Anyone else have to put up with inconsiderate people on the bridlepath?

[CobSunshine]

Today the mad dog lady had her dog off the leash again, as usual it came charging out of knowwhere from a bush, growling, snarling and barking, straight to our ponys and nipping at their legs. Owner half a mile down the bridlepath no control of it whatsoever. Both pony's already spun round and galloping off, holding on for dear life, dog still chasing. Narrowly missing couple with baby in pushchair and a group of bikers, all shook up by the charging horses. Really was no stopping them.

Eventually pulled them up, very shaken, got off, led horse to the owner who didnt think she had done anything wrong, and she said "its not a bridlepath" and kept saying it over and over again. No reasoning with her whatsoever, almost as if she was on drugs. Dogs muzzle to stop it biting was round its neck and not fitted. Found out later today this same lady regularly causes accidents with horse owners on this stretch and it known for it. Quite a few people have come off Dogs dont bother our boys, but this one is so out of control I think they just go into flight panic mode.

On the way back to the stable on a downhill bridlepath a bike with no brakes came careering up from behind, guy put his foot down to try and stop the bike, missed my ponys bum by a foot, dust flying everywhere from his foot scraping the floor. Pony already shaken up had a mini bolt to get away from him.

He went straight into the corner at the bottom of hill skidded round and narrowly missed a group of oncoming horses, forcing one of them into a ditch on the side of path.

Finally! Nearly at the stables, two girls riding gypsy cobs without helmets on said "isn't that Pony fat, pointing at my boy!" then cantered off.



I really felt like never riding again when I got back, shaken up, abused, and all due to inconsiderate people sharing the bridlepath. Not just inconsiderate, but dangerous.

Please tell me i'm not the only one who has to put up with things like this?

 

[Jazzy B]

I was thinking my ride today had been "eventful"! Not really, really lucky where we are, worse we have is a few inconsiderate people who think that a bridlepath that runs across three fields should be walked along slowly! I think not - cantering is what it is made for!!!!

I think that girl was really rude calling your pony fat I hope she fell off!

As for the dog, you could try reporting it to the police?

 

[SO1]

Today we came across three men on motorbikes coming round a corner down our very narrow bridleway, all I can say is thankgoodness we were walking as if we were cantering there could have been a nasty accident as even though we were in full hi viz the motor bikes might not have been about to stop in time as they were coming round a corner so did not see us till quite late.

 

[Lintel]

You are not.
Currently this week.

Two collies attempting to round me and the boy up.
A terrier going for our heels.
Children running around us (being told NOT too!)
Bikes overtaking you while your near enough to the ditch... my boy doesn't like bikes atall (don't blame him )
PEOPLE NOT MOVING!!
Getting head shakes for little my little man do his business! WHAT AM I SUPPOSED TO DO, HE NEEDS TO ****?

And getting the odd idiot who cannot control there horse nearly colliding with us!


*sigh*

The things us horsey people put up with!
You are not alone!X

-If you wear loads of high viz and a polite notice style jacket and take your hacking buddy with you in hi viz, you suddenly get more respect!

 

[Nickles1973]

Unfortunately you are not the only one that has to put up with this type of occurance on bridlepaths. In the area I live there is only one official council maintained bridle path and I am lucky enough to stable my horse with direct access via our bottom field. However a little way down it there is a property that has broken down fencing which backs onto the bridlepath. On several occaisions the owners dog has come tearing up the garden and onto the path teeth bared, growling and barking at our horses. So far it hasn't got come close enough to get a reaction from my horse. I should hope that if he did then George would kick him into touch but it does worry me that someone with a horse that is not so bomb proof with dogs will not be so lucky.
We also have to contend with yobs on dirt bikes and quads which have turned the part of the path which runs past our field gate into a make shift bike track. On the days I hear them out I don't even dare to hack out. :-(

 

[Lintel]

Unfortunately you are not the only one that has to put up with this type of occurance on bridlepaths. In the area I live there is only one official council maintained bridle path and I am lucky enough to stable my horse with direct access via our bottom field. However a little way down it there is a property that has broken down fencing which backs onto the bridlepath. On several occaisions the owners dog has come tearing up the garden and onto the path teeth bared, growling and barking at our horses. So far it hasn't got come close enough to get a reaction from my horse. I should hope that if he did then George would kick him into touch but it does worry me that someone with a horse that is not so bomb proof with dogs will not be so lucky.
We also have to contend with yobs on dirt bikes and quads which have turned the part of the path which runs past our field gate into a make shift bike track. On the days I hear them out I don't even dare to hack out. :-(

YOBS ON DIRTBIKES! HOW COULD I FORGET.

