Last summer I was riding my horse through an open field when a neighbor’s dog noticed us and started barking. My horse got nervous but kept walking, but then the dog ran through the yard, jumped into the river separating the field from their yard, swam across toward us (while barking) and my horse was out of there. He bolted and I didn’t see if the dog continued into the field or went home. Once I got him back down to a walk he continued to be nervous and jig as we could still hear the barking dog. Now when he hears barking I can see him become visibly worried. I’m now nervous to ride him in this field again because of the dog and I don’t know how to teach him not to be afraid of dogs if I can’t recreate this situation. How do I help my horse get over his dog fear?
You should go through the desensitizing process and use your phone to play a variety of dog barking sounds. Maybe a friend with a dog can help you out once he stops being nervous about a noise.
This also works with gunfire, fire works, trucks, etc for those who have horses that are noise sensitive.
You can absolutely desensitize a horse to barking and dogs. My 2 horses and 3 dogs share a yard just fine. The LGD and mini actually play 
However, a strange dog running at you might always elicit a flight response. Unless you know the dog will not bite or harass the horse, I would high tail it away from the dog too. Honestly it sounds like this was a real threat, not an overreacting horse. Horses generally don’t want to get their legs shredded by Cujo.
If this dog is constantly escaping his yard and coming at you and your horse, talk to the owner. Or carry a paintball pistol. That gets the message across. Just be sure to desensitize the horse to that too.
Also, try riding with someone else. When riding alone, many horses have a more attenuated flight response when alone than if another horse is with them. I used to have a mare who would do the classic “trip and spook” when ridden by herself, but if riding with others or at a show, she could care less.
Also watch your own reactions to the barking dog and your horse’s reactions.
I know that often when riding my one mare I would get tense and worried and so would she… as she got more worried so did I. Kinda a vicious circle where we fed off the negative vibes of each other.
When he gets tense and nervous, you really need to be able to take that deep breath and relax and not follow him into his bad place
Lots of other good suggestions here as well!
My mare is fine with dogs but if an off leash dog comes running at us I hop off and have my crop ready. You better believe that if the dog comes within arm’s length I am going to slash it across the muzzle.
We ride in a park where dogs are meant to be on leash.
Horses are prey and dogs are predators…point blank bottom line primal instinct. You will never totally desensitize him to dogs especially ones barking and running. Sure you can “reassure” him to some point you will save him from the scary beasts, allow him to observe CALM QUIET LEASHED dogs walking past his turn out/stop and get patted by humans, other horses staying calm. I would probably not intentionally try and bring him and dogs together or ride in places you are nervous…although going with a braver/calmer escort is a good idea to try. You and the horse have GUT INSTINCTS aka SENSE OF SELF PRESERVATION which you would both be dead if you totally “desensitized” to…I wish you happy and safe rides, but it is OK to just stay out of “danger zones”.
It is funny though, my dogs are constantly around my horses. I have blue heelers and they love to help move horses around when changing pastures, etc. If I start a tractor, the dogs will immediately make sure no horses are around the gates, etc. The dogs can move the horses at will.
However, the dogs are always around and in and out between their legs, etc. and the horses could care less. The dogs go along on rides and when mounted, the horses don’t even pay attention to the dogs. However, when I ask my dogs to move the horses, the horses are willing to move along. I guess they are all smart enough to know the difference. So much for stupid animals … huh.
When I was young I had a horse that was deathly afraid of dogs. Where we rode there was always loose dogs coming out barking at us. Thankfully, none were actually dangerous. I began spinning around towards them and chasing them off. By the end of the season, the horse would pin ears, snake neck and charge any dog that approached.
We’ve had the same problem with snowmobiles. The snowmobile wasn’t actually a threat but my horse came unglued and now I make it worse because I worry about a repeat.
With dogs, you have more opportunities for training. Invite friends with dogs to spend time around your horse. Hand graze or feed your horse while dogs hang around. Ride with other horses who don’t care about dogs. If you’e at a show, hand walk your horse after your classes and expose him to lots of new things, including dogs. Don’t actively avoid them if you think you can use the training experience in a positive way. Give it time.
The old cowboy at my barn taught his horse to “herd” whatever the horse feared.
