Would you cover their vet bill?

[Inky1986]

Last week I was up the yard and one of the other owner's had her 2 dogs with her. Our yard does allow dogs on site as long as they are under control & well behaved.

Unfortunately one of them went too close to my gelding's back legs and was kicked and suffered a broken pelvis. Obviously I was mortified.

Fast forward a few days and the owner messaged me on Facebook saying her dog required an operation & subsequent PT (no insurance) and would I be able to pay half "as it was my horse's fault".

I haven't responded yet but I want to say no- it's a lot of money to fork out & my horse was safely tied up & minding his own business until then.

Am I being too tough? Would others agree to pay!?!

 

[scats]

Not a chance! If your horse was tied up and the owner of the dog allowed it to get close enough to be kicked, that’s their fault.

 

[ihatework]

Absolutely not I’m afraid.
This was completely on her, out of control dog and no insurance.

 

[Not_so_brave_anymore]

Absolutely not a chance.

Maybe your horse has now developed a fear of dogs, and needs some expensive therapy........

 

[Snow Falcon]

Nope. Her risk to take the dogs, her responsibility to keep them safe which she failed to do. Don't feel guilty or pressurised into helping her out.

 

[Red-1]

It's a no from me too, dog should not be near a horse that is tied up.

If the dog had spooked the horse and the horse was injured would she have covered your vets bill? I doubt it!

 

[CanteringCarrot]

Nope. She brought her dog to a yard where there are horses. This person knows that horses can kick.

Not your fault she has no insurance.

Not your fault she let her dog get so (inappropriately, IMO) close to a horse.

I don't know why people love to mix dogs and horses and think nothing can go wrong. My dog does come to the yard on occasion, mostly for walks on the trails there or swimming, and I am absolutely strict about her not going near any horses. If she did and got kicked, I would never imagine blaming the horse or owner and expecting some sort of financial assistance with the vet bills. I could never imagine doing that!

 

[brighteyes]

Tell her to offset it against the cost of the valuable lesson your horse taught her and her dog!

 

[Baywonder]

Not a chance - hell would freeze over first!

Just point out the yard rules to her again regarding dogs being allowed - as long as they are under control and well behaved.

 

[Cutgrass]

She's being terrifically unfair. You're not liable for this.

 

[Lipglosspukka]

No. Such a shame that's she's putting you in this position. It's very unfair.

 

[PinkvSantaboots]

No chance that is taking the p if you decide to let your dog off around horses unfortunately you take the risk they could get hurt end off, your horse was tied up and obviously felt threatened so kicked out that's what they do tell her to jog on.

The fact that she did it via Facebook would really piss me off what a cheek.

 

[Rowreach]

Not a mission.

 

[Trouper]

I am sure her vet bill will be horrendous - but that is what insurance is for. I would never keep a dog without insurance - not just for the vet bills - but for the 3rd party cover for the animal "causing" harm to others. I know that the yard is not deemed as a "public place" in terms of keeping a dog under control but the yard rules are an effective substitute and she should have been on watch. Your horse was unable to remove itself from the threat of the dog as he was tied up, so to kick out was his only recourse.

I realise that it may make for an uncomfortable atmosphere on the yard but you should not be paying for her mistakes.

 

[babymare]

It’s a definite no from me. Her dog was not under control so her bill. It’s very unfair that she has put you in this position. A firm polite “no” is needed.

 

[SAujla]

No, dog was loose and horse was protecting itself, also they should have insurance if they know the dog would be in situations like this where accidents can easily happen.

I'm in a slightly similar position in that my dog got kennel cough from another dog she meets regularly and who was coughing for several days last week, but owner said they thought it was a scratch in the dogs throat, was £80 vet bill and confirmed kennel cough (sorry for going off point)

 

[ownedbyaconnie]

Nope.

 

[throwawayaccount]

no, as a horse and dog owner she should know better than to let her dog run up behind horses legs.

what's the first thing thats instilled in us as a child....not to go behind the back end of a horse. same applies for keeping dogs under control..

no excuse.

 

[ycbm]

Snowballs in hell come to mind.

Poor dog to have such a stupid owner.

 

[Winters100]

What a sad situation, but I am afraid that I would not be paying any part of the bill. If I took a horse to a dog kennel and let it free I would not expect the dog owners to pay if it got bitten. I would also dispute her claim that it is your horse's 'fault' - he was following his instinct to protect himself from a perceived threat.

