Dog day afternoon

[Simbacat]

I've had it with dogs. I am on the nice sandy canter track around St Martha's and pointing for home so my girl can barely contain her excitement - this is where we get to go FAST! but no - first we meet a pack of 6-8 assorted dogs loose with their humans. Only one is missing and the staff call plaintively for it - a small scruffy creature flies past, just as... I meet 2 more folks clutching 2 huskies. We've lost a silver one they moan. No problem just around the corner some other people have rounded it up, but their spaniel is out of control, barking and circling me and running back then doing it again and again. Amazingly we are all good and my girl just looks a little dismayed at the dog. Mainly she just want to CANTER and now we re on the bridle way with the footpath separate and above us - so off we set at a nice slow canter up the best bit. I can see a girl with a white fluffy dog in the distance so I decide to risk cantering up to her. But her's is a mad bad dog that she has to rugby tackle to the ground snarling crazily ( no lead of course). "Trott" she pleads in broken English. But the best I can do is canter on the spot as now we are at our gallop stretch. "Its the bridle path" I yell, but she doesn't care. Anyway we make our way reasonably politely to the end of the route where we have to walk down a narrow step path that leads directly out onto a road. And yes the booby trap dog goes off, the one that flies out barking viciously trying to scale the gate.
I'm so over dogs.. grrrrrrr........

 

[Tash88]

It's a shame that dogs 'ruined' your ride but the unfortunate fact is that bridle paths are really for everyone, I think this was just bad luck.

And to be honest I'm not sure that your mare should be expecting to canter at a set place when you go hacking; in my opinion cantering/galloping at the same place all the time is asking for trouble as there will be times when you can't and it sounds like your horse is rather fizzy anyway. It is also bad manners to canter up to people.

At least nobody (human and animal) was hurt.