I desensitized my flighty Arab to bicycles by riding one in his arena ( don’t try that). Unintended consequence: the next time a group of cyclists passed us he got upset and tried gallop up to them to keep up with the herd.
Thanks everyone! It’s true that I’ve been avoiding riding in this field because of the neighbors dog and I know that even if the dog doesn’t appear that I’ll be on edge and likely cause some worry to my horse. There are a few small dogs that belong to the barn owners and thy don’t phase him at all. I think small dogs that yap aren’t the same level of threat as a big lab that barks, swims and runs at you. I’ll work with him in the ring with some larger dogs and set him up for some situations where he can build confidence around them. Thanks for all the great suggestions!
Next time turn and chase the dog or at least run it off. I also keep a crop with me just in case. But if find my horses settle better if they are able to defend themselves.
Agree with this. Have had a couple of aggressive loose dog experiences with my mare, who was raised with dogs (often loose), and she was much better when with 3 other horses, in fact the best behaved of the lot – though we did, somehow, end up arranged so that she had the best view of the dog as it circled and growled. It got close enough to her once that she kicked at it. That is her, protective of her “herd.” Owners caught it and were very sorry… They’d seen us earlier, and put the dog on its leash, but thought we were gone.
We had one very scary ride where we encountered not one but two aggressive loose dogs. She tried to kill the first one, by striking at it; I should have bailed but was basically just hanging on for dear life. Owner caught up to us very quickly and was super apologetic. The mare was pretty tightly wound and I decided to take her home… and not 5 minutes later, we had a loose, unaccompanied dog rush us. I’m not sure what she did, but it stopped the dog in its tracks. After that, yes, I bailed and led her the rest of the way home… She did not try to leave me, which is one of the things I love about her, though I will admit that she was leading me as much as I was leading her.
I will mention that in none of these cases was it “legal” for dogs to be unleashed. Sigh.
She is normally good with dogs, though she certainly “assesses” them. One nice thing now is that most of the trail riding I do is on private bridle paths with no dogs allowed.
The BO is down to 4 dogs, although puppies are due in 3 weeks. Her daughter usually brings her 3, and there a couple who visit regularly who were born on the farm. The horses don’t have a problem and the dogs will pull back from a nosy horse. Away from the barn is a different story. Our dogs come along, but if we go somewhere with a strange dog the dynamics change. The nearest neighbors have an invisible fence but my horse will get skittish if one comes charging across the yard and comes to a screeching halt. There is another neighbor out back of the hayfields who keeps their dogs under voice control, which helps.
Can you visit that neighbor? Maybe if you know the dog’s name, or some voice commands, you can de-escalate. things. Also, I’d carry a dressage whip instead of a crop. A lot more range if you need it.
There are definitely different kinds of dog encounters. My mare is fine with our dog and other dogs that are not exhibiting threatening behavior. Even barking is not always threatening. Most dogs are not trying to be aggressive,even when loud, but when there is one who seriously is, you had better pay attention(watch the body language of the dog–it is different) and pay attention to your horse’s genuine feelings. I have had success with turning my mare to face down the dog, beginning to chase it down–a lot of dogs go “whoa, outta here!”, and the horse feels empowered, not helpless. With one dog who had a really crazy gleam in it’s eye as he began to chase us (a pit bill who jumped out of the back of a passing pickup to go after us!), my gut told me to stay stock still (luckily my girl obeyed)to cut off the prey chasing instinct. When the dog got closer I began yelling at him and he was unnerved by that --listened to the human he hadn’t known was there, and left. You don’t want your horse to be bitten. You don’t want your horse to be so scared that they take off and everyone gets hurt. “Densensitizing” with a friendly dog is not going to be effective or even protective when there is a potentially dangerous dog, but could be helpful if your horse is afraid of ALL dogs, no matter their intentions/body language.
Also, I always make sure I
tell the owners who have their dog off leash that a horse could kick and kill a dog out of fear, and I really really don’t want that to happen…
I like the advice to face and chase the dogs but it isn’t always possible. When a dog came after me and my horse, my horse was pretty calm but the dog kept circling as we tried to chase him. He was more goofy than threatening and kept trying to grab my horse’s tail. I eventually jumped off and threw rocks.
