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Horse attacked by dog

Endurance and Trail Riding
#21

[QUOTE=Auventera Two;3815878]
I just wanted to add that you REALLY should have stayed ON the horse. What if you jumped off, the horse took off, and the dog came after YOU? The horse’s hide is tougher than delicate human skin. The horse is faster, and the horse has far better weapons for beating off the dog than you do. In all the dog situations I’ve encountered, I only dismounted the one time. But the dog was NOT acting vicious. He was wagging his tag and hassling and just happy to be going for a walk along behind my horse. Yelling at him to go home from horseback didn’t work so I got off. I think THEN he recognized me as being “human” and he took the order from me. But IF a dog were acting in the least bit agressive, I would stick on no matter what it took. I’d have my hands wrapped up in the mane or breastcollar straps or whatever and I’d stay on and take off with the horse.

You are REALLY fortunate that the dog didn’t go after you once you were on the ground. :([/QUOTE]

Perhaps she was afraid the horse was going to bolt, and she’d fall off. Then she could’ve been injured and unable to defend herself from the dog.

I agree best bet is to stay ON the horse, but if she was just going to fall off anyways, best to do an emergency dismount first I guess.

#22

That’s true. A good emergency dismount is much better than being launched and landing on a rock or something.

Funny enough, the worst injuries I’ve had on my current horse was when I did manage to stay on. After the mini horse incident, and one other time I managed to hang in there and not fall off, I had the most extreme muscle soreness ever. Like I was in a car accident. And I never even fell off. But I guess when everything tenses up that tight and you’re hanging on for dear life, you get muscle tears.

#23

You all are giving me a lot to think about, which is a good thing. It’s funny how after something like that happens you run through it in your mind over and over with different scenarios. I didn’t even think about taking off on my horse while it was happening, but I did think about it afterwards. I didn’t think about the dog biting me until afterwards either. You never know what might have been. I am grateful for how it turned out. Not too much damage. Thanks for calling it an emergency dismount. It sure wasn’t pretty!

#24

[QUOTE=tnales;3815809]
My husband explained to me yesterday that you can take wild hog during most hunting seasons and he thought that this dog was for wild hog hunting. I know that you don’t want me to call it a hunting dog, but that’s what the owner called it, and he was in full camo. The dog wore a flourescent orange collar. The kind they use for hunting dogs.
<snip>
My husband did ask the owner if the dog was up-to-date on his rabies shots. He said that he was, but we didn’t get his name or number. My husband just told him that he didn’t ever want to see that dog on our property again. My horses injuries are not bad enough to need stitches so we didn’t call the vet, but now I am worried about the rabies.[/QUOTE]

Ah. Could’ve been a hog dog - around here, I’m told they are hunted year-round. I wondered about hog dogs when I first read your post, but usually there’s two or three working together and they wear leather collars or vests for protection. But that’s not to say all hog hunters operate out of the same playbook.

I’d be worried about rabies, too. I wish there were some way you could find out who the guy was and verify that the dog really was up on his shots.

#25

Auventera2 wrote, “I wrapped my hands up in the reins and mane and even with one stirrup and a treeless saddle that I was NOT used to, I managed to stay on. All I could think of was that if I came off, I was going to land in the middle of kicking hooves. And that little miniature squirt was doing his darndest to challenge our horses.”

I have a mental image of you coming off the horse and getting dragged by your hand, wrapped in rein and mane AND amidst flying hooves. Not a wise decision, IMO. You were very lucky.

And OP, GTD gave you excellent advice, given the level of information you provided in your opening post. It smelled trollish to me, too.

#26

[QUOTE=pAin’t_Misbehavin’;3815958]

I’d be worried about rabies, too. I wish there were some way you could find out who the guy was and verify that the dog really was up on his shots.[/QUOTE]

If the horses shots are up to date and they should be does it matter about the dogs shots??? Our dog killed a rabid fox in the barn and the vet didn’t seem to worry about it since the dog was up to date.
So again if the horse has a up to date rabbie shot that should protect him.

#27

First, for what it’s worth GTD, my first thought was also ‘…odd’. I think it was the line "I had to (bail out and) let him run and kick at the dog." that tweaked the hunt-troll-ometer due to newness of OP. But now we’ve had clarification and all is water under the bridge, so welcome tnales. Since you’re in No. FL, your story doesn’t surprise me a bit. Glad the horse was not seriously hurt.

