Horse killed dog

[loonylittlethings]

Tonight there was an unfortunate incident where one of our youngsters killed a dog. Our paddock has a public footpath running through it, and there are always dog walkers in and out of there, and nothing like this has happened before.

The dog was apparently on a lead, and the youngster charged at them, with the dog unfortunately getting caught in the chaos. There were no witnesses to any of this other than the 2 dog walkers themselves.

I didn't know if anyone else has been in a similar situation, and knew who was technically at fault here - also taking into account that we aren't the YO.

 

[bonny]

Hard to see how the dog owners could be at fault if they were on a footpath and the dog was on a lead. What are they saying about what happened ? I hope you have removed your horse and will do the right thing ?

 

[benz]

A horse apparently attacked a walker around our way a few months ago, also no witnesses but the horse had to be moved. I assume as there is a footpath the owner of the land has to make sure it's accessible and obviously it wouldn't be if there was a vicious animal in there. So I think options are remove horse or put up fencing. Poor dog

 

[SusieT]

I would imagine you would have public liability insurance and you would hand this over to the insurers? You will obviously need to fence this youngster off from the public footpath

 

[melbiswas]

I think you are lucky the dog walkers were not injured as well. It must have been horrendous for them. Poor dog.
A youngster started getting aggressive with dogs on our local footpath. I had to let ours off the lead to escape as it was difficult to protect them as it was barging through us and lashing out to get at them. It was totally unprovoked by my dogs who ignore our horses. Luckily they scarpered into the next field leading the youngster away from us.
We avoided that route afterwards but I heard reports of people waving sticks at the youngster and unsuspecting walkers having trouble.
I did warn the owner but they were just rude in return! A bad situation for all. Eventually he was moved.

 

[WelshD]

I would imagine you would have public liability insurance and you would hand this over to the insurers? You will obviously need to fence this youngster off from the public footpath

I agree with this, take advice from your insurer

The dog would be classified as 'under control' while on a lead I would imagine, had it been off the lead it would be a lot trickier

 

[Dave's Mam]

An animal has to prove it is a danger. Yours just did. Move it from the field with public access. You have a responsibility.

 

[Nudibranch]

Definitely get that path fenced off or remove the horse. Tbh I wouldn't keep any horse with access to a footpath. Ours are fenced off with electric when they go on their summer grazing. My youngster could easily go for a dog, or try and initiate "play" with a walker which is pretty threatening for non horse people.

 

[ILuvCowparsely]

unfortunate accident poor dog


Though remember the dog is a predator and some horses see it that way and will go for them, hardly a dangerous horse really.

yard/field owner may have to fence the path off with p&R or electric fencing, must say from experience of being in fields with a foot path and dog walkers
paying no respect to where the path is and wandering all over it. I would always fence the path off before I put horses in there, which our neighbours did as the footpath went right up the middle of the field and it is now fenced off with gates in the middle to swap horses about, and electric fencing attached to it to keep horses away

 

[ihatework]

I'd be on to my insurers pronto!
Then I'd be fencing off the footpath or removing the horses from that field.

 

[Goldenstar]

Poor dog ,contact your insurer straight away .
It would be best to fence the foot path off , you can also apply to move footpaths so it may be possible to move it so it runs around the edge of the field so you can use the field as a whole .
Now would be a great time to apply using safety issues following the death if the dog as a reason .
Your local BHS bridleways team would tell you about the process you need to follow .

 

[poiuytrewq]

I found myself in a similar situation earlier in the month. I took my dog across a footpath through what I later found to be a stud farms youngsters grazing.
They became very excited and I believe would have killed my dog had I not let her off a lead and told her to run at a ditch which I prayed she would jump and be safe. She did thank god.
They weren't nasty just young excited and very over interested in the dog (who was quiet and on a lead)
I was scared and I'm a horsey person.
I agree you will have to fence the path off or something now.

 

[Clodagh]

How terrifying for the dog's owners. I would speak to your Parish Council about relocating the footpath so it can be secure, they will have a footpath's representative. I imagine it will be your insurance, not the YO's but hand it over to them and they will sort it out.

I was attacked by a stallion once while on a footpath, he was only a dartmoor but it was absolutely terrifying. If my dog had been killed as a result I would have been furious and prepared to sue, and I am not a litigatious person.

 

[Shay]

Liability under the Animals Act is pretty much absolute and this is why everyone needs third party liability. Pass it on to your insurers. If the dog was killed as reported (your post seems to suggest you might have doubts about that) then there will be vets corroboration. The owners are entitled to restitution of costs - vets fees, replacement costs etc - and possibly also to damages. This is an areas far better dealt with by insurance.

The youngster might have been frightened of the dog, the walkers might have scared it or it might just have been wanting to play. It doesn't matter. You need to move the horse away from the footpath as a matter of urgency. Moving footpaths is possible - but you are not the landowner and anyway it takes time. You need to move the youngster today.

 

[ossy]

Good advice already definently go through insurance and move horse for now. The sinic in me says "was the dog really on a lead" but if the dog owner has a witness that is not related that says the dog was in a lead as well don't think there's much to argue.

 

[fatpiggy]

I found myself in a similar situation earlier in the month. I took my dog across a footpath through what I later found to be a stud farms youngsters grazing.
They became very excited and I believe would have killed my dog had I not let her off a lead and told her to run at a ditch which I prayed she would jump and be safe. She did thank god.
They weren't nasty just young excited and very over interested in the dog (who was quiet and on a lead)
I was scared and I'm a horsey person.
I agree you will have to fence the path off or something now.

