My horses are mostly OK to be honest. They jumped the first time but now they are prepared and as I said, they rarely react to dogs...but it honestly does worry me that someone could walk along with a child (there's a few livery yards around there) and not realise or ask a car to wait past the gate so they can get past. I would never, ever report anyone for this kind of thing - I would have a word first.

We meet lots of dogs on leads in the village who hate horses and go beserk - but they are not so bad because you can at least see them coming. Its the fact you are not quite sure whether its there or not and I jump a mile!

As is stated it is all about respect, as a responsible horse owner you should walk any path first to envisage any potential dangers.
If the potential dangers are going to be a problem then by all means attempt to rectify the problems, but if the owners are reluctant to do so then there is nothing you can do about it. (The dog is not free running apart from the security of it's home)

Can I ask again how long these people have lived in 'your' village? As this is definitely how you look on it.
You appear to think, and I am aware the written word can be misunderstood, that you are the be all and end all of the village that you live in.
Could you explain how you have a 'public right of way' through your house. I wouldn't think this would be possible unless you live in a tent.
If you have a 'public right of way' through your property your dogs are still allowed to let you know if there is someone there. So they are allowed to bark at passers by.

Another thing my OH has just pointed out.

Do the owners of the dog complain when your horse leaves a deposit outside their gate? Or are you then a responsible horse owner and get off and pick it up??

I don't live in the village actually.

And I don't explain anything to people who are abrupt and rude - kindly keep your very misguided, childish and misinformed opinions to yourself.

Forget that it's horses in this instance (though worrying livestock, including horses, is an offence); consider if it was a person who's nervous of dogs cycling past and who swerved into the path of a car?

Well I would not consider that as acceptable behaviour from my dogs.

liberty

Liberty do your dogs not bark then? How can you say this isn't acceptable behaviour from your dogs unless they are mute.
It is a natural instinct for a dog to bark to alert others of any potential danger is it not?

My dog barks, but if he was going mad at my gate like this then he would be taken inside.

There is a house in my village with a boxer, they have a special round hole cut into the gate so he can stick his head out to go mad at any passing dogs :rolleyes: my dog knows it is coming now and backs off and goes all skittish which is not normal behaviour for him as he is very well socialised this is only because these people think it is fun for their dog to stick its head through the gate :(  we have a large riding stables in our village, I dont know how this dog reacts to the horses going past ....  and before anyone says it I do try to aviod it / cross the road but I really shouldnt have to :(

Irresponsible owners, what can you do? Nothing! but avoid them. You certainly can't sue them or contact your local police to request arrest with regards to a barking dog protecting his property regardless of whether the owner is responsive to the issue or not.
(Apart from excessive barking but thats another issue) :)

I think if the dog got out then the responibility would definately be upon the owners head.
I dont think there is anything the cops could do about it,unless the dog has been reported as a noise nuisance previously.

I would have a chat to the owners,but this could be tricky,what are you going to say ? Your dog barks to much when we ride past can you keep him quiet?Or, can you build a more secure fence?they will probly say yes, IF you pay for it,LOL.

I think the bottom line is as long as the dog is in it's property,there's nothing anyone can do about it :(

I dont know what the laws are in the u.k but here in australia,if a dog harrasses passers by enough to frighten them then they can call the council and it WILL be dealt with.Personally i couldnt report anyone's dog for doing their job,couldnt the council take a quiet look and see if the fence is appropiate and safe?
I guess if it were me i would look for another route,not that you should have to,maybe as a last resort after exhausting all other options.
I would be too scared to ride a horse on a road,too many things could go wrong,there's always a first time.

Good luck and please keep us updated.

Oh by the way,thanks for livening things up  ;) :D

My 6 belgians would certainly go ballistic if you were riding past my gate - they are after all a guarding breed . This dog is on it's own territory and (in his eyes) guarding it from your horse- he obviously thinks that the barking works because the horse goes away. :D. Most dogs are not socialised with horses and so can be very wary about them which makes them extra protective. I'm afraid that your only option is to use a different route - using 'your friend' the policeman to bully the owners smacks of high handedness -  the owners are perfectly within their rights to do nothing after all the dog is on their land and guarding their property. You do not HAVE to ride past it !!

