Loose dogs on bridlepaths >: (

Tally.

Tally.

Active Member
Oct 21, 2007
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South London/Surrey
I may be wrong but i didnt think dogs were allowed to be off the lead when on a bridle path? and i certainly think a dog that cannot be controlled by its owner should be allowed on one. :mad:

Ill tell you for why.

I went out with the RS on a hack yesterday, we went along a bridlepath and there was a woman with a bull mastiff x and some small rat like creature, which were not on leads but she held onto them as we passed. we all said thank you and carried on, we a had a little trot and about 5mins later this mastiff appeared from behind out of nowhere and barked and tried to bite the ankles of horse at the back. this then made 8 horses (including the RIs) all bolt forwards along a narrow path with a steep drop on one side untill we could get them under control. The dog ran off and the owner was nowhere to be seen. :mad:

We had already had a near miss earlier in the ride when one of the horses went down this steep bank in canter and when it came back up sent my horse into a few strides of gallop. but it certainly wasnt a boring ride :D
 
Yes, the owner should have control of them... It's a shame your hack was distributed because someone can't keep control of their dogs. My pet hate is any dog off a lead in a public area (i.e not a park or big open space where they can run). I always think - Leads are there for a reason, there's nothing to stop that dog running under a bus or going into someones house (if the door was open, lol) or attacking someone. It's just irresponsible.
 
Tis the only thing I'm scared of whilst riding Stumpy - and that's dogs. And I'm a dog lover myself, but Stumpy is not!

I would never dream of letting my usually out of control spaniel off the lead in normal situations, let alone with a hoss nearby!
 
I have rotweillers if they are out they sometimes run along side the arena barking when im loose schooling (never when im riding which is strange) they never usually go in but yesterday one did the tried to bite the horses heels but got a kick in the head and ran off crying! When he was out today he lay at the side of the area and just watched! He'd obviously been taught a very big lesson!

If a dog is stupid enough to try and bite a horse it deserves a kick to teach it a lesson! (I really am a dog lover...honest but they can be very hazardous around horses)
 
I hack out alot by myself, on one of the bridalways there are two houses, both with two black labrodors. The first house always has the dogs locked up in the garden and they just lie there sunbathing. The second house the dogs are really loud and I have had them run out into the bridalway barking at my share pony. Thankfully I have managed to keep him relatively sane.

I am a dog lover though and have my own staffordshrie bull terrier. When I have taken her to the yard she has been in awe of the horses and keeps a distance from them. If she is stuck in the middle of them she starts shaking bless her.

I would agree that some dogs who are likely to cause havoc, are known to chase after animals i.e horses , should be kept on a lead. However I know that my dog is under control when I take her out and would always keep a distance from anything I told her too. :p
 
Dogs are meant to be kept "on a short lead when walking on the pavement, road or path shared with cyclists or horse riders" in the UK.

I have a scatty spaniel who's lead always goes on when we're coming up to other people, dogs, horses, cyclists.... regardless of where we are, just in case. Having said that though, in my (admittedly limited!) experience of hacking, loose noisy dogs in gardens are worse than ones out for a walk.

Chickflick...... if your spaniel is a black cocker too, we need to start worrying, lol!
 
OK my hands are up and i will appologise now...Sorry. I am one of those people. I hardly have my dog on a lead. Yes he is on a lead going down roads etc but on bridle paths, fields (unless cattle/sheep are in it), woods he is off. I will say in my response, he is a well manered, fully trained gun dog. I know dogs are all unpredictable but i have faith that he will not even touch another dog / yet alone horse unless i said so. He'll sit there and wait for a command off me...and only me. I know i have alot of control over my dog which and as he works i need that control. This is the only reason why i trust him off a lead.

I am however a horserider too - (obviously) and we do have some lovely woods near home with a fantastic gallops (bridlepath) through it. I have been frustrated at people going down that path. And yes, my gob has taken over a few times!! But its as if some walkers ae blind and/or stupid. They will walk up the bridle path in the middle and prtend they haven't seen / heard you and you have to ask them to move / hold onto their dog etc. So i can say yes, it is annoying and wrong and they should at least use there common sense.

Jo
 
I don't think there's any call for badly behaved maladjusted dogs, or for draconian leash-laws. simple liability works just fine. You let your dog off the lead, you take the consequences. This type of attitude

If a dog is stupid enough to try and bite a horse it deserves a kick to teach it a lesson! (I really am a dog lover...honest but they can be very hazardous around horses)
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to me is the height of irresponsibility. Sure, the dog 'deserves' to get kicked - but - my primary concern wasn't the morality of poor little rottweiler getting hurt, you know ? My primary concern at the time was my horse not rearing up and hurting the guy in the car who was the innocent bystander in all this when the rottweiler was attached to my horse's heels.

And no, my horse doesn't kick. I don't know why, and I don't know how to safely train him to.

But I do know how to train him to move forward and away from gunfire, and I do have a handgun. So, let your cutesy doggies roam by all means, and well-trained gundogs, and Travis' good boxer dog, and Rocky, the well-adjusted rottweiler that roams free around that trailer at the end there, we'll all be fine with each other, heck most days we'll all ride out together.

As for that old renegade that likes to chase and bite heels, well, start digging.
 
I once almost came off Molly when a dog on a bridleway (not on lead) attacked her. Ran under her feet, she went up in the air, and managed to kick dog as well, but I almost came off onto bone hard chalk ground in summer, would probably have broken something. I was upset that the poor bloody dog got kicked - she just missed his eye - all because his stupid owner didn't have any control over him.