I join your club on the - I do not dare to hack out when they are there.
Did it once- never again. Argh.
The thought angers me.

 

[BeckyMason97]

I'm very very lucky when it comes to bridle paths! Our yard is right next to the M6, but is practically impossible to find, so the road it's on is pretty quiet. We have TONS of bridle paths nearby and I haven't seen anyone else on them as of yet! The road the yard is on is where we hack most, but I haven't passed anyone inconsiderate as of yet. Joggers and cyclists always move over for us, cars slow right down and move over, and whenever anyone has loose dogs they always stop and grab them out of the way. Around here practically everyone has horses so it's not abnormal as it is in most places!

 

[AmyMay]

Why are so many horses so bad with dogs?

 

[JFTDWS]

Why are so many horses so bad with dogs?

I don't know. Mine're used to being chased (not aggressively) by my dog in the field and when I ride there, he's even been nipped on the nose while ridden and his only reaction was a squeal of disapproval. (Obviously that's not acceptable behaviour from my dog - and I would never have him loose near other horses.) At least it means they're not bothered when they meet them on hacks

I'm just wondering whether on mumsnet there's a post by the pushchair owners about why people take dangerous, bolting-prone horses out and endanger their children when they have every right to be on the path

 

[Shantara]

Why are so many horses so bad with dogs?

Ned used to be awful with dogs, we'd be sidewards cantering for ages. Then a woman with a dog started to ride with us and now he's very very good with them. I just think it's lack of experience (Meaning, lack of the horse experiencing dogs, not the lack of rider experience)

 

[Jesstickle]

Why are so many horses so bad with dogs?

Ours wouldn't mind being chased, barked at, growled at, snarled at. But I do think if they were getting nipped on the legs they would probably find that worrying. I don't think there are that many horses that would tolerate being nipped whilst out on a hack where they aren't feeling at their most confident anyway.

 

[Marydoll]

Any owner of a dog who cant keep it under control, and by that i mean have it come to call if it cant behave itself when there are other animals or people around, shouldnt have it off the leash in a public place.
Id take a schooling stick off any dogs arse that started nipping at my horses legs

 

[MerrySherryRider]

Ours wouldn't mind being chased, barked at, growled at, snarled at. But I do think if they were getting nipped on the legs they would probably find that worrying. I don't think there are that many horses that would tolerate being nipped whilst out on a hack where they aren't feeling at their most confident anyway.

Thanks to a farmers 3 sheepdogs whose favourite pastime was nipping horses legs, mine are totally dog proof.
If your horse can't tolerate dogs then you're pretty much stuck to not riding out.

 

[Jesstickle]

Thanks to a farmers 3 sheepdogs whose favourite pastime was nipping horses legs, mine are totally dog proof.
If your horse can't tolerate dogs then you're pretty much stuck to not riding out.

Not round here! If your horse can't cope with dual carriage way, artic lorries and buses you can't hack out. Dogs are the least of our worries! lol

 

[lq22]

Today the mad dog lady had her dog off the leash again, as usual it came charging out of knowwhere from a bush, growling, snarling and barking, straight to our ponys and nipping at their legs. Owner half a mile down the bridlepath no control of it whatsoever. Both pony's already spun round and galloping off, holding on for dear life, dog still chasing. Narrowly missing couple with baby in pushchair and a group of bikers, all shook up by the charging horses. Really was no stopping them.

Eventually pulled them up, very shaken, got off, led horse to the owner who didnt think she had done anything wrong, and she said "its not a bridlepath" and kept saying it over and over again. No reasoning with her whatsoever, almost as if she was on drugs. Dogs muzzle to stop it biting was round its neck and not fitted. Found out later today this same lady regularly causes accidents with horse owners on this stretch and it known for it. Quite a few people have come off Dogs dont bother our boys, but this one is so out of control I think they just go into flight panic mode.

On the way back to the stable on a downhill bridlepath a bike with no brakes came careering up from behind, guy put his foot down to try and stop the bike, missed my ponys bum by a foot, dust flying everywhere from his foot scraping the floor. Pony already shaken up had a mini bolt to get away from him.

He went straight into the corner at the bottom of hill skidded round and narrowly missed a group of oncoming horses, forcing one of them into a ditch on the side of path.

