A US court in Connecticut is to hear a case that could result in horses being classified as a "vicious" species.
Horses as vicious animals?
A US court in Connecticut is to hear a case that could result in horses being classified as a "vicious" species which could have repercussions for the horse industry.
In a legal action that began in 2006 after a boy attempted to pet a horse at Glendale Farms in Milford, Connecticut and was bitten on the cheek by the horse, the boys father sued the farm's owners, but lost in 2010 in a New Haven Court.
That court ruled there was no evidence the farm's owner knew of any previous incidents of aggression involving the horse named Scuppy.
But a Connecticut Appellate Court later overturned this ruling, finding that testimony suggested Scuppy's species was "vicious" and that the boy's injury had been foreseeable.
If upheld by the state's supreme court, the ruling would be the first in the nation to classify horses as a vicious species, say analysts.
If upheld, the lower court's ruling could make horse ownership uninsurable, say equine industry figures.
Horse farmers say that could make it difficult to allow children around horses and would damage the industry which brings in approximately $221 million a year.