problem with dog barking at my horse

Firehorse

Firehorse

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went for a ride earlier, just before it hammered down! anyhoo, after a nice canter in our usual place i saw a collie come charging our way barking madly. i pulled up and walked slowly as it approached. the owner was no where to be seen at the time, sitting on a hidden bench. my horse was getting bothered by it, which is unusual, but the dog really was going mad. i felt my horse kick out slightly, but heard no yelp and the dog continued. it was actually snapping and jumping up at my horse. finally the owners appeared and their other dog joined in. they stood pathetically calling their dogs, who totally ignored them. they made no attempt to actually get hold of the dogs until i had gone by. i then heard the man say did your horse kick my dog, his mouth is bleeding. i said no, my horse did not kick, its probably just bitten its tongue with all the snapping and barking it was doing.. i stopped and turned round to look and there was quite a lot of blood in its mouth. i work with dogs and know that if a tongue gets injured, it bleeds quite alarmingly. i was almost prepared to jump off and have a good look for them, knowing that many owners are squeamish about things like that, but my horse doesnt do standing still, so i cudnt. neither owner actually made any attempt to look in the dogs mouth, the woman was just holding the end of the lead in the air, complaining. she cud see my horse wasnt gonna stand much longer, so i asked is the dog ok, i need to get going. they didnt reply, so i just left.

now i know that if they had wanted to cause a fuss, the going would be on my side. my horse was under control and the dog was totally out of control and out of sight of the owners. they must have seen me a long time before i saw them, when i was cantering along the side of this field. but i do feel sorry for the dog as its not his fault. i have visions that it might have a broken jaw or lost teeth or something. altho i'm sure if it had caught a good kick it wud've yelped and ran off.

what would happen over insurance etc if my horse did actually injure an out of control dog? there are so many dog owners in my area that just let their dogs run about madly. it bothers me when i'm walking my own dog and have my kids with me. i wudnt think twice about kicking a dog if it came up to my kids like that. altho, as i run a dog grooming business in the area, i kinda have to be a tad careful!
 
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what would happen over insurance etc if my horse did actually injure an out of control dog?

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They would have to proof that you were at fault. I'd say they were lucky that you and your horse weren't hurt by their lack of control.
 
there have been a few similar posts like this recently... most of them think horse is not to blame...

my horse killed a dog once, the dog was off lead and out of control. the dog's owners (YO...!) tried to make me claim off my insurance. my insurance company told him to jog on...

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p.s. hope you're ok x
 
My dog barks at my horses in the feild but doesnt seem to bother with other horses when we see them on walks but she is a collie and very playful still even at the age of nine.
 
yeah, we're fine thx. my horse is quite sensible most the time and all to his credit he tolerated this dog to that extent. i have a thing about horses and dogs, i wont even take my dog out when i'm riding. many yrs ago at a riding school we were all jst setting off for a canter and the yard dogs who always came with us, saw a rabbit and darted infront of us. a little jack russell got killed instantly. i shall never forget it. the poor little thing flew through the air and landed covered in blood and dead behind us. i just wish people would be more sensible with dogs.
 
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i just wish people would be more sensible with dogs.


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I think it's about people appreciating that we can all enjoy our countryside together, but need to also respect each other in that space.
 
On public property a dog must be under control (not necessarily on a lead) at all times. They would not have a leg to stand on if they tried to claim off/sue you.
 
What a good horse you have! Very similar thing happened to me, except in my case the youngster I was on reached his panic threshold and exploded, and I hit the deck. Horse then bolted off up the road with the dog attached to its hocks and out of sight. Dog owner started getting abusive because it was apparently my fault that his dog had disappeared!!
 
If the dog was worrying livestock,it could be shot on the spot.A horse is technically not livestock but I would expect a court to consider that a dog is naturally a predator and must be kept under adequate control.
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Never mind the dog learning the hard way ,what if you had fallen off,do you think they would have stopped to give you their insurance details,if they even had any!!
 
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