# Pet peeve - dog in the arena while riding



## themacpack (Jul 16, 2009)

That is a lawsuit waiting to happen - I am just mind boggled that this does not occur to people (ie the BOs)


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## nikelodeon79 (Mar 3, 2008)

themacpack said:


> That is a lawsuit waiting to happen - I am just mind boggled that this does not occur to people (ie the BOs)


Isn't everything nowadays? *rolls eyes*

My BO's dog can usually be found in or around the arena. At first I was surprised but then was impressed at how it was such a non issue for the horses.

A dog actually chasing you is unacceptable, but a dog just hanging around the arena could be a good training opportunity.
_Posted via Mobile Device_


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## Muppetgirl (Sep 16, 2012)

We have two dogs that run in the arena when the horses are lunging, but if your riding they don't come in.....that's the beauty of having QHs with cow horse bred in to them.....they very willingly chase the dog out!

The lazy barn cat is another issue....he's tabby and blends right in with the footing.....

BO says, 'anything other than horses in the arena is fair game' but I sure hope it's not my horse that rounds up the BOs dogs!!! I've just recently seen him go after the dog...ears pinned.....hmmm he might need to go see some cows!


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## Roperchick (Feb 1, 2010)

i dont have any problems with dogs that know how to behave around horses...but a dog chasing my horse?! absolutely not. thankfully all the dogs i ride around are very well behaved


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## themacpack (Jul 16, 2009)

nikelodeon79 said:


> Isn't everything nowadays? *rolls eyes*
> 
> My BO's dog can usually be found in or around the arena. At first I was surprised but then was impressed at how it was such a non issue for the horses.
> 
> ...


Rolling your eyes at the state of our legal system or my statement? If it's the latter, I was referring specifically to dogs entering an arena and chasing a horse during someone's ride, so not sure what would be eye-roll worthy about that :? A barn owner having a dog on property that enters the arena and chases someone's horse causing a situation in which horse or rider is injured is very much a lawsuit waiting to happen.


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## alexis rose (Oct 1, 2012)

I was practicing barrels in a friend's arena and when I came around the third barrel and was running back to the gate his dog ran in front of us. Pharly stopped and I came out of the saddle and landed on his neck. That scared him and he reared. I fell off and cracked some ribs.


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## sillyhorses (Sep 2, 2011)

I believe this would certainly fall under "negligence" on the part of the Barn Owner if someone actually gets hurt from this...


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## QuietHeartHorses (Jul 31, 2012)

The barn where I board my horse also does therapeutic riding for handicapped people, so given then nature of the program, my BO has to follow a very strict set of rules to remain as legal and safe as possible. One of our rules is no one, human or animal, is allowed in either of the arenas during a lesson without the rider's, or the rider's guardian's permission. If something were to happen to cause one of the horses to spook, and if the rider were to be injured, the consequences could be very serious. All of it is spelled out in our contracts, and in the liability release. 

Does your barn have anything like that? Maybe stating that the BO will have dogs on the property and they might interfere with your riding? Because if not, I'd seriously consider talking to her about it. Not in a threatening way, but just was a heads up maybe? If it happened to someone else, they might not be as tolerant as you. It's something to consider for everyone involved, including your BO. Just to be safe.


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## AnrewPL (Jun 3, 2012)

Personally I think that any dog that even looks like its so much as contemplating chasing a horse earns a death sentence and summary execution via a bullet in the head. The dog's owner, if they knowingly allow it, deserve the same.


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## redpony (Apr 17, 2012)

My dog chased one of my horses in the pasture once. ONCE! She kicked him good and we never had that problem again, lol!
_Posted via Mobile Device_


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## nikelodeon79 (Mar 3, 2008)

themacpack said:


> Rolling your eyes at the state of our legal system or my statement? If it's the latter, I was referring specifically to dogs entering an arena and chasing a horse during someone's ride, so not sure what would be eye-roll worthy about that :? A barn owner having a dog on property that enters the arena and chases someone's horse causing a situation in which horse or rider is injured is very much a lawsuit waiting to happen.