Where did I say I was going to ask the police to bully them?

Have you noticed how personal this is?

I asked a generic question and I have been accused of lying by D4wn, accused of using the police to bully them, owning the village and being high handed. I simply ride past on my horse - as do countless others and I simply asked what would happen if they cause an accident by allowing this dog to go bananas at the gate. If my dogs saw horses going past - or, indeed walkers when folk are using one of the THREE rights of way we have I across the land (inc one through the house DA4N) I call the dogs away so as not to spoil their walk - but then perhaps I am slightly more considerate than the lot on here.

I shouldn't be on here - I'm supposede to be packing :D   But I have to add my two-pennorth here!

Chloe I think you have brought up a very interesting point for discussion and I have enjoyed the points raised. 

As the owner of 4 very territorial aussies, I live in dread of them breaking out, catching, savaging and killing a couple of golfers and then dragging them back  here to string up as an example to all other miscreant golfers who have the temerity to dare play golf just outside the Aussies' territory   

Seriously, they do bark like mad if any of the golfers happen to leave their golf bags against the (Golf club owned) fence and, when I catch them, they are told off severely - I don't like my peace shattered by the Hounds of the Baskervilles!

To go back to the original point raised by Chloe - I would think, that if an accident were to occur, and POS officers were trying to establish what had happened, the fact that the dog was known to bark at horses would apportion some of the "blame" at the dog - but as he was only doing what a dog is supposed to do, no action would be taken against the dog's owners.

Could you have a friendly sort of word with them - something like "oh I'm so sorry that my horse seems to spook your dog and set him off barking - would it help if he got to know my horse ;) "?

Back to the packing!!

Margot

I think if i owned the dog in the situation as described, i would probably take steps to A) habituate  it more to horses and B) try to ensure that he/she only barked a couple of times and did not go totally ballistic as this dog seems to do.

Although i do feel a dog should be able to protect its territory, and that is totally natural, these days we all live close together and it's not necessarily fair to allow a dog to behave in this manner. If the owner lived in the country miles from anywhere, it would be a bit different maybe :D

If it were me Chloe, i might have a friendly chat with the owners and see if there was anything that could be done. For instance, i don't know if you want to go there, but it's just possible that if you get to know the dog and (with owner permission) chuck it some tasty food as you get near the gate, it might stop barking and start to associate your presence with something interesting. It's just a thought. A lot depends on how decent the owners are.

I can see why you are concerned.

Lindsay
X

I can understand chloeh's point, my family went for a quiet walk 7 adults 1 child and 2 dogs early one sunday morning it was a walk from a book so we didnt know the area and whilst walking down a single track road dogs on short leads all minding our own business we walked passed a farm next thing we know 3 gsd come flying out and ATTACK one of my dogs Now were on a public road and we were not on their property one of the dogs knocked the child to the floor whilst getting to my dogs and it was very scary. The owners of the dogs were no where to be seen and it was only our screams that alerted them to get their dogs off ours. Luckilly only a couple of cuts on my dog but emotionally it did set my dog back :( they had the gate open and their response was oh there only protecting us which mad me mad not angry at the dogs but the owners for not taking any responsibility for the dogs actions. If it were my dog i would train it to not go beserk and if it did then it would be confined to the house untill it did learn.

Chloe

For what its worth i dont think that you or your child would be safer getting off the horse.   Say if the dog were to break the gate and get out, what about your child, or, anyone elses children?  Can anyone here say without knowing that this dog wouldnt attack?

Maybe you should stress your concerns to the owners stating that you feel threatend by the dog, and if it were to get out you fear that you could possibly get bitten, or worse still your child :( 
Would it be worth talking to your local dog warden? 
He may be willing to knock on the owners door to have a chat with them, if it is a public path that you are using you have righter way, nobody should feel threatened by a dog.

