Dogs and Horses- A warning to all!

Kokopelli

Kokopelli

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We lost our beautiful spaniel puppy last year because her lead was clipped onto the wrong part of the collar, it snapped and she ran right into the path of one of our horses and got kicked. Having suffered a fracture to the diaphram she didn't have much hope.

Got a call off a good friend today who was distraught, her dog who she normally just lets roam around the yard was kicked. Luckily he is in a stable condition and should make a full recovery.

So just a warning to everyone you can never be too careful when it comes to your dogs and horses! It makes me cringe to see dogs wondering around the horses legs off the lead, check your leads and collars are strong enough so it doesn't have to happen again.

Sorry for morbid post everyone I just don't think some people are careful enough when it comes to dogs and horses.
 
You poor thing.:(

I've only just this week allowed one of the pups to run round the yard: he has stuck to me like glue til today when the big dog also came and he got a big braver. Fortunately, most of the horses are used to dogs, but I am paranoid and would prefer to keep him close by.
 
I've never let any of my dogs around the horses "just in case", it amazes me when I've been out riding and a dog has been yapping around their hind legs and I ask the owner to put it on the lead incase it gets kicked the general reply is "that'll teach them!!"
 
Chloe got trodden on when she was a tiny pup, lucky to get away with just a very deep cut. Now shes nowhere near them.
 
i tell people to keep tehre dogs away cause my horse will kick/bite and she wont just kick or bite the dog she will do it too who evers closest to her too aka me and its dangerous for all 3 off us but some people dont listen
 
Its a big pet peeve of mine, we were very careful with Daisy around the horses yet she was the one who got hurt. Benjie our current dog very rarely goes up to the yard and if he does he is shut in one of the stables.

Glad I'm not the only one who is careful with them though.
 
you have to train dogs to be around horses. they have to respect the horse and be well enough trained to the voice. my yard dogs are very good (and the horses are good too)BUT i have a young lab (greedy, can be deaf and stupid) who when told 'away' and hasnt gone he has met my foot (gently). rather my foot than a shod horse! they also know 'out' if they dare to venture into a field or the menage if horses are in there. my liveries are welcome to bring their cat freindly dogs to the yard BUT are told of the risks and that they are entirely responsible for the dog/s. sadly accidents do and always will happen. but owners need to train the dog.
 
That's very sad about your dog, glad your friend's dog will be ok

All my dogs are socialised around the yard including the horses, from puppies. Have even spent time with a puppy in arms just milling around the neds. They only go in the fields my horses are in though. I go out riding with them too, they always keep out of the way and my 2 horses don't mind, although it took Paddy some getting used to.

Everyone at the yard with dogs (most of us) take them down and let them roam about whilst we muck out, even the farm dogs do too.
 
My border has no horse sense at all. He got lamped by the colt before Christmas and I thought he'd broken his back. Mercifully he was just winded - he's never going to be let loose near horses again.
 
Mine are allowed loose but both have been socialised - i.e they don't go near the horses, neither are they allowed to wander around the yard unsupervised. My bitch would stick to me but my dog will keep going off to talk to other people. So, if I can't focus on them 100%, they are crated and come out for walks in between. Really sorry about your spaniel puppy and such very bad luck.
 
Have to say that I believe this is a training thing.
My mum's 12.2hh had a big boxer bound up to him on a yard today as I expect from every one of the horses I helped brake he stood there sniffed it, it sniffed back and nothing. I don't think horses, especially children's ponies should kick at all.
And along side this I think dogs should be told 'away' from horses and be socialised so they quite frankly don't give a hoot.
I think the sacrifice made by stopping 'well socialised' dogs having the run of a yard and fields with well socialised horses is greater than the risk.
In 22 years of dogs around horses have only had one 'kicked' and technically I think he ran into a lifted hoof, he got a bump on his noggin and was better after a cuddle.
Each to their own but if the first time a horse meets a dog is a mad barking one on a hack I think it's bound to react badly. But if they have had regular friendly encounters (such as meeting hounds if that way inclined) they don't really care if a dog runs at them and still pray is boring pray.
 
How do you train your pony NOT to kick? Not a "pop at you" question - I am interested! While both my horses are used to dogs being around and hacks out with my friends dog I could not guarantee my gelding wouldn't kick out. With my mare it was never a question and I was able to hunt her without worrying about hounds.
 
Luci07 said:
How do you train your pony NOT to kick? Not a "pop at you" question - I am interested!
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Echo :) Paddy wont kick whilst they're all milling around or out riding but if one randomly went up to him and it wasn't a steady approach, I'm fairly certain he'd boot it.