Mostly the fact that everyone is so dang sue happy.

So... I guess it would be both, since your mind automatically went to, "Sue the BO!" 

(For the record, I work for a personal injury law firm so I make my living on people bringing injury claims... and I can tell you "dog chases horse, rider falls off" is something we probably wouldn't even bother opening a file on).


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## poppy1356 (Jan 18, 2012)

^^^ But when said rider not only falls off but breaks their neck??? Whole different story.


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## nikelodeon79 (Mar 3, 2008)

poppy1356 said:


> ^^^ But when said rider not only falls off but breaks their neck??? Whole different story.


I don't disagree that it would be a terrible thing, I'm just saying that a lot of times in claims like these it's considered "assumption of risk" and there isn't much of a recourse. People can sue all they like... doesn't mean they'll win.

A dog actually chasing a horse would have a better chance of there being a winning case than a dog running through the arena and spooking the horse. 

Of course laws vary state by state... we only practice in MN in WI.


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## poppy1356 (Jan 18, 2012)

Yes but by having an agressive dog loose would be negligence so assumption of risk is out the window. I never assume that an agressive animal will chase me at a place of business.


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## Sherian (Aug 28, 2012)

sorry that you fell off, and yes the trainers dog should know better but I would consider it a training opportunity. Sorry if this sounds unsympathetic but it doesn't matter how controlled your enviroment is at home or how well behaved the dogs there are, you will eventually want to ride or even just deal with that horse on the ground somewhere else. And in that somewhere else there is going to be badly behaved dogs and all sorts of other small rude objects including children and your horse needs to know how to cope. I would rather my horse learn to ignore dogs etc in the safe confines of a ring before I am on a road with traffic or at a show with little kids that will not be able to get out of the way if Dobbin goes sideways because of a loose dog. I had a bunch of free range chickens that would wander through everywhere including the outside rings - now that was despooking.


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## mls (Nov 28, 2006)

poppy1356 said:


> Yes but by having an agressive dog loose would be negligence so assumption of risk is out the window. I never assume that an agressive animal will chase me at a place of business.


If a dog was indeed agressive (i.e. prone to unprovoked attacks), I'm sure this would not of been an isolated situation. It sounds as though it was bad timing for the Op.

Dog, cat, person, horse, snow falling off the roof, truck driving by, ATV's, etc. A horse will encounter many things in their life. Some may startle them, some that 'should' - won't and other things that shouldn't - do.


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## mls (Nov 28, 2006)

Duplicate!


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## AnrewPL (Jun 3, 2012)

The trouble is that some dogs turn it into a habit to chase horses. I have worked on cattle stations where dogs were used extensively, and if they worked as they were supposed to they are one of the most valuable things anyone working cattle can have and I have been told by dog advocates that 1 good dog is worth at least 3 men on a horse (I had a cattle dog when I was a ringer, but he got a kick in the head from a bull when he was still a little fella and figured heeling cattle was for suckers after that so he wasn’t much of a cattle dog from then on, but he was my dog and I loved him and had him for 16 years (even if he did end up being more just a pet than a work dog); but then he never turned into a horse chaser either. And for example, my uncle used to have a little place of about 38,000 acres and he could muster the whole place with only him on a horse and a posse of dogs, he had, and has, good horses, dogs and cattle. But if any of those dogs got into the habit of trying to heel horses instead of cattle their days were numbered. A good work dog is worth its weight in gold, but once they make chasing horses a habit they cross an unforgivable line as far as I'm concerned; a bullet is what they get.