My dogs are not allowed on the front of my property at all, not because they are unsafe, because i wouldnt want anyone feeling threatened by them.  That includes women, men, children and other animals.

there would be a difference i think that if a accident was caused by a horse spooking by the barking & causeing a accident  as opposed to the dog getting out & causing the horse to spook.

if it was me,id just ride past at a fast but contolled trot to get out of the way ASAP.

it is a difficult one,but i suppose it depends on how approachable the owners are to what can be done about it. if it was me id beworried about the dog getting out,id MAYBE have a word,something along the lines of,

"i can see your dog gets upset by the horses & im worried about him getting out of the garden & being run over"

I agree, Mollmoo, a right of way is a right of way.  I'm no horsewoman but I would imagine leading a horse would not eliminate the danger of it bolting or swinging out into the traffic if startled.
I think it is very bad mannered of the owners to allow the dog to annoy any passers by.  I also think it is very bad manners to reduce the discussion to personal comments about ChloeH particularly when it appears someone has joined the message board specifically to do so!

Thats absolutely correct Isabel. You are actually in far more control on a horse than off because you can use your leg to avoid the back end swinging out. Also - in getting off, you are sometimes re-affirming to the horse that there IS something to worry about!

Thanks for your support Isabel (and everyone else who understands). I am very unhappy at some of the personal comments, and threats on here this morning.

Turns out I'm a bit of a horsewoman after all :)

my horse (sold now!!!! :(  )was 100% in traffic,but  scared of brains,leaves,bin bags & PARKED motorbikes!!!
so fine with great big buses roaring past ,but god if there was a odd leaf god help us!
she also bashed into three cars in totall,the cars came off worse

Chloe - don't let some posters upset you or put you off posting what some might call "controversial" subjects!!

This is supposed to be a discussion board, after all, but unfortunately to some people, a discussion means "I am right, you are wrong" :(     (on reading through the posts and checking - which I realy shoud not be doing just now - it does seem as if what I would consider the "offensive/attacking" posts come from members who are very, very new!

Keep on posting!

Margot

I agree with everything that Margot has just said Chloe :( It is people who are not afraid to introduce a difficult subject who are the life blood of the board :)

Have you thought about trying to befriend the dog? I'm abit of a softie. I'd pop in to see the owner, oozing with friendly vibes (on foot:D). I'd explain I was a rider who passed by regularly and was concerned about the cars, nervous horses, young walkers...oh er and the excitable dog.  If the owner is a nice sort they'll probably be more than happy to get the dog indoors when you're due, or make an effort to control the dogs barking.  They might be grateful to get some advice from a friendly face, how stressful is it when a dog that barks excessively is upsetting the neighbour!  If the owner isn't a friendly sort (crumbs, eek), I'd probably resort to a firm 'no' and hurling a dog treat as far away from the gate as possible when the dog stops for a split second (pray god), hopefully teaching the dog that horses=treats as long as no bark. I'm optimistic too :D

Going back to the original question "if the dog caused an accident". The main word here is surely IF. Any dog could cause an accident IF it escaped from its own property. Surely the fact that the dog MAY cause an accident is irrelevant. As long as the dog cant get through the gate I dont see that anything can be done - someone elses opinion as to whether the gate is appropriate does not come into it - the fact is that the dog is confined to the owners property. If it barks and tries to get through the gate it is, to my mind normal behaviour for any dog protecting its own property and it no doubt sees a threat from anything approaching too closely to its own gate. Even a dog that is not protective by nature/breed could cause an accident IF it escaped onto a road. 

Plenty of information here

http://www.naturenet.net/law/dogs.html

Chloe,  I believe if you have a chat with the policeman about this and your concerns, he may decide to have a word with the owners, especially if the dog is behaving like this to pedestrians.   

One point I would like to mention,   how would the owners of the dog react if a horse was badly spooked by the dog and kicked out injuring the dog?  Surely it is in their own interest to ensure that the dogs behaviour does not get out of hand?