My opinion is that if my dogs harass a horse they deserve a kick, as it is I'm lucky that my dogs don't harass. In fact Paddy is more likely to chase the dogs than the dogs chase Paddy. Mouse has been unfortunate enough to have been rolled over by Nelson (my smaller horse) but he didn't do it on purpose and she was fine, her own fault for running between his legs - she's not done that since
 
To teach a horse not to kick we just never let them do it.
If they do its a hell to pay situation only takes once really. If you kick me I will turn into a wailing banshee and smack you back. :mad: If, heaven forbid, you kick a hound or dog I shall equally give you a smack. Again only once. But once is enough.
I really hate being kicked and a quick smack is a fraction of the pain I would suffer if they make contact. It does work with habitual kickers but takes about a week of lightening reactions. (and doing everything in BP, hat and holy water)

When a dog runs at my horse he turns to face it and stands his ground. Dogs don't like that, nothing threatening does. (I do ride with a whip and have in the past had no hesitation in using it on an attacking dog if its biting.)
Having said this the kind of horses I like are a bit 'special' I like mine independent, stubborn, opinionated and strong minded. Which generally results in 'steady' horses or too stubborn to react :eek:. So they are not easily scared which helps with the not kicking out in fright thing but not the testing of the boundaries thing. And they understand 'NO you massive lump of under processed dog food.'

NB. Obviously horses will kick if they are scared but only time I've known this to happen with a horse I've handled was with leg straps not being undone before rug being removed. :rolleyes: And he was kicking to rug not the handler.
 
My lot are good with dogs, and we only have my little JR round them now anyway. She got trodden on as a pup (was fine but it hurt!), and is sensibly wary of the same thing happening again. But then, my horses know that my dog is 'mine' and they're to leave her alone (through experience), and the only thing we have to be careful of, is my TB and the dog at feed time - the dog likes to nick her feed and she gets narky - cue dog getting told off, and horse told and shown that we'll deal with it so she relaxes and leaves it with us. Has been fine for some time now, but was once more of an issue.
 
Llewellyn said:
To teach a horse not to kick we just never let them do it.
If they do its a hell to pay situation only takes once really. If you kick me I will turn into a wailing banshee and smack you back. :mad: If, heaven forbid, you kick a hound or dog I shall equally give you a smack. Again only once. But once is enough.
I really hate being kicked and a quick smack is a fraction of the pain I would suffer if they make contact. It does work with habitual kickers but takes about a week of lightening reactions. (and doing everything in BP, hat and holy water
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feels smidgen stoopid now as that was kind of obvious and is general rule of thumb for thwarting naughties in neddies lol

And they understand 'NO you massive lump of under processed dog food.'
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LMAO!! :D
 
My little JRT had a run in with a gurt big 16.3 tb. Just wrong place at the wrong time. The horse turned himself inside out and she just happened to be there and he came straight down on top of her. Dislocated and chipped her hip. £700 vet bill later and she is fine. had to take a week off work to look after her. sounds stupid doesnt it lol! Her leg was strapped to her body and she was on cage rest, she needed holding up so she could have a wee ect! She had to have her bladder emptied every day as she became incontinant. Dont know what i would have done if he had landed on her head and killed her.
 
We have always had dogs around the horses and horses need to be dog proofed too as well as the dog's being trained to respect the horses. I had a wonderful Spaniel, my dear Woody, who is no longer with us. He was very well trained by my boyf's ex and would heel to my old horse so we could go out hacking together which was amazing and an experience that I will never forget as he would gallop along with us, at a safe distance to the side, plus it meant I could wear him out so that he was not a complete hooligan. My old horse was a bit of a bugger and would chase loose dogs in the field, apart from my own dog. He tried to kill a collie at one yard as her owner used to let her chase the horses and Murphy was having none of it, that poor dog was launched across the yard one day by a horse that was fed up of her snapping at his tail.
Tarquin was a bit dog shy, partially because of bad experiences when he was younger with walkers allowing their dogs to chase him when he was in a field with a foot path through it, he is fine now and tolerant to a point. The only thing he will no allow is a dog or any animal going near his food. He went for a friends out out of control Terrorist when it went to steal his dinner and has a attacked one of the Muscovy ducks for the same. If/When I get a new dog, I will have to be very careful. I have seen so many badly behaved dogs that are allowed on DIY yards and it spoils it for everyone.
 
Sorry to hear about the puppy :(

My 5 dogs are around horses everyday and all know the rules, no chasing no stalking and no stealing food.
But then my horses WOULD get into trouble if they were to kick the dogs or cats!
However teddy the terrier did get caught out today by a neighbors filly. On our usual walk through the fields checking the fencing and cattle the filly had got into the top paddock, charged me and the dogs and teddy got caught on the leg :(
She was a bit stiff but seems ok now. but we are just waiting for the vet to get back from a call to have her checked over!
 
Thought I'd add that the horse who kicked the puppy was eating at the time she bounded up to him and he struck out with his front leg. He never kicked before the incident or after. It was just very bad timing.

When she did get kicked we were in the process of getting her horse safe, she was doing very well and would come out the arena when asked and sit down and stay when asked. I think the lead snapping frightened her so she shot off, and her curiosity got the better of her.