Now to the point. If you are really worried about rabies (for me this would be because the behaviour of the dog was so off, not because the guy didn’t look like the vaccinating type), you can booster your horses rabies vaccine (I assume he has been vaccinated). That’s a fairly inexpensive boost to piece of mind (although not fool-proof).

#28

Had a friend do an emergency dismount off the runaway horse. Broke his arm. A few weeks later , same horse, same problem and he did another emergency dismount but protected the already broken arm.
Broke his other arm:lol::lol:
No way I would bail off a perfectly good horse.

#29

<coming back late to this discussion after being out in the snowstorm> Frankly, ntales, you should have said the above in your opening post, NOT an abbreviated summary leaving out very important details which left your story open to all kinds of interpretation. You would have gotten an entirely different answer from me if you had shared the facts above initially.

The “hunting dogs” around our area of Virginia are foxhounds, bloodhounds, bassets, and beagles. An “attack” can mean any number of things to different people – from a standing growling dog, to a happy dog bounding up to say hello and being misinterpreted by both horse/rider. Unfortunately, there were too many loose threads in your OP, and I (being a foxhunter and being around “hunting dogs” all the time), thought your initial story just didn’t ring true. It looked, felt, and smelled odd given my extensive knowledge of our VA hunting breeds. So I gave you a general answer, even as I was being sceptical of your story - which I now realize was a condensed version light on the details.

Thank you for clearing things up by explaining exactly what happened. Lots of good advice being shared here on how to deal with later encounters, so I will concur with: a: staying on the horse from now on, b: putting up NO HUNTING signs around your property, and c: calling the local Game Warden and police to report the incident. They have a right and a need to know for the public safety.

#30

[QUOTE=Shadow14;3816029]
Had a friend do an emergency dismount off the runaway horse. Broke his arm. A few weeks later , same horse, same problem and he did another emergency dismount but protected the already broken arm.
Broke his other arm:lol::lol:
No way I would bail off a perfectly good horse.[/QUOTE]

If you’re not accostomed to riding a horse at speed, an emergency dismount BEFORE the horse bolts is much better than getting flung out of the saddle when the horse is at a dead gallop.

#31

[QUOTE=Shadow14;3816027]
If the horses shots are up to date and they should be does it matter about the dogs shots??? Our dog killed a rabid fox in the barn and the vet didn’t seem to worry about it since the dog was up to date.
So again if the horse has a up to date rabbie shot that should protect him.[/QUOTE]

I’d still worry. No vaccine is 100% effective. But rabies is 100% fatal - if you don’t count that one girl whom doctors were able to save by putting her into a coma for weeks after she was bitten by a rabid bat.

From what we know so far, this dog is allowed to go off leash in areas where it could easily encounter rabid wildlife, and it’s the go-get-'em type. Maybe a call to your vet, just to ask what s/he thinks your risks and options are?

#32

Welcome to COTH!

I had this happen to a pony when I was little. We set up a bunch of mock dog-encounters where I rode behind an experienced buddy and we arranged to encounter friendly dogs along the way. Eventually I led past the dogs etc. It worked for him. I am so sorry this happened to you and your horse.

#33

Just spoke to my vet. He said that if the horse has the virus in him now, there is nothing we can do. We just had our horses vaccinated, but I don’t know if rabies was one of the vaccines. The office is closed because of the holiday, so they can’t check the charts. I’ll have to wait until tomorrow to find out if he’s had a rabies vaccine. Then he tried to make me feel better by telling me that rabies is rare in dogs. That if the dog was running loose, without it’s owner that he would be more concerned, but the fact that the owner was close by and came after the dog gives me a little better odds. He said rabies incubates in a week to a month, so now, if there is no sign of a rabies vaccine in his charts, I’ll be on pins and needles waiting and watching for symptoms.

#34

No no no, that’s not what I meant! I mean I grabbed the reins plus a handfull of mane and held on as tight as I can. I have never literally wrapped a rein or a rope around my arm or any other body part. :lol: I will amend my post to make that point more clear.

#35

Re rabies vaccination, about three years ago our State Vet. began recommending rabies vaccination for horses as we were seeing a significant increase in rabid skunks (particularly in the mountains of East TN). We now do all our stock annually (an owner can vaccinate a horse for rabies but dogs and cats must still be done by a vet so that proper certificates can be issued).

G.

