Anyone want to have a go at explaining this truly weird behaviour?

[TooManyAnimals94]

I was out on my horse this morning and a woman came out onto the path from a gateway just ahead of me with her dog on a lead. She definitely saw me as she came out of the gate (important later).

As a horse moves a bit faster than a person we became level at a fork in the path and it turned out we were both going the same way. She pulled the dog in close and I assumed she was going to let me pass, was all ready to say "Thank you" and carry on ahead of her.

But it turns out she was letting the dog off the lead, then stepped almost in front of us and threw a tennis ball for the dog so he ran across the path in front of my horse. I stood still for a second then walked on again but she proceeded to walk in the middle of the path with the dog just ahead of her.

It's a track I normally trot down so, ignoring the rudeness from her said "Would you mind if I pass?"

She mumbled something I couldn't hear then started jogging, I presumed to catch up with the dog and put him on his lead but no, she proceeds to jog in front of me down the path, dog still loose.

I thought sod this, it's the only decent bit of ground before the road so I'll trot anyway but it must have looked like I was chasing this woman, it was so weird. She then ducked down a footpath and I carried on. No chance to really call out and ask why she did what she did.

She wasn't dressed for jogging either so I don't think it was planned.

I know this makes me sound really petty but it was such a bizarre reaction!

Any suggestions or other weirdness to report?

Either she was being passive aggressive or she was doing what a lot of people do I.e. floating through life in her own little bubble neither noticing nor caring about anyone else. Why those of us that aren’t like that have to keep an eye on these people, especially when we are on horses!

We have a dog and always let horses pass.I would assume she is either an idiot,or maybe a new dog owner/looking after dog for someone,Either way what she did is very dangerous

Hummm
She would have been a little upset if the horse stomped her and her dog

OP she made very odd choices

All well and good, but it’s more of a case of the horse being desensitised to running excited dogs.
when Threatened, I’d not give dog much chances in a long fight of coming out well, nor the horse

I'm quite enjoying the thought of her breaking into a jog. Not because she intended to go for a jog but purely because she'd already been a twat and had to style it out as intentional.

I can confirm it looked exactly as you imagine.

I didn't say I agreed with the idea - but it's the sort of stuff you see online 'Give your dog a distraction, a game with a ball, or give obedience commands for him to focus on while off-leash in the presence of the horse' for people who own both animals.

Whilst it's pretty bloody stupid to assume that the horse will be perfectly fine about becoming an unscheduled training opportunity when these are animals who can lose their shit because there's a leaf out of place on a tree compared to yesterday and she won't end up with a dog carrying a shoe shaped dent in its ribs, it's a possible explanation for why she was doing it.

Is it a bridlepath or is it a footpath that you've taken to using?

That's what riders do around here. Ignore the early marked bridlepaths and canter along the footpaths throwing up divots and expecting walkers and dog-walkers and kids to scatter politely for them.

You like to think people would have the sense not to throw the distraction into the path of the animal their dog is meant to be avoiding 😂
Luckily my mum's dog is ball obsessed so horse is quite used to it, but as you say, she's more than capable of having a paddy at a pigeon and shooting forward onto the dog.

I walk my dog in the countryside and for 99% of the time most of us rub alongside each other just fine (walkers, dog walkers, horse riders and cyclists).

My dog is horse proof but always pull him aside for anyone riding one as I don't want to risk their horse being spooked by my dog.

I do see the 1% though that are usually tourists who decide they don't have to give way for anyone.

Well obviously her doggy is speshul.

Obviously has no idea that a horse can easily kill a dog with one kick if it has a mind to.

The OP has advised it was a bridlepath and she doesn't ride on footpaths.

As stated, it's a bridlepath, actually a byway until I got to the fork so open to all.

And I don't expect walkers to 'scatter'. I was moving faster so asked to go past, ironically because I thought it would be rude to trot past her, but she rudely chose to use the whole path.

She lacks sensibleness.