Landcruiser
Well-Known Member
I wanted to share this here, really because I am so super proud of my horse, but also because it shows that there can be another way of dealing with things. Horse is a 20 year old 14.3 criollo, owned for 10 years, originally scared of his own shadow and still prone to silly spooks at leaves and rustling sounds. Thankfully rock solid in traffic, and pretty used to seeing dogs around (we have our own).
I was riding in a field which is earmarked for building - not a right of way as such, but used as a footpath by loads of people, including dog walkers. It's flat and good for a bit of schooling, and pretty big so you can keep out of the way. Anyway, near one corner, where a track enters, I suddenly saw 2 very large, indeed huge, great danes off lead and heading towards us at speed and with intent. There was also a grey lurcher, although this circled away before it got to us. Hot on the Dane's heels was a frantic guy yelling for them. The only possible thing for me to do was to ask my boy to stand still, and hope the dogs didn't attack. For a heart stopping moment one seemed to go for his head end and the other round the back - we were literally rooted to the spot, and the dogs were massive and barking and snarling - but they were confused by our not moving I think, and within seconds the guy caught up and managed to get hold of them.
The guy was mortified - he said they'd never seen a horse close to, and he always put them on lead and went the other way when he saw anyone else. I suggested we all stand still and calm down - I wanted my horse to feel ok in their presence, but I also wanted them to calm down in HIS presence. It took about 10 minutes, but by this time the dogs were sitting quietly, my horse was grazing, and me and the guy were having a good old chin wag. Then I rode alongside him while he continued his walk. The dogs went a bit haywire again once we started walking, and we had to work out best position - us slightly in front/alongside, not "chasing" the dogs as in walking behind. But we found the sweet spot and all 3 animals were relaxed by the time we parted.
So. It could have been horrendous - it could have been fatal, let's face it. My boy could have bolted, and who could have blamed him? He could have had his throat ripped out, and maybe me too. But due to his trust in me, hard earned, none of the above happened and we had a positive experience in the end. The guy with the dogs learned some stuff, and I hope the dogs learned something too. There were no hard feelings - you may say the dogs shouldn't have been off lead, and you'd be right, the guy volunteered that they are so huge that if they were ON lead and decided to go, they'd just pull him over and go anyway...so where does that leave us? But I think he'll be super careful in future, and we lived to tell the tale. I'll probably revisit the opening scene in nightmares down the years though...
I was riding in a field which is earmarked for building - not a right of way as such, but used as a footpath by loads of people, including dog walkers. It's flat and good for a bit of schooling, and pretty big so you can keep out of the way. Anyway, near one corner, where a track enters, I suddenly saw 2 very large, indeed huge, great danes off lead and heading towards us at speed and with intent. There was also a grey lurcher, although this circled away before it got to us. Hot on the Dane's heels was a frantic guy yelling for them. The only possible thing for me to do was to ask my boy to stand still, and hope the dogs didn't attack. For a heart stopping moment one seemed to go for his head end and the other round the back - we were literally rooted to the spot, and the dogs were massive and barking and snarling - but they were confused by our not moving I think, and within seconds the guy caught up and managed to get hold of them.
The guy was mortified - he said they'd never seen a horse close to, and he always put them on lead and went the other way when he saw anyone else. I suggested we all stand still and calm down - I wanted my horse to feel ok in their presence, but I also wanted them to calm down in HIS presence. It took about 10 minutes, but by this time the dogs were sitting quietly, my horse was grazing, and me and the guy were having a good old chin wag. Then I rode alongside him while he continued his walk. The dogs went a bit haywire again once we started walking, and we had to work out best position - us slightly in front/alongside, not "chasing" the dogs as in walking behind. But we found the sweet spot and all 3 animals were relaxed by the time we parted.
So. It could have been horrendous - it could have been fatal, let's face it. My boy could have bolted, and who could have blamed him? He could have had his throat ripped out, and maybe me too. But due to his trust in me, hard earned, none of the above happened and we had a positive experience in the end. The guy with the dogs learned some stuff, and I hope the dogs learned something too. There were no hard feelings - you may say the dogs shouldn't have been off lead, and you'd be right, the guy volunteered that they are so huge that if they were ON lead and decided to go, they'd just pull him over and go anyway...so where does that leave us? But I think he'll be super careful in future, and we lived to tell the tale. I'll probably revisit the opening scene in nightmares down the years though...