The reality is that the dog should not have been close enough to get kicked. Very sad, but it is the dog owner who made a mistake in this case, not you or your horse. As the owner of dogs who cannot be trusted around horses I have some sympathy, but as dog owners we have many solutions. On the very rare occasions that my dogs come to the yard they are on leashes or shut into a box, certainly nowhere near the back legs of a horse. The reality is that she was not in control of her dog, as if she had been it would not have been so close to your horse.

I suggest that you speak to her sympathetically and just explain that the horse was in the correct place, that any horse can kick, and that while you are very sorry that this occurred, you are not willing in the circumstances to contribute.

Edited to add that you may want to ask for the support of YO. I had a slightly similar situation a while back when another owner told me that my mare had "attacked" her dog. My horses were in the paddock, and it finally came out that her dog had been in the paddock chasing them and had got kicked. YO was very helpful in telling her that not only was I not liable for her vets bill, but that had one of my horses been injured then that cost would also have been on her. Thankfully she left the yard soon after.

 

[abbijay]

This drives me mad. You have followed the rules and done no wrong but now there is going to be one hell of an atmosphere because of her stupidity.
I believe my horses to be good around dogs and kids but I will always tell people that I can't guarantee they won't kick - because they are horses!
I used to be on a yard where an owner let her dog loose whenever he came up; apparently as a rescue he couldn't go on a lead this dog was very friendly but completely unaware of the horses - he would walk under their bellies and was once found in a stable with a known kicker (we used stable chains in good weather there). The problem was when asked to keep him under control or away from horses she just said "oh he's fine with horses" but had my horse reacted I know the expectation would have been that it was my fault. Interestingly this same owner's horse kicked a friend's horse and broke its leg. Strangely she didn't think that was her responsibility.
Definitely not your problem but expect her to make your life difficult as a result of you not paying for her stupidity.

 

[BeckyFlowers]

Not a chance. As per what the others have said, but also your horse was where he was supposed to be - on a livery yard, the purpose of which is to keep horses. The purpose of a livery yard is not a dog exercise area. If you took your horse into a dog exercise pen or a kennel without invitation and it booted a dog then you would be responsible. But that is not the case. Sad for the dog.

 

[milliepops]

another no from me.

several years ago someone had a young puppy loose on the yard where i kept my horse at the time, really really young. it was just scampering around and as my horse and I arrived back onto the yard from a hack it ran round the corner and went under my horse's feet, how on earth it wasn't killed immediately i will never know. I was furious rather than guilty because it was so irresponsible letting a pup that young with no idea of how to keep itself safe to just roam free.

we all know how dangerous horses can be, it's not your responsibility to pay for their error. if it was that close to your horse the dog wasn't under control, was it.

 

[Roasted Chestnuts]

Nope. As sad as I would feel I wouldn’t be giving her a penny. If you don’t insure your animals and you don’t have a back up plan then that’s your look out I’m afraid. It’s not up to people to pay for your conciliatory choices.

 

[Ample Prosecco]

No. Totally agree with everyone else. This was 100% not you or your horse’s fault and it is definitely not your responsibility to pay for the owner’s mistakes.

 

[Bearsmum]

Another no from me, I take my dog up the yard, but if there are ANY horses out of their boxes he is kept on his lead as not trust worthy & would probably get under their feet, her dog, her responsibility end of

 

[Upthecreek]

We get so many dogs at our yard, sometimes there are almost as many dogs there as horses. Some idiots bring their puppies to ‘socialise’ them, which unfortunately usually means letting them run around unsupervised and leaving them to their own devices the minute they arrive at the yard. There have been a few accidents; a Jack Russell puppy got trod on and killed a few years ago. It was so tiny I don’t think the horse even knew it was there. Also a couple dogs have been hit by cars. People still don’t learn. And don’t get me started on the dog sh*t that owners fail to pick up ?

At the end of the day the owner is (or should be) responsible for keeping their pet safe. I definitely don’t think OP should contribute to the vet bill.

 

[BeckyFlowers]

Crowdfunding for vet bills, with compo face and major sob story, in 5, 4, 3, 2, 1...

 

[Inky1986]

Thank you all- it’s a relief to see everyone on the same page. Of course I feel sorry for the poor dog but then again I always have my animals insured.

At the risk of losing a hacking buddy I will sympathetically decline!

 

[rabatsa]

Another no way from me.