We have been chased on bridleways many times by packs of dogs running out of control - out of sight of owner. Plus one time three dogs came into our field (which was fairly close to a bridleway) and chased my poor racehorse who was recovering from being all jarred up and was doing physio three times a day - galloping up and down the hill on hard ground with three labradors running after him undid most of the benefit of the physio. Their owners were having a Sunday afternoon stroll and again oblivious to the havoc their muts were causing.

What really annoys me is when you ask, politely, for them to control their animal you get abuse in return. I do not believe I have 100% control of my horse at all times (i don't think that is possible given the size and unpredictability of horses) but i have pretty good control of her, but having a dog under her feet then what can you do?
 
It is so frustrating when dog owners don't keep control of the animals.

I'm a dog owner and always call back my dog or put it on it's lead should we see or come near horses, although I know my dog would never go near one as they petrify her and I like it that way.

Some people I know happily let there dog chase horses whether in a field grazing or being ridden it infuriates me and no matter what you say they just ignore you - I will no longer walk with them!

At least your horses didn't strike out I know mine would of she has very low tolerance levels of things yapping near her legs and has no hesitation of kicking out at dogs, she's done it many times with me.

At least you all got back safe and sound :)
 
i had ago at my friends husband for this and told him to get one of those extendable leads that give the dog a bit of running space put they are still on the end of a lead
we have a nice bridle path at the end of the road and he had a very excitable dog and 2 very excitable children couldnt control any of them
 
I too have a dog....I would NEVER let him off the lead on a bridleway or near a horse.
As for the dog who "deserves to get kicked" no, it doesn't....dogs act on instinct which we can't predict so it's not the dog's fault.
 
I walk my dogs off the lead on bridlepaths and i dont see any reason why i shouldnt, i've yet to meet a horse on the paths whilst walking the dogs anyway! However, i have taught all of my dogs basic obedience (i think ALL dog owners should have to do some form of training with their dogs by law personally...) and if i call, my dogs will come straight to me so i would certainly hope such an incident wouldnt happen with my dogs. I also walk one or two of my dogs whilst riding my horse and they have learned to respect horses from that.

In all fairness to the dog owner, mastiffs are notoriously sly and stubborn. I imagine she kept him on the lead until the horses were out of sight then let him go expecting him to have forgotten about them, which is a mistake any of us could make. The fact that the "rat like" dog wasn't there implies that she had control of that one at least.

I dont think you can call her irresponsible really, i would imagine she thought the horses were out of sight, out of mind!
 
Laura Hats says dogs act on instinct and dont deserve to get kicked. Horses act on instinct as well and when chased by dogs most will kick. Dogs are seen as prey animals by flight animals such as horses. The horse sees this as an attack and will (naturally) defend itself, sometimes with tragic consequences.
 
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Dogs don't on instinct, sit, stay, fetch, not pee in the house etc either. Instinct is your base level. It's just where you start from. Same with horses. You leave them acting on instinct in a world where humans have taken over, and left no space for any other creature to be itself - well, then you have to take over their 'instinct' too. Train them not to chase and bite horses. It's not difficult. While we're at it, how about training them not to bark their heads off for 8 hours at a stretch when you're out at work either. It's not rocket science.

Quickest way I've found to teach an attacking dog not to kill me, if their owners won't - is get Rosie to kick its head off. Job done, nobody dies, except perhaps the maladjusted dog. Failing that, if it's going to attack joseph or anyone else, well a bullet to the back of the head is pretty darn effective too.

People don't change their ways unless they feel the consequences of them. It's no more the dog's 'fault' if it sinks its teeth into my ponies heels and as a consequence I get squished under the schoolbus hurtling round the corner, than it is a paedophile's 'fault' when he offends. They're just acting on what comes naturally to them, what makes them feel good. It still needs to be stopped before everyone else gets hurt.
 
KateWooten said:
People don't change their ways unless they feel the consequences of them. It's no more the dog's 'fault' if it sinks its teeth into my ponies heels and as a consequence I get squished under the schoolbus hurtling round the corner, than it is a paedophile's 'fault' when he offends. They're just acting on what comes naturally to them, what makes them feel good. It still needs to be stopped before everyone else gets hurt.
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A truer statement has never been said, don't we all do things that we know we shouldn't (driving with a mobile, not wearing a seatbelt, not putting a hat and gloves on to lead the horses in etc.)? It's all fine and well for us to do them until the inevitable happens and someone gets hurt.
 
Yes, there are irresponsible dog owners out there who let there dogs chase horses. My dog wouldn't chase a horse but, as he is always around my horse he can be bit blase and not realise that each horse isn't necessarily as accomodating as my horse. For his own safety, he always goes on his lead when we met horses out on walks.

It's not just horseriders who are affected by irresponsible dog owners. My dog was attacked last year and had to undergo veterinary treatment because he was attacked by a German Shepherd who ran 200 yards over to us just to attack him. His owner ignored us shouting for him to call his dog off and carried on walking as though there was nothing wrong.

Having said that, there are also irresponsible riders out there who can't control their horses (we've all seen them, the kind who feel grass under their feet and just go!) who endanger dogwalkers, families going for a walk etc. by haring around throwing caution to the wind.

I'm afraid it's just another case of everybody having to respect everybody else which I'm afraid to say seems to be an attitude disappearing fast these days.
 
horseygal90 said:
(driving with a mobile, not wearing a seatbelt, not putting a hat and gloves on to lead the horses in etc.)? It's all fine and well for us to do them until the inevitable happens and someone gets hurt.
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I'm sure you didn't mean it like this but it comes across as if you believe driving without a seatbelt and leading a horse without hat and gloves are the same type of problem as driving with a mobile. The first two can be dangerous for you personally, whereas driving with a mobile is quite likely to hurt or kill others - hence I think it's not "all fine and well for us to do ".

Sorry, nothing to do with original thread, apologies.

I totally agree with KateWooten though !
 
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