[QUOTE=didgery;2252962]
Vinegar in a good squirt gun will temporarily hurt the dog’s eyes, be more effective than water . . . and probably be less dangerous to handle than skunk oil! Wouldn’t hurt you or your horse if you misfired, unless you somehow shot him in the eye (unlikely).[/QUOTE]
I’ve had to use vinegar and it does work. 
Safer then pepper spray, even the slightest breeze and that stuff is coming right back at you. Plus wouldn’t hurt your gear if it leaked.
I have no one to ride with anymore… and have just moved my horse to a new area where we are over the road from the beach. I am TERRIFIED of coming across a vicious dog 
Hello all of you! Coup de Des, I understand how you feel about dogs. I ride alone, too and to make it worse, my Arab is neurotic. Last Fall, I started training my Arab to face the dog by walking her and turning towards any dog that comes to us. The last dog that came to us thought that we wanted to play with him and he kept on “playing” until the owner came to retreive him. My Arab was calm throughout the whole ordeal of which I’m grateful. My goal with her is to ignore any barking dogs and listen to me at all times. I alone can only determine if we need to run away - not her. She needs more road walking, though.
If a dog wants to attack us, I’d rather use an arsenal to accurately spray the dog in the face than to allow it to attack us. My only defense right now is to let my mare go and I’m to walk towards the dog like I’m a bear - big shoulder, growl, claws outstretched, etc. But, it won’t work for a group of dogs. I’d just run away. It ain’t worth it.
well
the owner knows the dog is a problem
the owner has no fence
you were on state park property
If you were here I would advise you to report this to the park ranger / authority
The owner and dog behavior, here , would be quite illegal
I think you owe it to the next visitor the dog chooses to go after.
As far as what to do in the situation, I think you responded correctly.
Flight might have provoked the dogs to chase increasing the danger to you and your horse.
Was just thinking about the OP when I read about this happening to a lady in Wales:
http://icwales.icnetwork.co.uk/0100news/0200wales/tm_headline=dog-attack-on-horse–like-lion-bringing-down-a-zebra-%26method=full%26objectid=18683774%26siteid=50082-name_page.html
ammonia
I too have had dogs be agressive. Soooo… a quick squirt of 1/2 ammonia and 1/2 water in their direction does deter them. Yes, you must get close, but it really will smart.
Just my 2’C’s…Steve
I have found the best approach, if your horse is willing, is to agressively ride TOWRD the dog, saying oudly “GO HOME!!!”.
Dogs are much more likely to attack an animal that is running fromt hem. Most will back down if a horse is charging it.
Hadn’t thought about making the situation worse for the next rider, but I’ve always been found of a trail pad pocket with a nice supply of gravel if the “GO HOME” doesn’t work.
I haven’t read through the other threads on the subject (but plan to). Still wanted to throw in my .02, as this has been a subject that I looked into a while ago.
First, many (if not most or all) states have a leash law. This not only means that an owner is required to keep a dog on a leash, but it required to BE IN CONTROL of their dog at all times. If a dog is loose in an unfenced yard next to a public horse trail, the dog owner is wrong. Rather then waiting for a problem to happen, report this incident to the park police. Since you are dealing with a specific location (private property) it should be very easy for them to find the offender and take necessary action.
I favor the “ride at the dog” approach. This, however, does require an “agressive” rider and horse. There is always the chance that it will not work and make the dog even angrier.
Running away has it’s own +/-. It will likely trigger the chase instinct in the dog. If, however, conditions allow and your horse is in good shape, you can outrun the dog.
I have sucessfully used both of the above tactics on local trails where many people take dogs off-leash (in direct contradition to the state’s leash laws and the State Park’s “no dog allowed” policy).
Regarding guns, I think this is a very bad idea. First, in many places you will be in violation of a gun law. You could be also be breaking additional laws (hunting, guns on state land, etc.) If you actually discharge that firearm, you could be in for a world of trouble. In NY at least, simply pointing a loaded gun at a person is considered aggravated assault.
