A headbutt by a horse has proved a blessing in disguise for a New York State racetrack security guard after he regained his lost eyesight.

Don Karkos, who lost the sight in his right eye in a World War II explosion, got much of it back when a horse butted him with its head.

John Lyne, who is acclaimed as the "unluckiest" man in Britain, is again in the hospital, this time after falling into a manhole. The 54-year-old man has already had 16 major accidents including two lightning strikes, a rock-fall in a mine, nearly drowning and three car crashes.

Lyne, of Stainforth, near Doncaster, Yorkshire is expected to spend 32 weeks to recuperate from his latest misfortune.

Major League Baseball and the NFL are not the only sports dealing with suspicions of mass doping. California has taken measures to protect race horses, not only from being doped to win races, but to deter people from using the animals as testing grounds for substances intended for human use.

The new tactic is intended to surprise cheaters and disallow them to prepare for drug tests.

In an effort to keep their promenades free from horse droppings, local officials in Blackpool proposed that horse-drawn carriages in the seaside town of north-western England be fitted for diapers.

Previously, landau drivers had volunteered to follow carriages with a bucket and shovel in their desperation to keep the tourist town clean. But apparently, council chiefs are not satisfied with the landau drivers' plan and had other ideas, ordering every landau at the seaside resort to be fitted with a rubber and plastic container to collect the droppings.

A Georgia woman was cited for a DUI while riding a horse after she steering the animal into traffic. A Pontiac Bonneville struck the horse injuring two young passengers and the driver.

Heather Darnell, 22, of Mountain City was airlifted to the Gwinnett Medical Center in Lawrenceville, Ga and the horse reportedly survived the incident. Ancella Gragg, 32, a 13-year-old girl and 9-year-old boy were all treated at Mountain Lakes Medical Center in Clayton, Ga.