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## kait18 (Oct 11, 2011)

from my point of view this isnt the dogs fault nor should it be said the dogs were bad. its the owners fault for not training the dogs how to act around horses.

that being said i also think as a rider you/we should be ready at all times for something unknown like this to just happen. as an outdoor rider having dogs chase or come up fast behind the horses is normal. most dogs are not trained to be around horses. if i was in an indoor arena and the doors were wide open then that leaves the issue who left the doors open to allow the animals in. but nevertheless be prepared for something to go wrong.

then what would be said if a bird so happened to fly into the arena and spook the horse and you were dumped... or if another horse was in the arena and freaked and caused your horse to freak... it all leads too how the rider handles the situation and how desentized/trained the horse is. which imo every horse should be completely desentized especially if your worried about injury. 

but thats just my 2 cents...


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## poppy1356 (Jan 18, 2012)

Sorry but seeing as this was a pitbull it had no business being let to chase horses. And no this is not breed bashing, I own a pit/rott. These dogs, if they ever actually catch a horse, will not stop. Luckily my dog got arthritis fast as when she was younger once she found out she could catch deer she routinely brought them home. 

And since this dog doesn't seem all that well trained if it was running from the owner when she was trying to catch it, I would be worried what other training this dog lacks. A pitbull is not a breed to let training slack with.


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## Sherian (Aug 28, 2012)

yes the dog is badly behaved and shouldn't be chasing horses. The dog is not the OP's to train or shoot. She can however train her horse to react appropriately to a dog chasing it, because there are more badly behaved dogs than well behaved out in the world whose owners are not going to do anything about.


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## mls (Nov 28, 2006)

poppy1356 said:


> Sorry but seeing as this was a pitbull it had no business being let to chase horses.
> 
> And since this dog doesn't seem all that well trained if it was running from the owner when she was trying to catch it, I would be worried what other training this dog lacks. A pitbull is not a breed to let training slack with.


Unless I am reading wrong - the pitbull was at her previous barn. Not related to this incident.


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## poppy1356 (Jan 18, 2012)

Hmm not sure.... if a dog ever chased my horse though the owner would be short a dog and not because of my doing.


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## AnrewPL (Jun 3, 2012)

Sure, might not be the OP's dog to train or shoot, but if it were me, and it looked like any mut were going to bite my horse, I'd be telling the barn owner I didn’t give a **** who owns the dog, it bites my horse, by by fido. Im not familiar with this whole barn owner thing or barns, and it seems from reading posts on this forum there’s quite a bit of politics involved with the whole barn owner deal, I don’t even know if we have barns as such in Australia, we probably do but call them a shed or something, but it seems they (barn owners) provide, for a cost, facilities in which people can keep horses; right? Seems incredibly negligent and irresponsible and a breach of some sort of duty of care if they have some mut running around putting horses and their riders in danger.


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## Inga (Sep 11, 2012)

Wait! Did I read that right? Did you say the barn owner was actually encouraging the dog to chase the horse? How incredibly stupid is that? I would most certainly have had words with them at that point. That is uncalled for and very dangerous. Dogs in the barn is one thing, I don't think they should be encouraged to chase a horse at any time.


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## themacpack (Jul 16, 2009)

Inga said:


> Wait! Did I read that right? Did you say the barn owner was actually encouraging the dog to chase the horse? How incredibly stupid is that? I would most certainly have had words with them at that point. That is uncalled for and very dangerous. Dogs in the barn is one thing, I don't think they should be encouraged to chase a horse at any time.


I believe the OP said the trainer had said "get that" referring to what the OP was doing on the horse but the dog interpreted it as a command to get the horse....


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## alexis rose (Oct 1, 2012)

We lost our house at one point in time and instead of selling my horses I took them to a friend's house. She has a dog that chases horses and I told her up front if my donkey kills your dog it isn't my fault. I had no where else to take them and they were kind enough to step up for me but I didn't want any bad blood if her dog got hurt. So they really started getting after their dog and everything was ok but it sure made me nervous. The dog did sneak up behind Phar Lap and Shadow and bite their back ankles a few times. I didn't like it but they would kick at the dog and take care of themselves. They have horses themselves and I am surprised they would even want a dog like that around their horses. BUT their horses and now mine don't spook at dogs at all anymore.