Not to mention that it is very dangerous firing from horseback. If you hit the dog, you could still be in trouble. If you miss and hit someone else, things get even worse. Not to mention it is always possible to hit yourself or your horse. If the horse is not trained to gunfire, he could spook and you could end up on the ground with the dog attacking you.
Finally, what if the dog owner is also armed and decides to shoot back? Needless to say, you and your horse are a pretty easy target to a shooter on the ground. If you point a gun in his direction (even while trying to aim at the dog) while he is on his own land, he could make a real nice case of self defense. You could easily see how a lawyer could spin this one.
The other “projectile” approches also have their problems. The water guns (especially if they look like water guns) are IMO the only vialble approach. This is because they can’t be confused with a real weapon, and they will not harm you or the horse.
Pepper spray, etc. is designed to be used at close range. If an attacking dog is that close, the horse will not likely be standing still waiting for you to spray. You will almost certainly have to be in an unbalanced riding position to hit the dog on the ground, and will probably get some spray on you and/or your horse. Even with a longer range spray, if the horse does a quick spin/crow hop, etc. it could easily spray the horse.
Lawyers rule the day… Running away or scaring off the dog are the best choices, if at all possible. Even if they are wrong, once you hurt “cute, little fluffy who only wanted to play - then that evil person on the big scary horse attacked my little baby” you are in for a “he said/she said” argument.
I absolutely agree with joe21. You should report this dog to the proper authority so it can be fenced or removed before it causes someone to get hurt. And maybe the irresponsible owner will get fined and learn something.
I started a thread not too long ago about the best way to deal with loose dogs while riding. We had some young riders attacked by a pack of dogs near the boarding stable where I was keeping my horses then. There’s no leash law in our county, but there’s a law against allowing one’s animals to go off one’s property and harass others. I bet your area has a similar law.
In our case, one of the young riders dismounted and beat the dogs with her crop after they attacked a stable dog who’d gone with them and was trying to defend them. The pack’s owners retaliated by killing the stable dog the next time they found him out alone.
But most dogs, I’ve found, even if they rush up barking and growling, won’t actually do much unless you run from them. Ignoring them or walking towards them works best 99% of the time. The rare dog that will actually attack needs to be dealt with by someone who can permanently, and legally, remedy the situation.
Hi Fernie!
I got your message last night at midnite when I got home from work. Actually my husband told me you called but he accidentally deleted it, and your number didn’t come up on the caller id for some reason.
Anyway:
I like to use the squirt gun filled with ammonia. I have had a lot of success with that in the past. It will give you a little time to back away from the dog slowly, and won’t scare most horses.
As far as it being in the state park, try to get an address for the pitbull’s owner if you can and contact the park ranger or game warden.
They can cite the owner or otherwise try to rectify the situation. Glad you are ok.
THis probably won’t make you feel any better, but most dogs are either going to bite or not. Otherwise they just make noise. I love it when people say “that dog was TRYING to attack me” dogs don’t try to attack, either they do or they don’t period. If he doesn’t bite right away he most likely will not as long as you don’t run.
Hi Jaeger,yes it was about this situation I called you.
The more I think about it ,the more I realize I need to do something…
Novices and kids are on these trails all the time,I am writing a report to give to the park manager and the dog owner as well as Columbia county animal control,which is not very active in helping out on these sort of things apparrently.
I want it “on File” that there is a problem out there.
but a great solution would be Bear spray right in the eyes of the dog.
NO!!:eek: And I’ll tell you why, firstly any blow back from this will seriously hurt you and your horse and make a bad situation worse. Secondly, if a dog is really intent on attacking Pepper spray will NOT stop it ( I can promise that, seen it).
As I make my living with working with ‘dangerous dogs’ I can tell you, I have NEVER had a dog that not stop when I have run at it (but trust me, I mean it when I charge back!) I am not advocating that but I am saying 99.9% of charging is a bluff.
Now that said, you add a horse into the mix and you change things a little as the arousement and excitement levels go up. A couple of things that I would do is try and desensitize the horse around dogs to start with (many barns have dogs and so lots of horses are).
