Right of Way, Horse & Dog

[Beastiee]

I'll try to keep this short.

I've got a dog, he's always on a lead when we're out. I live rurally, the field next to my garden is the only route to reach any public footpaths to walk my dog. The field has a public right of way across it as it's on a designated national trail.

It's owned by a neighbour who has just put a horse on the land. My dog has no reaction whatsoever to horses, he ignores all livestock. The horse he's put on the field is clearly agitated by my dog, as I try to walk across the field (I pick my time, when the horse is the furthest away) the horse will run up and sniff at the dog's back end and sort of push him, I'm assuming this is a warning of 'get away'.

Again, my dog ignores totally as I swiftly walk across the field, but the horse will follow and keep pushing him until we're out the gate. It's happened twice now.

Obviously I don't want the dog, or me, to get kicked/attacked by the horse so I can't walk across the field again to risk it - would I be unreasonable to tell the owner his horse is causing an issue? Neighbour has form for being difficult.

I’m surprised the owner hasn’t fenced off the field so the horse can’t get to the public footpath. So many people feed horses all sorts of crap and many horses have died from this so I would never let my horse be around the public and especially not around unknown dogs.
But saying that horses shouldn’t be kept alone either as they are herd animals so the poor thing is probably desperate for company.

Not sure you can do anything other than what you are doing op.

That's not what the law says.

Landowners do have to keep rights of way clear - but that doesn't have nothing to do with their right keep horses and other types of livestock on their own land.

Is the dog small enough to carry?
Also, maybe mention it to the owner and ask if there’s any treats you can give to the horse to help neddy understand you and the dog aren’t a threat?

Never ever feed horses you don't own! This is dangerous advice.
First of all it can lead to food aggression and make the situation worse and secondly you don't know if the horse is on a restricted or special diet.

Noooo.

Feeding it is about the worst thing you can do - horses can get really aggressive if they think there's food available. OP would be putting herself in a lot of danger if she was to do this - and no sane owner would give permission either!

That's terrible advice , you should never feed horses you don't own and even if you asked the owner (who would say no anyway almost certainly) freedom a horse treats would only ensure they are super interested in you and would hound you every single time.

Reiterating what other sensible posters have said re food.

People feeding equines is a nightmare for owners, but unwittingly becomes a PITA for walkers too (and then owners!).

I have friends who kept a pair of donkeys in a small field (their land), that had a footpath going through the middle.

So many bloody walkers fed them that they became a nuisance- following and trying to frisk people for snacks. In the end there were complaints to the council and the donkeys weren’t allowed out there any more. A real pain as the path was right down the middle and the field too small to split, so the field/paddock now stands empty and the donkeys have been moved elsewhere. If walkers hadn’t fed them there’d never have been a problem.

A lot of silliness has been posted. I have for years walked over open pasture which may occasionally have a horse in it, and have done so with dogs. The process is, put dog on lead, enter field & walk purposefully, ignoring horse. It may approach as horses are naturally curious & also associate people with food. If it gets really close, just raise arm ( you are holding dog) and wave at horse, who will then probably back off & lose interest.( Not easy to explain, but basically wave the horse away, somewhat easier with two arms)
After you have crossed the field a few times, horse will get the message that you have no food & aren’t very interesting.
Cows are a different story.
Your welcome

No he (or she, i can't remember seeing the sex of the owner) is not! Lots of people have posted the regulations.

You can not keep an animal known to be dangerous in a field with a public right of way. And that includes dangerous to dogs, as they were considered a reasonable expectation to be on a right of way.

So, if you own a field with a PROW then you aren't entitled to keep whatever you want on the land.

A horse walking up to someone isn't dangerous though. The horse isn't showing aggressive behaviour

OP just needs to persevere. Horse will get used to her & dog & will then ignore

@OhBeAFineGuyKissMe you're incorrect - there's nothing wrong with keeping a horse on public land.

The law doesn't consider them dangerous to humans - alongside goats, sheep, cows and working dogs.

The only exception would be if this horse had previously been reported as dangerous and someone went on to get injured. The farmer would then be liable as he should have taken steps to keep the public safe.

He doesn't need to do that unless the animal has been reported though. Keeping horses in public fields is absolutely fine.

Can your dog be picked up and carried across the field?

Can you walk out your own driveway and down the pavement?
we have similar here but with cows, we have right of way but I personally choose not to most of the time and walk a different path as some of the cows are huge.
Dogs can frighten livestock and humans for that matter, even if they look calm, I guess either the horse is inquisitive or maybe feels threatened.

Which is why I was replying to the person who says her horse stamps on dogs! Most horses are fine, her’s would not be. It is a known risk. You are not entitled to put anything you want into a field with a right of way, if you know the animal responds badly or is a known aggressive breed (I think, but not sure, that friesian cows can’t) then you can’t pop then into that field.

In this case the horse is new and inquisitive and the OP has received good advise on how to continue to use the path and interact with the horse.

I’d be quite worried about the dog getting too close to the horse‘s back / hind limbs tbh.

Is the horse out all on its own? It’s probably lonely and is showing friendly interest in the dog for company. It’s still scary though when a horse runs at you in a field.

Which I have read but I'm not sure you have. A horse (my area of knowledge) is not 'dangerous' according to the regs. When I said 'whatever', I didn't mean a bull, lion, tiger etc.

Im suprised the horse owner hasnt taken steps themselves to put up a fence? If the horse is following people it may be being fed by walkers which in itself can be dangerous. I would personally have a word with the owner and see if they will put up a fence. If not i would avoid the field for the safety of my dog and myself. I kick from a horse can be fatal. It might be your regular dog walk but i would find somewhere else. We used to have comes in a field with a public path through it. If the cows were out i would never take my dog through. Things can escalate quickly its not worth the risk

Not most horses but your horse should not be in a field with a public right of way. It is a known risk as it stamps on dogs and walkers can be expected to have a dog with them and so could very easily get hurt.

Given you have taken precautions with your horse I am not saying you would, but it has to be taken into account.

No ROWs in the field where my horse was kept, plus he is now dead.

Perfectly fine ROW come lane between 2 fenced off fields but some walker thought he could go where he liked. Wasn't pretty when all the geldings stampeded him, he sprinted for the fence, threw his dog over and swiftly followed. Animals aren't robots, one day they'd be fine with strangers in their field, other days, not so much.

I said that my horse stamps on dogs. She isn't kept on a public ROW though.

It’s a public right of way not a dog right of way.

Just to update.

I decided the risk was too high to walk through again; with hindsight, the 'feeling' I had from the horse wasn't good. I also decided to work myself up to contacting the owner to have a chat.

But I happened to have contact with him while out- (small village...) he bought up the horse and was saying he's going to put another in the field - I asked if he thought both horses would be okay with dogs walking through, as the one there now followed me and showed interest. I asked if he had any advice for staying safe and not upsetting the horse.

He was surprisingly concerned about this, so much so, he suggested we meet there so he could see the horse's behaviour. The horse was just as inquisitive this time, but more so - owner was not happy and said the horse was agitated and its behaviour could escalate.

He doesn't want an incident to happen so the horse has gone. Very pleased to have my route back, thank you for the replies and advice.

That’s a great outcome. Enjoy the safe walks.