What happened here? Settle a squabble ?

[poiuytrewq]

This happened a few years ago now but came up again recently and again OH laughed and told me not to be so stupid about it.

It was the middle of winter and the electric company had dug a trench across my gateway meaning I couldn’t turn out at all. After a few days I decided to take my big old horse who was looking decidedly bored on a dog walk and for a pick of grass. He was (usually) a saint so off we went, him in a head collar and old collie running ahead.
We went into a grass field and he had grass while I threw her ball for a bit.. all fine. Then a few horses came trotting quite fast and loudly down the road past the field. Old horse just completely lost his mind ( really unlike him, I’d never take a horse out and about in a head collar unless I was certain I had complete control)
He was rearing over and over bolt upright and striking out at me, he was 16.2 so quite a beast on his hind legs! Now I’m fairly used to horses being difficult to lead in my work but this time I had that yuck feeling it wasn’t going to end well. The lashing out was getting closer and I remember thinking one more time and he’s got me over the head, up he went and from nowhere came old collie who jumped at his back leg and bit him. He spun round and missed me totally (got loose and galloped home)
I honestly think she saved me. Wether it was intentional or luck I have no idea but I kind of think she knew what she was doing. OH says she was being a cow and I should have told her off for biting the horse ( he was completely unhurt) She isn’t a biter and has never before or since tried to bite anything.
She also once held off a deer who was getting seriously crabby at me for being near her baby, I think!

 

[Roxylola]

Well, my aunt's dog once nipped her leg apparently because she went to grab something off toddler me. So they certainly can seem to be protective of people.
However she also used to nip at peoples ankles especially children if I had friends round playing so equally a somewhat revved up collie going for legs doesn't surprise me either

 

[EllenJay]

She was protecting you

 

[smolmaus]

If she's never done if before or since I think it's quite silly to say the dog wasn't tying to do something specific in reaction to what was happening. Whether that was as clear a thought as "if I distract this idiot horse mum will be safer" or as simple as "AHH this is weird and scary, collie instinct says nip it in the arse" I suppose you can't really say for sure. She's still a good dog tho doing what she was bred to do and she did save you!

A different dog might have had the instinct to get between you and the horse, being more obviously "protective" from a human point of view, but that could go similarly "well" or also very badly which is where the luck comes into it.

 

[Bellasophia]

She was protecting you

I agree.

 

[Pearlsacarolsinger]

I agree.

Me too!


What on earth was the electric company doing and why did you let them block your way?

 

[AmyMay]

Yep, she was protecting you. Absolutely the type of reaction I’d expect from a collie.

 

[rabatsa]

I have known a collie go for a bull that had knocked over a farmer, he reckons that she saved his life that day.

 

[PapaverFollis]

Collies can be so sensitive and are natural policeman for bad behaviour in other creatures in my experience. I'm not sure I'd go for a conscious choice to protect but she was certainly telling horse off for being an idiot!

 

[dogatemysalad]

She was protecting you.
My collie who was my absolute soul mate once nipped the back of my ankle. A staffie had got into our garden and launched a severe attack on our terrier. I was covered in blood, the fight was to the death. OH was outside trying to ram a pair of wooden ladders over the staffies head, who was locked on and nothing we could do, would stop this dog.
My collie was desperate to get outside and defend our terrier and I tried to block him by shutting the door. My dear boy bit my ankles as he tried to get out and save her.
We did manage to rescue her. She was bloodied and in shock but recovered well. The staffie must have had a head made of concrete, she was absolutely fine.

 

[Goldenstar]

She was protecting you .

 

[Clodagh]

Didn't Shadow the sheepdog (I know Enid Blyton should not be read nowadays but this was years ago - although I still have it) save someone from an escaped bull? And Lad? (American book about a collie). There you go - fiction is based on truth.

 

[AmyMay]

deleted

 

[poiuytrewq]

Ah ?
She’s a funny old stick but I always thought she was protecting me, OH thinks I’m insane ?

@Pearlsasinger, it was just a disaster, when we moved to the farm with my partners job it was found something was dangerously close to the house and it all had to be redone. Plan was to do it in the summer, when I had access to other grazing but it kept getting postponed and then one day they showed up mid February with a days notice. Totally out of my hands but believe me I made my feelings very known!
After that incident they put bog boards down because as you can imagine the mess even after filling the trench in a horse winter gateway was horrific. We have since also put in an extra gate just incase ?

 

[Lipglosspukka]

I had a collie who would bite at the horses if I raised my voice at them, so I quite believe your collie was protecting you.

 

[Archangel]

Protecting you. Clever dog.

 

[Keith_Beef]

My dog, border collie crossed with a sheltie, used to have a really hard time when there was a family argument, like he couldn't decide whom to protect. He would stand between two people and bark at each in turn.

 

[TheOldTrout]

Definitely trying to protect you

 

[zandp]

My deaf dog always barks at men when I'm walking him, but never when my OH does, I think he's protecting me.

 

[windand rain]

Our lab woouldnt dream of biting anyone but if OH or sons grab at the grandkids even in fun she takes their arm into her mouth and holds it away from the child.

 

[poiuytrewq]

It’s nice to think she was helping me out, of course if I think that way I also have to think my lovely old horse was out to get me ?‍
Both is how it seemed that day!

 

[brighteyes]

Ours tries to get a crafty nip in if the action ramps up. I'd say that's what they do if things aren't going what they perceive to be right as it's all they know? I didn't think they were an outwardly protective breed. I'd call ours obsessive and a bit sneaky with a fixation on stalking stuff. We haven't had her since puppyhood, though.

 

[maisie06]

Didn't Shadow the sheepdog (I know Enid Blyton should not be read nowadays but this was years ago - although I still have it) save someone from an escaped bull? And Lad? (American book about a collie). There you go - fiction is based on truth.

That staffie wouldn't have got out of my garden alive.....

 

[fiwen30]

Definitely sounds like protection, but with an overlay of collie-instinct to go for the legs of something - hope the horse was ok!

Interesting to imagine how other working/stock-handling breeds might’ve reacted - how some dogs put themselves between the danger, others would fight, and others would try to run it off. Saw a video the other week of a man who was stalked and attacked by a mountain lion. He was stuck underneath it, until his Belgian Malinois, I think, barrelled into it and fought it off. The dog had been trained in protection work, but never in a million years did the man think or expect that it would take on a mountain lion of it’s own accord. Dog survived too, somehow! We truly do not deserve dogs.

 

[MrsMozartleto]

As others have said, oh so definitely protecting you!

Glad everything worked out at least comparatively okay.

 

[DSB]

We were having trouble with a yearling one day,just would not go back into her stable,bum rope.broom and hose on high pressure,no use at all.So i went and got one of the cattle dogs,a quick"get in there",swift bite dog dropped to avoid the kick,horse went into stable.

 

[AmyMay]

We were having trouble with a yearling one day,just would not go back into her stable,bum rope.broom and hose on high pressure,no use at all.So i went and got one of the cattle dogs,a quick"get in there",swift bite dog dropped to avoid the kick,horse went into stable.

?. I wouldn’t have gone in my stable either, with all that going on ?

 

[poiuytrewq]

I just read someone’s comments hoping the horse was ok! Can’t find it now to quote but yes absolutely fine. There was no mark at all. I was more concerned about the flat out down the road loose back home part of it at the time ?
He lived a further few years and I lost him last spring. He never put a foot wrong again, the whole thing was just incredibly not him.