Personally if I was charged, depending on the horse that I was on I would either charge back (my current horse will do this as he happily chases dogs) or get off (if your horse is hyped up) stomp the ground and yell at the dog and move towards it! Keep yourself between you the dog and the horse as a highly aggitated horse will just increase the dogs drive.
Like I said though, MOST dogs are bluffing and have a mild prey drive. But if its serious then I have always stood my ground, running will only get you into trouble.
And again, pepper spray/bear spray will not stop a serious charge (for that matter nothing but lethal force will) but these are VERY rare. What stops the dog when using a spray is the noise and shock value…so water, lemon juice, vinegar all work the same and won’t hurt you or you horse if there is blow back.
This does take training. My mare got to love it and would turn to face dogs without my asking once she got the hang of it. I hate dogs that hide behind bushes and come out behind, though. If the horse is already going at a good clip before the dog makes its presence known, the horse tends to bolt. No fun on a paved road, I can tell you.
I guess the best bet is to train the horse for this possibility. I was lucky enough to have annoying dogs nearby that would bark and follow us down the road without trying to attack. The game changed once we started chasing the dogs. Eventually they learned to stay on their side of the road and bark from a distsance. And it is surprising how effective this tactic is on strange dogs. I don’t walk toward them, though. I trot toward them, shouting “Git!” or “Leave it!” If the dog is barking at us from a distance and not approaching, I’ll call out in a friendly tone, and it is usually just content to bark. My horses have learned to mostly ignore this type of dog, but always keep an ear on it.
Years ago there was a poodle across the road that would hide behind bushes and run out and bark at the horse’s heels. My guys all got used to it, but I’d forget about it on a new horse. That’s the first time I ever had a horse jump into the air and land facing the opposite direction. Sure wish I could train a horse to do that! 
We never called animal control on these dogs, because then you are set up for an “eye for an eye” situation, as somebody mentioned above.
Again my answer is to have a mule with you. We have Roany and Dutch the 2 best horse trainers and dog destroyers I know. I have watched them hunt a coyote in the pasture. They will actually move in behind the thing then attack. I have found the remains of the neighbors dog that had been tap danced in the pasture one day. So next trail ride take an assault mule with you and turn him loose. :yes: LF
[QUOTE=LostFarmer;2260117]
Again my answer is to have a mule with you. We have Roany and Dutch the 2 best horse trainers and dog destroyers I know. I have watched them hunt a coyote in the pasture. They will actually move in behind the thing then attack. I have found the remains of the neighbors dog that had been tap danced in the pasture one day. So next trail ride take an assault mule with you and turn him loose. :yes: LF[/QUOTE]Yes, but who’s going to administer CPR to my horse when he realizes he’s on a trail ride with… GASP!.. a mule???
I see the answers here on how to take care of a lone dog; however, I do not see how we can take care of a pack of dogs on the loose. What do we do?
[QUOTE=Prieta;2262621]
I see the answers here on how to take care of a lone dog; however, I do not see how we can take care of a pack of dogs on the loose. What do we do?[/QUOTE]
I think it depends on the horses and dogs involved. When you say “a pack” do you mean a group of dogs who will rush up and bark, or an organized bunch of them, some of whom will circle behind you? If the former, I just ignore them. If the latter, I ride purposefully towards the leader. The rest of the pack will cue off what s/he does, so if you can put him/her to flight, you’ve got it made. And most times, you can.
Only once have I had the leader stand his ground and leap up at my horse. Lucky for me, my horse completely ignored the dog and just kept going. I don’t know what would’ve happened had he spooked.
I mentioned this post to somebody, and they said their mule saved their TB from a pit bull who got into the pasture. Is this a mule thing? I had a warmblood who used to chase dogs out of the pasture. Too bad that he also chased about everything else, too, including foxes, rabbits, cats, and people (other than family).
Hope that this charging up to the leader of an “organized” pack will help to break up the group before they do any damages.
One of my horses - I think it is my Arab mare killed a racoon in my pasture just when the racoon tried to climb over the fence during most recent snow storm. It is now frozen solid to the ground - just have to wait until the weather warms up a bit more before I can dig it out. 
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