Horse and dog incident this morning

[DrHildegardeLanstrom]

Had quite a scary experience on our morning walk this morning.
My dog and I have crossed this field and the others with horses on many times and have never had any incidents. I have been around horses all my life and understand how they can be inquisitive. My dog is under full control on a short lead and is well behaved around horses.

This morning he was with me on a short lead as normal, and my DD was with me. The field had several horses, all grazing at the bottom of the field well away from the footpath route. As we got halfway across, two trotted over and reached us in no time.
One came up and sniffed my dog very close, which scared him so he barked. The horse instantly turned around and kicked him, luckily a glancing hit which appears to have done no damage.
We turned around straight away however the horse kept trying to kick us (I really thought I was going to be kicked) and was blocking our path. My DD was very scared, so I sent her to run back to the gate and managed to get there myself despite being pursued by the horses.

There is no damage done, however I have never experienced such a thing in 30 years of horse experience. The horse clearly felt threatened by us being there and came across the field.

AIBU to email the yard and make them aware?

Assuming you were on the route of the public footpath, then report the incident in writing to your Council's Public Rights of Way officer, explaining the fact you felt in danger, that the horse has dangerous characteristics and saying that the route is now obstructed due to the danger that the horse presents. Ask the Council to notify the owner of their liability under Animals Act 1971 and ask them to inform you what action they have taken.

Of course it does. Some of our native breeds of pony go back to almost primitive times. Even the New Forest ponies (a relatively modern breed) vastly predate its origin in 1079 as a hunting ground with remains of ponies from 500,000 BC being found in the area.

Sorry but horses were on this land long before you had any right to walk over it!

That’s why I don’t put my horses in our field with the footpath across the middle unless it’s overnight when there aren’t walkers, and I fence any footpath that can off from the field.

It’s just some of the (I presume horse owners) on this thread really don’t understand the way a right of way works and think their horse trumps everything- it doesn’t. Pic of one of our footpaths.

@OldSpeclkledHen no one's ever noticed it before!

Sorry, the tagging of posters in my posts doesn't seem to be working but I think if anyone reads the thread they can work out who I was responding to in each post.

This.

Definitely report it to the yard. This happened to me and my dog. Horses can be very unpredictable and it could of course serious harm. Too often owners are blamed in such instances.

One of my horses would absolutely do this, my children aren't allowed in his field abd we keep the dogs out too. He'd chase the dogs and lash out with his front legs. I'd never put him in a field with a footpath. That said, I've owned and worked with many horses over the years and there aren't many that I would put in this sort if field

There’s a well used footpath next to our village school that has horses in it. I dislike horses but am familiar with etiquette having grown up in the country.
the horses kept blocking the gates and not allowing people in and getting close to people. They started ‘nudging’ people and then mugged a mother of her carrier bag when she was walking with young children. The field is now being fenced as @Honeyroar but it’s taken a few years.
what I found frustrating was lots of people on local groups saying the horses weren’t aggressive and if they’d want to hurt you you’d have known about it 🙄if you aren’t familiar with horses being nudged and having you way blocked and bags stolen feels pretty threatening.

Public footpath, horse needs to be moved.

The dog was barking at the horse. That is aggression 🙄

Read the thread. The dog barked because the horse came over and sniffed it - therefore the horse caused the incident. And rolling your eyes doesn’t make your point look less stupid.

@DrHildegardeLanstrom

For someone with "30 years of experience around horses" and having "been around horses all my life" and yet when it comes to cattle you are "scared of them", I am uncomfortable with your thread.

Horses and cattle are really quite docile because humans control them. But you know that.

And horses as you know, having been around them for so long, would respond to your aids when on the ground. You would know these aids, such as voice and posture.

I call bullshit really. Do you have an issue with the landowner, the tenant or your near neighbour? You mention the council and I wonder if there is a planning issue here, either for you or the landowner.

It sounds just too familiar.

People on AIBU are always bloody mean and keep trying to find secret non-existent clues at deception in the OP's posts rather than just read them properly.

OP - I own both a horse and a dog and I completely believe that you were put in a terrifying position. Horses can be completely unpredictable. How big is your dog? Ours is small and even a glancing kick would cause a lot of damage. I guess if your fog is a bigger sturdier breed it may not have affected it as badly.

He's a medium sized dog. I had him checked today and vet says he seems fine. He's certainly his normal self.
DD told her riding instructor tonight about what happened and she suggested maybe there was an in foal mare in the group.
I haven't heard from the yard, will
contact the council on Monday about my planning application if I haven't heard from them by then

🤣 @ planning application

Glad your dog, daughter and you are all ok. Very lucky escape!

At this time, your local council most certainly have the expertise, resource and budget to devote to your issue @DrHildegardeLanstrom You are Legion.

Crack on and good luck with the planning app.

Drip feed - I work for a council

I'm pretty sure nobody who actually has genuine horse experience thinks this is bullshit. We all know people who've been injured in fields and stables by their own horses acting unpredictably, let alone other people with strange horses. I know of two incidents similar to the OPs where the dog was killed and one where the dog walker was injured - and that's just yards I've worked on / horses I've known other than my own. In none of those cases was there a mare and foal in the field, they were all single sex herds and were probably just a result of one bored horse / disrupted herd dynamics. And there are a depressing number of horses out there with absolutely no ground manners who wouldn't respond to cues to back off even from an experienced handler...

Horses should be in circuses really. That'll teach them.

Early cues you can give to horses when walking unencumbered through their field differ vastly from what I was able to give when walking briskly holding a dog on a short lead in one hand and DD holding my other hand. And then before I knew it they were there in front of me and it was happening

My view is that all animals can be unpredictable, just as humans can. Even the most well-balance human can have a bad day and be a bit 'snappy''. If we had 4 legs with hooves who knows what any of us might do on a bad day.

I'd go again without your dd and see what happens. Just because the land is Council-owned doesn't make it a public space, the Stables pay rent to use it creating income for the Council; as you work for a Council you already know that don't you?

Yes I can see that would be inconvenient. Your options are:

1. Hold DD under one arm and hold DD under the other arm (Daughter and Dog) so they are off the floor and close to you puffing that chest out so the horse will be scared and run off.
2. Use your newly-disclosed powers as an employed member of your local council to have the horse constrained in some way, which though impossible under law (as you know) will allow you to continue this thread.
3. Collude with your colleague in planning to let a national developer develop your land and kick the local riding school off.
4. Respond and continue to drip feed.

😀

I don’t know. I’ve always lived in london and would never knowingly go in a field with a horse - public footpath or no public footpath! All I know is that it sounds bloody terrifying, hope you DD and dog are all ok.