Hard spurring is just so
much more likely to lead to harm than merely riding a horse in
the street, that the court thought that the defendant would be
bound to look out for the consequences of the one, while it would
not hold him liable for those resulting merely from the other;
[94] because the possibility of being run away with when riding
quietly, though familiar, is comparatively slight. If, however,
the horse had been unruly, and had been taken into a frequented
place for the purpose of being broken, the owner might have been
liable, because "it was his fault to bring a wild horse into a
place where mischief might probably be done."
To return to the example of the accidental blow with a stick
lifted in self-defence, there is no difference between hitting a
person standing in one's rear and hitting one who was pushed by a
horse within range of the stick just as it was lifted, provided
that it was not possible, under the circumstances, in the one
case to have known, in the other to have anticipated, the
proximity. In either case there is wanting the only element which
distinguishes voluntary acts from spasmodic muscular contractions
as a ground of liability. In neither of them, that is to say, has
there been an opportunity of choice with reference to the
consequence complained of,--a chance to guard against the result
which has come to pass.
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