We had a footpath which ran up our drive, across the lawn and into the neighbours field, and went straight up the middle of it. It wasn't used very often. The neighbour had a couple of horses including a pony which I think had been rescued from the meatman and used only as a companion. Her name was Tiny but one day I was crossing the field and Tiny came over. I'd not really seen her close up before, but she turned out to be not as small as her name would suggest and she was really in my face. Being a mare too, I was VERY careful but despite having grown up around cattle and being very familiar with horses, it rattled me a bit too.

 

[Sukistokes2]

How terrible for all concerned. However a right of way is a right of way and needs to be maintained as safe access for the public. I used to rent a field with a foot path and always fenced off a safe route away from the horses. I didn't want people or strange dogs in with my horses and I certainly did not want anyone's pet hurt, or even worst anyone's kids hurt by my horses. Even my youngster, totally used to dogs went through that stage and would have at least chased dogs and prob people, if given the chance and yet was dope on a rope for me. Hope you work it out OP. I do think electric fencing is your friend here.

 

[Frumpoon]

Seems peculiar there are no witnesses and of course the dog walkers were the right side of the law....

I'd be cynical and assume the dog wasn't in a lead and got kicked chasing the horses

 

[asterope]

Seems peculiar there are no witnesses

Why? It was in a field.

 

[junglefairy]

I'm surprised at suggestions of suing etc., I can see why, with hindsight, the field should maybe have been fenced off but surely this is just a tragic accident. These things happen. There are often stories of cows killing people/dogs and dogs killing sheep but I don't hear of farmers being required to erect additional fencing, or being sued.

 

[zaminda]

While I would be handing this over to the insurers and making sure the footpath is fenced in future and rerouted if necessary I wouldn't automatically believe they were on the footpath with the dog on a lead. Having had issues with walkers on the path next to my field which did not have a public right of way through it thinking it was funny that their dogs tried to play with my horses I'm cynical. They found it less funny when said horses turned on the chasing dog. Someone was walking across my current field the other day which again doesn't have a footpath through it and got very funny with me when I asked them what they were doing. The response was they were following the path. They got very aggressive when I told them they weren't.
So while I feel sorry for the dog I would be looking to make sure it is very cut and dried as to where the path is, fencing it and putting signs up saying don't allow dogs or children to play with the horses.

 

[Ceriann]

My mares are very used to dogs - not scared of them and will happily stand calmly whilst our puppy barks at them (on a lead). We would also often take them with us to poo pick (with horses in field) with no problems. But at our old house one of the paddocks was right in front of the house with post and rail - if the dogs went in on their own my mares would sometimes give chase - something we dealt with fairly quickly by fencing our dogs into their own enclosure.

If it was me I'd get in touch with insurers and remove horses until you understand your position. With the better weather etc you'll find there are more walkers I imagine.

 

[FfionWinnie]

Do you think the youngster is likely to have done it as they claim? Horses can be absolutely terrible around dogs but as this is a foot path you might assume they are used to dogs going through? Have you seen this dog before/was it on a lead then etc. I would do a bit more detective work personally but yes remove horses and seek legal advice in the short term at least. Are you a BHS gold member?

 

[Frumpoon]

Why? It was in a field.

And what was the rest of my sentence.....that of course the dog owners were behaving in accordance with the law, with no witnesses it could not be proved otherwise

 

[AmyMay]

Seems peculiar there are no witnesses

I've just walked my dogs for two hours, and didn't see a sole..

 

[Paint Me Proud]

whilst very sad for the dog owners I can see how it would be difficult for them to prove that the dog was on the lead as they say. It sounds as though without witnesses there is very little concrete proof about what happened other than the deceased dog. Definitely put it in the hands of your insurers and let them deal with it.

 

[OWLIE185]

If one reads the farming publications like Farmers Weekly there are very similar situations which occur with cattle where either dog/human or both are attacked.
Their advice to dog walkers is always to let the dog of the lead if one is attacked as it is normally the dog that is the focus of the cattles attention rather than the walker.
In addition these incidents are now reported to the Health and Safety Executive who have to carry out a formal investigation and a subsequent report and possible prosecution of the landowner/farmer/owner of the cattle.
It is absolutely essential that each and every horse owner has third party public liability insurance cover for each of their horses for no less than £10,000,000 (Ten Million Pounds).
Many insurance policies do not provide cover to this level so check you polices carefully.
In many cases landowners/farmers/owners of cattle are being advised not to keep their cattle in fields crossed by public rights of way so as to avoid incidents of this type.
Where farmers/landowners/cattle owners have been the subject of a prosecution then they have received very large fines.

 

[Frumpoon]

I've just walked my dogs for two hours, and didn't see a sole..

I don't have the energy to explain it again

 

[Honey08]

How horrible. You must feel awful.

The neighbouring farm used to breed horses and had a huge field with youngsters in. You really took you life in your hands walking across it, particularly with a dog. I've had to let the dog off the lead a million times to get it away from being kicked.

I have a couple of footpaths on my land. The one along the edge of a field is well fenced off. One runs along side a river about 30m from the edge of the field. I can't fence it off as the horses drink from it, plus I'd lose a lot of grazing, so when the horses were younger and more nosey about walkers and dogs I put an intermittent strand of wire along the footpath. Gaps every 40m or so wide enough for the horses to cross the path, but high enough that a walker could safely duck underneath and put a fence between themselves and the horses if need be. Not a perfect solution, as you could obviously end up with horses on each side, but it did stop horses charging about on the footpath too, and did seem to help.

 

[Luci07]

Very hard to prove that walkers hadn't strayed and had the dog on the lead but I would assume that the YO would have to take steps to keep said youngster away from the footpath. Horrible for all concerned.