Finally! Nearly at the stables, two girls riding gypsy cobs without helmets on said "isn't that Pony fat, pointing at my boy!" then cantered off.



I really felt like never riding again when I got back, shaken up, abused, and all due to inconsiderate people sharing the bridlepath. Not just inconsiderate, but dangerous.

Please tell me i'm not the only one who has to put up with things like this?

In Scotland we are allowed to use most areas of countryside (barring MOD property etc) so while I would agree the dog being off the lead is irresponsible, charging along a bridlepath and being at such a speed that you could not stop for other users i would also deem irresponsible. In Scotland even if it is a bridle path, there would be no problem with people walking along it.

 

[[59851]]

Why are so many horses so bad with dogs?

Mine take no notice of dogs, they are used to them running around. But if a dog were to attack? who knows? My mare would stand her ground and kick, In fact she was responsible for killing a dog that tried to bite her hock - one swift kick and it was game over. The geldings, I'm not sure, but I'd sure as hell kick 10 bells of shite out of any ruddy mutt that went for my horse in an agressive manner. I really am beginning to hate dogs.

 

[Littlelegs]

I'm not sure I see the problem with dogs & kids etc? If your horse has a problem with them that's your problem, not the general publics. Same with bikes of any sort, expect horses to deal with them on the road, not sure a bridlepath is different?
Agree people should be able to get their dog to come when they call, but i wouldn't expect my horse to bolt off in the meantime. With kids I find 'hello & careful she doesn't stand on your toes' gets a better response than 'out of the way peasants'. That said, if people make no attempt to call their dog & just tell you its only playing when its not, & they are clearly not at all concerned, i'm not averse to chasing them.

 

[Marydoll]

Thanks to a farmers 3 sheepdogs whose favourite pastime was nipping horses legs, mine are totally dog proof.
If your horse can't tolerate dogs then you're pretty much stuck to not riding out.

Theres a difference in tolerating a dog/dogs in general terms, eg being around and about you, theres a world of difference, and nobody should have to tolerate an out of control dog nipping at there horse, their dog or their kids.
That is failing to control a dog in a public place and they can be prosecuted for it

 

[JFTDWS]

With kids I find 'hello & careful she doesn't stand on your toes' gets a better response than 'out of the way peasants'.

Oh but I love calling the little people peasants don't spoil my fun!

Actually, OP, I think my horse and I are the most dangerous thing anyone's likely to meet on a hack (off road, obviously). Virtually all the dog owners, walkers, bikes, dirt bikes etc I meet are very considerate to the horses. My horse bounces on the spot and knobs about a bit, but there's no way I would tolerate him sodding off with me - even for a "mini-bolt" whatever that is - if I lacked brakes, I would re-assess my bitting, tack and riding - for the safety of other track users.

 

[Cinnamontoast]

I'm just wondering whether on mumsnet there's a post by the pushchair owners about why people take dangerous, bolting-prone horses out and endanger their children when they have every right to be on the path

Guaranteed! We had two with pushchairs in the field feeding endless carrots. Before I could do my usual don't feed the horses rant, the horses went mental, nearly kicked the pushchairs over, the mums left hurriedly, ploughing through the mud. Stupid, stupid.

 

[JFTDWS]

Guaranteed! We had two with pushchairs in the field feeding endless carrots. Before I could do my usual don't feed the horses rant, the horses went mental, nearly kicked the pushchairs over, the mums left hurriedly, ploughing through the mud. Stupid, stupid.

Very stupid

But in fairness, they were just other path users in this instance - they don't deserve to have a close call with the hooves of death, just for walking on a path, do they? I'd be pretty p-ed off if I were walking my dog and we were nearly mown down by some people who couldn't control their horses

(fwiw, I hate pushchairs, I think they're an abomination - along with extending leads and bungees )

 

[lq22]

Very stupid

But in fairness, they were just other path users in this instance - they don't deserve to have a close call with the hooves of death, just for walking on a path, do they? I'd be pretty p-ed off if I were walking my dog and we were nearly mown down by some people who couldn't control their horses

(fwiw, I hate pushchairs, I think they're an abomination - along with extending leads and bungees )

and the monsters in them

 

[Littlelegs]

Jftd- I think you'll find the politically correct term is not little people & peasants. One should refer to them as the vertically challenged representatives of the peasant underclass, one doesn't wish to annoy the serving classes does one?
My butler informs me the reduction in peasants is in direct relation to an increase in out of control horses on bridleways...

