Bright white fluffy dog- how do I stop frightening horses?

[Newfluff]

I have a large very fluffy and very white dog. He is well trained and is at heel/sat whenever we meet horses. He does not bark or interact.

We've had a few issues with horses spooking when seeing him, if the horse seems spooked I stop, put him in sit and wait for the horse to pass.

Today a horse rider shouted that I needed to learn how to pass horses, so I am here asking.

I step to the side of the road, dog sat at heel, I couldn't get further away as ground off road is bog and I don't see this as a reasonable option. Rider said that my dog was spooking her horse.

Is there anything I can do to stop this? I don't want to spook horses but I can't walk elsewhere and these are rural roads/bridleways.

Thanks.

The highway code applies to all bridleways in England though.

I don't understand why a responsible owner with a highly trained dog would consider it okay to not abide by it.

Carry a lead with you & pop it on if needed to avoid causing fear or distress to other users.

Some horse riders are rude, some aren't same with dog owners, cyclists, parents etc but it's everyone's responsibility to share the paths safely. Do what you can to follow the rules, be polite, say hello , thank you etc that's all any of us can do.

Sorry missed this.

The other thing with horses is to give a cheery “good morning/afternoon” to the rider (horse) as they get near. I have an odd looking bike which freaks horses out but I find if I start talking the horse at least computes that part of what they’re seeing is a person and sounds friendly. Riders have told me they appreciate this and it helps.

You may not have common access land near you but you should have your dog on a lead on bridleways anyway as per the Highway Code.

I am a horse rider and thank you for your consideration.

You are doing nothing wrong, sometimes horses do spook, it often improves with exposure.

It sounds like she was nervous, which can feed back to the horse and make them spookier. As a herd animal they take confidence from their rider. Never the less she was rude. I hope it doesn't reflect on the rest of us who would be really greatful of how considerate you are.

No. They need to be under control.
https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/the-countryside-code/the-countryside-code-advice-for-countryside-visitors

It is weird how fixated you have become about this.

Not at all, (certainly less rude than MN users) I understand fear is part of it and I do honestly want to make it easier for horse riders.

Walking on rather than stopping (which I've done with non white dogs for years) seems to help.

You are mixing up the countryside code with the highway code.

If you are on a bridleway then it's the highway code.

Horse riders are fixated on the highway code because we've all had near misses or accidents & many of us will know of serious accidents resulting in loss of life of a horse or even rider.

Sadly @Newfluff

The Highway Code also says that dogs should be kept on a short lead along roads and on paths shared with horse riders or cyclists (rule 56)

https://www.bluecross.org.uk/advice/dog/wellbeing-and-care/dog-laws-uk

You know your dog is under control, but the horse rider doesn't. They may well have met other owners and their off lead dogs and were told 'don't worry, he's friendly!' when they weren't. I think nervous riders make for nervous horses too, so best for everyone to know where they are.

I am a dog owner who walks their dog every where they can off lead, but currently having to keep her on most places due to deafness and now inability to recall like before.

I know . . .

No, @Newfluff - that's not the case. You're not quoting the correct bit of legislation.

I'm also curious why you're constantly picking at me when virtually every single other person in saying exactly the same thing as I am 🤷‍♀️