#36

Good News!! My husband came home and found the paperwork from the recent vaccines. Bo was vaccinated for rabies on 11/21/08. Whew!!!

#37

[QUOTE=Auventera Two;3815878]
I
We were “attacked” (I use the term very loosely) by a miniature horse on a trail ride once. He was loose from his pasture and was in the woods eating something (probably a deer bait pile!) We came trotting down the trail and out of nowhere this 300 pound white poof ball came charging at us. Both our horses spun and bolted. I lost a stirrup but stayed on. My friend got her horse stopped and turned around to face him. He kept trotting after us and our horses were in all out panick mode. They were spinning around while bucking and kicking out trying to defend themselves. At that point, they had no idea it was another equine. He looked like a rolly polly little white bear. It was so out of context, that it took 2 or 3 minutes for it to even register with me what it was.[/QUOTE]

It’s not that unusual for miniature horses to cause a full on freak out amongst their full-sized brethren. My mare, who has seen just about everything at shows, did a bug-eyed double take, then a drop shoulder 180 when she saw a mini at an open show. I managed to stay on, too. :wink:

When we had a mini at the barn, the staff had to be very careful when they brought Mouse through the arena. If there were riders on “uninitiated” horses, it could get very interesting. And the spookers included experienced rodeo and ranch horses that I would call darn near bombproof. It must be something about the size … dunno

OP – no advice to offer. My horses aren’t afraid of dogs – they just don’t like them (they grew up being herded by our overzealous BC). Whenever a dog comes near them, I fear more for the dog’s safety than my horse’s.

#38

[QUOTE=tnales;3816357]
Good News!! My husband came home and found the paperwork from the recent vaccines. Bo was vaccinated for rabies on 11/21/08. Whew!!![/QUOTE]

Well, that’s good news.:slight_smile:

Just spoke to my vet. He said that if the horse has the virus in him now, there is nothing we can do.

Really? There’s not a series of shots for horses, like there is for people who are bitten by a rabid animal?

#39

so sorry to hear about this - my horse and I, along with a friend and her horse, were attacked by a pit bull who was being walked off-leash in a public park (no leash law). The dog was completely out of control, trying to hamstring our horses like a wolf, and the idiot owner could not catch him. Once she finally did, we figured out why, because the first thing she did was beat him.

Anyway, the attack lasted over 10 minutes, and both horses were bleeding by the time it was over. We did not dismount at any point, because our horses stayed under control and kept listening to us, thank god, and we were afraid the dog would attack us if we got off. We were so upset we just got her info and then left, rather than call the police from there.

When we went back to the barn, one of the other boarders said there had been a previous situation with the owner at the same park, although not as severe as ours. We called the police and had them go over to her house and give her some sort of restraining order that she could never let the dog off-leash again.

My horse gradually got used to dogs again - he was always fine with dogs he knew, but he was nervous for a while when encountering strange dogs on the trail, even if they were friendly. For an even longer time, he was scared around aggressive dogs. I second what others have said: the more you can keep yourself calm and confident, the more confidence your horse will have. Slow and steady!

#40

[QUOTE=Icecapade;3815815]
<get a gun>

would have been first to say it but computer choked. I second G’s statment.

Really thats all you need. Teach your horse to be fired off of and proceed from there. You can’t go wrong. (by the way training starts with clapping… balloon popping works equally well, but clearly more time consuming -)[/QUOTE]

Yes, a gun can be useful in these situations. However, I would take great exception to the statement “You can’t go wrong.” With a gun in the mix, there are 1000 ways you can go wrong. When your horse is being attacked, things are very hectic. Adrenaline is pumping, everything is happening fast.

Some of the things that can go wrong…

  • you can shoot your horse
  • you can shoot yourself
  • you can shoot an innocent bystander
  • the hunter (or someone else) could arrive late to the situation, misunderstand and shoot you

Even if you shoot the offending dog, the owner can sue you and may even win a judgement. Depending on the handgun laws in your state, you may even be liable for criminal charges (unlawful carry, unlawful discharge, brandishing).

Training your horse to guns is part of it. Training yourself to shoot is another. Even then, there is so much that can go wrong.

I do cowboy mounted shooting. It is hard enough hitting a stationary balloon in a competition. I have no problem with a trained horse and trained rider carrying a gun for self protection. I just think people should be VERY careful before they consider the use of deadly force. So much can go wrong on horseback that you really have to think before deciding to use that weapon.

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