    old onion bags

    TOTALLY DOMESTICATED……controllable..predictable …ladies and gentlemen the Ford Mustang..the vehicle of the year.

  40. Amused Avatar
    Amused

    @Onions. If you do NOT think that horses should have the same classification as dogs and cows etc., take it the hell up with your MP so that the law can be changed. Despite your hysteria, you have not demonstrated any grounds for your objection – but that is for you and your MP. You have also not provided any details on the actual accident. It took place after midnight, which means that the issue of drink needs to be looked at. What speed was the car going? Did the horse charge the car, or did the car charge the horse? What were the circumstances. But it seems to me that someone is looking for a cause of action and in the circumstances, there is NONE!!! Anyway, this argument is going nowhere and this “turf-ite gone and you may now have the last word. Much good it will do you.

    @Miller. And do you register and license a cat, a sheep, a goat, a cow? Yet hey have the same legal classificaton as a horse and a dog. And the fact that horses are not required to be licensed as vehicular traffic is something, if it bothers you that much, for you to take up with your MP. You and Onions can go and make representations together. You know, I did no write the law – but I agree with it whether you two like it or not.

  41. de hood Avatar
    de hood

    @Crusoe | July 9, 2012 at 8:03 PM |

    I note you were seeking statistics on causes of road mishaps pertaining to “drunk driving”. I want to know if this applies to Barbados? It seems to me that there is no such thing as a “drunk driving” charge in Barbados as there seems to be a dearth of regulations (laws) pertaining to such. Not even a modern-day standard thing as a breatherliser test! Check it out, I have seen drivers of heavy duty vehicles, for example, container haulers etc. having a “few” at some village shop and then subsequently leaving same shop and “climbing” behind the controls of said vehicles parked outside to operate these behemoths on the “lanes and avenues” of this country. And, don’t let us forget our”high and mighty” politicians! Heaven forbids that one of “them” would be made to have a breatherliser test at any time here in Bim. And, also, our law enforcement personnel, have you ever seen any of those (in uniform) and driving marked official vehicles at some of these same village shops quaffing a beer or two because of “de hot day”? I have. Like I said check it out one of these days, mostly a Friday evening (night) anywhere in BIM.

  42. Brooklyn Joe Avatar
    Brooklyn Joe

    My sister back in Barbados who is scared of horses told me she wrote the police months ago about horses ridden by young boys racing up and down the Black Rock/Exstein Village/ Grazettes area in St. Michael. She say the police never intervened and the horses continue to race around the district frightening the commnity.

  43. Colonel Buggy Avatar
    Colonel Buggy

    old onion bags | July 9, 2012 at 7:59 PM |
    Once while on a Sunday drive in St Philip , near Casa Blanca, I escaped possible death when a horse bound across the road, from one cart road to another traversing the public road. I was shocked.If we had collided, it would have been death or injury to Onions and kin for sure….Lord I thank thee for sparing we.
    **********************************************************************
    A colleague was not so lucky some years ago ,(at the time of the Grenada crisis), in the same very area. His car was written off , but luckily there were no injuries. He would have lost his insurance no-claim bonus,as, like in the most recent case, the rightful owner could not be located. As can be seen, this type of danger was lurking on our streets for many years and absolutely nothing has been done to curtail it.
    Some years ago a man in the Lowlands Ch Ch area kept some fierce dogs and allowed them to run loose at night. A small farmer nearby had many of his sheep mauled by these vicious dogs, and on complaining to the dog owner, he replied, ” by the way did you see any number plates on those dogs?” ,and obviously refused to compensate the sheep owner.
    Satisfaction ,of a sort ,came to the sheep owner a few years later when the dog owner, like his dogs, turned killer and was put away for a number of years.

  44. Crusoe Avatar
    Crusoe

    Kept waiting to see the horse in this video, did not see any.

    http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=endscreen&v=jKiBjR_w4tI&NR=1

  45. old onion bags Avatar
    old onion bags

    @ Amused
    What a weak and limp exit for a debater of your seeming calibre.I would never opt for your representation had I an alternative.You have allowed your love for the equine to bias your argument and for that you deserve naught.
    “Take it up with your MP”..Why Mr. Amused by your own self confessed blindness, that is what is hoped by this thread…a changing of laws.
    Now as to your temperament having lost the debate,it shows a lack of objectivity and respect the fellow debaters such as The Miller et al…Are you sure you are up to the task of representing the Turf Club should the opportunity arise?….From what was exhibited here..we think not…

    One down for the greatly professed BU attorney …..and I hope you are not who I think you are…for it would be a crying shame.

  46. millertheanunnaki Avatar
    millertheanunnaki

    @ old onion bags | July 10, 2012 at 1:23 PM |
    “Now as to your temperament having lost the debate, it shows a lack of objectivity and respect the fellow debaters.”

    It’s really funny and amusingly titillating how sound argument can easily ruffle the feathers of Amused. His intolerance for opposing views seethes easily and clouds his judgement and disturbs his intellectual equilibrium. Not good for a man who projects himself as a legal guru who should know that the law is not always black or white. But surprisingly he tends to display a great deal of equanimity and intellectual balance when it comes to other controversial matters. However, he appears to lose it when his partisan political Achilles heel is exposed.

