Perhaps surprisingly fatalities caused by horses around th turn of the 20th century outweigh the modern deathtoll for cars. My great great aunt was decapitated in an incident involving a horse and cart and in the 1930s my father had his leg broken in a incident where he was run over by a horse and cart (he was a small boy at the time). So to back your statement up - yes I think you are right, although we tend to think of modern traffic as dangerous, horses are no less so and it is easy to forget that fact.

The links you have posted are 'old'. The inquest found for accidental death and St Ed's BC were found not guilty of breach of HASAWA S3. I believe that the owner of the horse has pleaded guilty but is yet to be sentenced. While it is clearly a shocking incident, it is nevertheless so easy for those of us sitting in our ivory towers with the benefit of 20/20 hindsight to be 'critical' of perceived failings. While we can always ask ourselves the question "Would I have foreseen this and done it differently" we can't eradicate the knowledge of hindsight and it is therefore somewhat difficult to be able to answer the question objectively. The issue of foreseeability is fraught with difficulty, as has been recently discussed on this forum in relation to the firework display case.

Horses are strong, that's why the Police still use them for crowd control. True, those are well trained horses. Living out in the country I encounter horse riders day in day out and have lost count of the number of hi-vis vests that I have given out when encountering horse riders at tylight. Also lost count of the number of times that I have come across a horse not under full control and awaited/half expected the thump as it kicks my door in. All horses should be registered and fully insured to be on the queens highway IMO. BUT, in reality, its not going to happen and more people were killed by trams in the UK than horses that week. So I say keep it in perspective.

Appears to be S3: "failing as an employer to ensure that visitors to Nowton Park Country Fair in June 2011 were not exposed to risks to health and safety". Pleaded guilty on advice of his insurers! http://www.sudburymercur...air_death_case_1_3081924

Hi Ray, I wonder if the insurance companies stance has been brought to the attention of the trial judge. Also a lot of people would disagree with "British justice being the best in the world", my friend. It's being undermined by the behaviour of some of those charged with providing "fair evidence", same as happpens in most other jurisdictions around the world.

I own ten horses ( mostly TB's) and any that go out onto the road are insured. If dull/dark or bad weather then hi viz is also worn. I encounter bad drivers everday!! I pull over and always thank them as i feel a lot of riders do not! My horses are generally well behaved however they are horses and we dont know how they will react. So i can not see what more someone could do, if they had used a well trained cariage horse. My only thought to the incident being both a horse owner AND a health and safety professional is at all times a bitted head collar was to be used and in the event of breaks where the bit needed to be removed the horse should of been unharnessed and put into a coral/back in the lorry. Incidentially ALL racecourses insist that ALL horses when not bridled are wearing a chiffney not just a plain head collar whilst not in the stable or the lorry and a lot of shows are now refusing to let you tie a horse to the back of the trailer/lorry instead they must be in the lorry. Very sad incident.

Thanks canopener, I'm not sure if the 200 hours community service will make the family feel any better. At least it has reached a conclusion that will remind service providers that they cannot act with impunity.