But because of this we are very un keen to bring our current dog up to the yard, partly because he's looney and mainly because we just don't want to risk the same thing happening again. Loosing a dog at such a young age is very tough.
 
Bryony got booted by Kit last week. Her and Tys have always been fine around the horses, having first been introduced to my dog kicking shetland they learnt early on that horses back legs are a no no. Neither of them have ever chased one of my horses or bothered them in any way. Kit got scared by a bird in a hedge, and trotted off down the field, instinct must have taken over and Bryony followed suit, chasing her and barking. Kit basically ran over the top of her, it was awful. How the hell she wasn't hurt I have no idea, That dog has 9 lives, not a scratch on her. I felt awful for putting her in that situation, she could have been really hurt :(

Needless to say it's leads on at the yard for both the mutts now. Not risking that again :(
 
paulineh said:
My dogs wonder around the yard and the fields with my horses and I have never had a problem.


I think it is good for them to be around not just for the dogs but for the horses too.
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Why do you have to disagree all the time? That is your experience, but I'm with Kokopelli on this one. I have seen a young puppy getting stamped on by a welsh pony, with the intention of killing it. Not a nice thing to see, luckily the pup was ok. I always keep my dog on a lead around my horses.
 
When my dogs are up at the yard, the horses are in their stables. Shut in and secure, giving the dogs time to have a run around and some excercise while we work. I would never allow my dogs to run around a horse, including my own, in the yard or field. There is just too much room for an incident and I have a mare who would quite happily finish them off or see them off the premises anyway. I had someone once allow a JRT to run up and around one of my ponies, pony stamped her front feet at him (Bear in mind she was tied) and owner shouts across to our pony 'Don't you kill my dog or you will be in trouble!' Excuse me? :rolleyes: We have also lost count the amount of times people decide to cross our paddocks from the public footpath at the top to get to the woods below, despite my husband making it known they are taking their dogs lives into their hands if they do. I'd rather prevent an incident than risk one. Better safe than sorry and all that.
 
lhotse said:
Why do you have to disagree all the time? That is your experience, but I'm with Kokopelli on this one. I have seen a young puppy getting stamped on by a welsh pony, with the intention of killing it. Not a nice thing to see, luckily the pup was ok. I always keep my dog on a lead around my horses
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A lot of us on here share the opinion that horses/dogs need to be dog/horse proof - does that mean we're all disagreeing all the time? Just seems an odd thing to say when someone's sharing there experience like everyone else.

No, it's not a nice thing to see a horse trying to stamp on a dog with the intention of killing it but that's what happens when no dog/horse proofing is done. As much as I hate the expression, technically speaking, a dog is a threat to a horse, there for it's only natural for a horse to react that way if it's not been socialised with dogs
 
My dog is horse proofed, and my horse is dog proofed, she hunted and dogs don't worry her at all.
However, i am really careful, dog is never in the horses field if the horses are in it.
She is in spare stable mostly when horses are being moved around.
Dog knows never to bark or run at horses, very quick to respond to my voice but i don't think it is worth the risk. I would never forgive myself.
One wee dog got kicked a few weeks ago, owner is very careful, it was just a mistake but it must have hurt judging by the squeals.
I was riding at an instructors as a teen and the JRT pup kept running across the arena, i had to keep pulling the horse up because of it and was to told not to stop that the pup would get out of the way. Unfortunately it didn't, and pup ended up with broken leg and i got the blame :(
 
I never take my dog to the yard, mostly because it's a fairly busy livery yard and I think if everyone brought their dogs it would be chaos, but even if I kept my horse at home I think I'd still keep the dog away from him. He's the most laid-back cob you'll ever meet and I know he'd never deliberately kick out, but he's very clumsy and has trodden on me by accident more times than I can count, and I'm a lot bigger and more visible than my little lurcher! Also she is a very timid, nervous rescue dog so I don't think she'd feel comfortable around such a big animal either. Our favourite walk involves a bridle path, and on the rare occasions when we've met horses she has always been perfectly well behaved and quiet (her recall is perfect and she goes straight on her lead as soon as I see them) but she does cower away from them as they go past, so she certainly wouldn't enjoy being surrounded by them at the yard!

I do envy people who have enough confidence in their animals to take the dog on hacks or to the yard with them, but to me it's just not worth the risk and I'd never forgive myself if my dog got hurt, or if my horse hurt someone else's dog.
 
paulineh said:
My dogs wonder around the yard and the fields with my horses and I have never had a problem.
QUOTE]

yeah i bet the vets hear alot of that. 'oh but weve never had a problem before'. that doesnt pardon irresponsibility though. kokopelli has a very good point.

Im an advocate that if any of the dogs do something stupid that 9 times out of 10 theyll learn from it, but not when it comes to things that could very easily kill them.

its like letting a child play with the traffic.
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