Owner Cleared For Horse’s Breast-Biting Behavior

HELENA, Mont. (CN) - The owner of a horse who bit a woman's breast is not liable for his animal's unruly behavior, the Montana Supreme Court ruled.

The bite occurred after Derinda Peterson stopped by her neighbor's property, where Jim Eichhorn pastured 10 horses, to report that Eichhorn's horses had meandered onto her property through a break in the fence.

As she was leaving the property, a mare named Hannah reached over the corral fence and bit her on the breast.

Peterson sued Eichhorn, claiming negligence and strict liability for an "abnormally dangerous domestic animal."

But Justice Nelson said the offending animal was no more dangerous than any other horse.

"Peterson has not shown ... that Hannah's behavior was anything other than the behavior of a typical horse as described by Peterson herself."

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