    Maybe if Amused had done some research into any existing legislation regarding the control of livestock (of which a horse is a part) his contribution would have been a bit more ‘objective’ and devoid of vitriol and frothing at the bit and behaving childish like a jockey who has been grounded for a full season for excessive use of the whip and abusing his mounts.

    See below some provisions in our laws that put the onus on owners for negligence arising from the actions of livestock:

    CHAPTER 139A: LIVESTOCK (CONTROL OF STRAYS)
    Extracts from Section 5.

    (2) Any livestock that is found tethered, wandering, straying,
    on highways; or lying on a highway or any public place may be seized by an
    authorised person or a constable and taken to a livestock pound
    where it shall be impounded until its owner claims it and pays all
    reasonable expenses incurred in its seizure and confinement.

    (4) A person who tethers livestock on or near a highway in a
    manner that is likely to cause obstruction, damage or injury to any
    user of the highway is guilty of an offence and is liable on
    summary conviction to a fine of $5 000 or imprisonment for 2
    years or both.

    Maybe Onions, the amusing man wants us to make representations to our MPs to have the laws amended to reflect the current costs of repairs to vehicles and associated incidentals with the right of the victims to sue the owners of the horses for seven figure damages.

  47. David Avatar
    David

    @miller

    In this case is a horse considered livestock?

  48. millertheanunnaki Avatar
    millertheanunnaki

    @ David | July 10, 2012 at 2:41 PM |
    Quite!
    As the Law stands:
    Act. Cap. 139A.. In this Act,“livestock” means cattle, horses, asses, mules, sheep, pigs and goats.

  49. Amused Avatar
    Amused

    @Miller. Exactly what makes you think that the horse was “tether[ed]s [livestock] on or near a [the] highway in a manner that is [was] likely to cause obstruction, damage or injury to any user of the highway?” I spoke to a turf-ite friend of mine and I am reliably informed that no one knows where the horse came from. Section 2 as quoted by you is not relevant in this case as you surely must know, or should know. HOWEVER……

    However, having provided you and Old Onions withmy views on the position of the common law on this issue, I decided to mek a call and axe a question. I am reliably informed by a horse expert that when confronted with lights on a moving motor vehicle at night, a horse will do one of two things. Either try to run away from the lights, or freeze. Usually, I am told, freeze. So, we can take it that the horse was likely stationary. So then the question has to be asked, “At what speed was the car travelling that, after hitting the horse, it travelled a further 400 YARDS into a cane field? I then checked with a police expert who tells me that when the car hit the horse, it was going at over 75 mph. Now, a horse is big and it takes a rare degree of inattention not to spot it and at least start to apply brakes so that the car does NOT travel 400 yards into a cane field after impact. But you know something? That car travelling at that speed might easily have hit a stationary person instead. If the driver did not see a horse, it stands to reason that he would not have seen a person. Of course, being much smaller than a horse, the driver would almost certainly have survived to face charges of manslaughter. So from the point of view of a potential victim, it is fortunate that it was a horse and not some unfortunate pedestrian. Or a cow that some poor person had staked out in the traditional Bajan way in country districts.

    Now, unless one of you two jokers, Old Onions or Miller, chooses to refute the information I have been provided with, WITH SOLID EVIDENCE, I now have nothing further to say and will await the verdict of the coroner. However, as far as any civil case is concerned, there is none that I can see. So live with it. Of course, if you want to sue and you find out who to sue, go ahead. But check your finances first, because you will be paying your own costs and the costs of the other side because you will lose. No seven figure windfall there. But, hey, why should you take my word for it? Go take a legal opinion.

  50. old onion bags Avatar
    old onion bags

    May I remind some of the true object of this thread…that is laudable reasons why the horse…not cow, sheep or dog should be banned from the roads and highways. Not the direction our learned friends seek to place onus ….the reason for this accident involving the equine.

    The writer never sought in his article to address who is right or wrong in a particular insular traffic mishap…but sought a more macro perspective… WHY are we seeing a marked increase in HORSES…(never before occasioned with such lucid frequency)….turning up in some of the most unfortunate places…..to the detriment and danger of the Barbados public?

    The parameter of the debate set, while does allow some latitude as to who is right or wrong in this particular lethal accident ..should not be the sole determinant of reason.Rather, more importantly, why was the animal (as with so many instances today)being left unattended on the roadway.
    Why is it that RACE HORSES….who are no longer the magnificent mounts of yesterday…being relieved into less than competent hands ..causing the havoc of today?

    By extension, who should be held accountable for these animals…which once belong to wealthy individuals…..paying as much as hundreds of thousands of dollars for a foal and feed and injections cost of as much as $5,000 per day.How or why …the rationale behind discarding such princely offsprings when they become a liability to stable.

    How do we address such on happenings….justly, legally, in the interest of all ..we unsuspecting Barbadians….they the maligned horses. Please gentlemen….let’s not stray from point.

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