 

[pugsandponies]

I was hacking today along my local bridlepath when a small child practically rode his scooter underneath Blue! He was with his father and their dog, and they saw me from quite a distance off, as they went over to one side of the path, put the dog on a short lead, and stopped for me to pass. I started walking Blue towards them when suddenly the little boy whizzed towards me at a great speed, not stopping or slowing down despite me frantically calling out to him! I don't think Blue's ever run backwards so fast in his life, and I really thought he was going to rear up, particularly worrying as there is an enormous ditch running alongside said bridleway. No apology from the father, who didn't even seem all that concerned that his son was very nearly trodden on!

 

[stencilface]

My horse would have likely tried to turn and run too, because he is a big fat wuss. He has spun and tried to run from dogs before because they were white - they were not withint 100m of him He woudl have been told in no uncertain terms that this was not acceptable.

Was it a pushbike? How do you know it had no brakes? MTBers will often use feet instead off, and aswell as normal brakes. Again, my horse does not care about these, but I will not tolerate his poor behaviour. I sympathise with the dogs chasing you, but then they won't 'chase' unless they get a reaction in the first place, I find a sharp growl and a whip swung at dogs with most of the time get them to think twice, after all my horse 'dog' is huge, and has a growl too. But I do think you maybe need to work on desensitising your horse to these occurrences if you are affected a lot. The fact that other people use the path is not their fault.

Yes, my horse is not perfect, and he will jump and rush forwards if startled, but not enough to worry me. If he does this more than is reasonable, he is told to just get on with it and stop being such a baby!

 

[DressageCob]

Dog walkers are fine, but if their dog bites a horse I think that's a different matter. I never demand that people call or restrain their dogs and I'm careful not to mow them down! But the other week a woman with three young labradors had no control of them off the lead, they came charging out of a bus, teeth bared and one bit my horse on the front leg. Luckily he was wearing boots, but the bite went through the boot and grazed his leg. So I gave the woman an earful, polite but still angry!! Her answer was "ohhh but they came from Spain and they don't teach them manners there". Really if you can't control your dog and if it's going to bite other track users then you should have it on a lead or in a muzzle.

Everyone else I have no problem with, although I much prefer it when cyclists warn you when they are approaching from behind since you can't hear them before. And I don't think people should let their kids run up to random animals but more from a safety point of view than personal annoyance

 

[Ollie's Mum]

It always seems a bit of an injustice to me that footpaths are just for the walkers but riders don't get a dedicated path of our own and have to share them with walkers and bikes In the area where I ride we have dozens of footpaths and very few bridleways - it doesn't seem a lot to ask for us not to have to share.

 

[millikins]

We get loads of off road bikers round our way, I usually sing their praises as 99% considerate. Today I met group of 5, first had to stop as I was on the path, steered pony into gateway, then 3 of the other 4 went past at speed, only 1 slowed up and looked a bit sheepish. What made me really angry was that except for the one who slowed who was a lad, the rude ones were middle aged!! What a bunch of gits.

 

[Shantara]

Thinking about it (on the subject of dogs) I find myself getting more miffed at dog owner when walking my dog, rather than when riding.
My dog is old, deaf and partially blind in one eye. We usually keep her on the lead, but she'll happily follow us closely if we let her off. When we see other dogs approaching, we always put her back on her lead as she can snap and look aggressive (only ever bitten another dog once) but we put this down to her not being as young as she was, so feeling she has to put up a defensive front.
Anyway, it really bothers me when other dog owners don't listen to me! I always say "She's a bit grumpy and can snap" and I always put myself in between her and the other dog. The amount of people that say "Oh it's fine" and then give me dirty looks when she does indeed snap and yelp! My dog was on the lead and under control, you were warned!! I don't blame her when she gets scared of a large, uncontrolled yob. It just reminds me of some poor old woman getting harassed by teenagers.

Rant over.

 

[JFTDWS]

Anyway, it really bothers me when other dog owners don't listen to me! I always say "She's a bit grumpy and can snap" and I always put myself in between her and the other dog. The amount of people that say "Oh it's fine" and then give me dirty looks when she does indeed snap and yelp! My dog was on the lead and under control, you were warned!! I don't blame her when she gets scared of a large, uncontrolled yob.

This came up in AAD the other day.

According to one poster, people with fear aggressive / potentially aggressive dogs that they don't want approached should walk them away from ALL other dog walkers or in the middle of the night

Personally, I think people should just keep their beasts (whatever they may be) under control when in public.