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## gunslinger (Sep 17, 2011)

Why don't you take a lead, catch the dog before you ride and tie him up until you finish?


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## Roperchick (Feb 1, 2010)

situational awareness here. if you know theres any kind of dog that is a guard dog/breed is more aggressive, then use caution around them.

all the training in the world cannot prevent EVERY SINGLE situation. maybe the dog is well trained. maybe it isnt. maybe it was having an off day or it mistook a command that it knows.

maybe the horse was spooky, maybe it was rider fault....maybe all three.


what it all boils down to is the BO being aware of the hrose and the dog, the rider being aware of horse and dog, and then just keeping an eye on surroundings.

these arent inanimate objects were talking about here. these are living creatures that go off of their own instincts, and are also at the same time supposed to go against/for orders that we humans give them.


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## Muppetgirl (Sep 16, 2012)

When the dogs come in the arena.....I line my horse up and run right at em! 

****....we need to get some cows!!! :lol:


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## Saddlebag (Jan 17, 2011)

Lure the dog into an empty box stall and close the door. I'm all for chasing the dog with the horse. Done it many times. Dogs are brave when doing the chasing but sure don't like to be chased.


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## Muppetgirl (Sep 16, 2012)

Saddlebag said:


> Lure the dog into an empty box stall and close the door. I'm all for chasing the dog with the horse. Done it many times. Dogs are brave when doing the chasing but sure don't like to be chased.


Yes it's amazing how they learn to stay away after one good chase.....I chased the dog today actually, it was a little unnerving the way my horse sped up when the dog turned tail.....hmmmm might have a dog killer!!! A little dirt in your horse isn't always a bad thing - sometimes!

I love my dogs....that's why they stay home and don't come to a barn full of cow/cutting/reining bred horses........


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## KountryPrincess (Oct 23, 2012)

I am sick of dealing with dogs at my barn. The BO has 3, and that is her perogative, but now borders are starting to bring their dogs even though there is supposed to be a rule about *not* doing that. People are bringing them on the property or leaving them in their cars where they bark incessantly. WTF? Why do people feel the need to bring their **** dogs everywhere? 

I have a dog, perhaps I should start taking mine too. I have one of those cow horses, and she will fire off a deadly kick to any dog bothering her hiney. I warned an owner of this the other day when the dog was following too close, but I am done with that. From now on, if they get kicked, they get kicked. Not my problem.


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## BarrelRacingLvr (Feb 26, 2012)

Are dogs are in the arena all the time...they don't chase they just mingle and stroll or play in the arena. Hermiston our Aussie rounds AROUND the arena....he runs up the fence then runs across the arena, then down the other side, stops waits for you to catch up then goes again. This dog is like PINGING off the arena fences lol. He is a little neurotic and runs NON STOP. 

I find it GREAT for the horses to get used to a dog running through the fence in front of them, behind them, at them, around them....

He is randomly in this video...he usually stays on the end of the arena or outside and will randomly zig zag across the arena when riding. Like I said I could care less about dogs being in the arena especially if they are just IN their. Now if they were trying to chase me....I would chase them down. I am lucky that my horses don't like dogs so JJ already tries to grab the bit and chase them lol. And the dog also runs up the fence and disappears for a slit second behind the plywood and comes back into sight and that sometimes catches the horses off guard which I find great to get them used to. 

But it is a great training thing for horses to get used to. When we have races the dogs are in kennels and Hermiston is tied up, but when we have "invitationals" with a few friends we leave them out especially Herm because it gets the horse used to things going on AROUND you while your working them so they learn to deal with it and not get distracted by the dog. 

Working Polly 7-25-12 - YouTube

So I use the dogs as a training to and in my personal experience don't have a problem with it.


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## chevysmum (Sep 30, 2009)

To clarify things a bit, the first dog WENT AFTER my horse when the instructor yelled for me to "get it" referring to getting my horse to canter instead of him being lazy. The dog chased me and my horse, during a lesson, until my horse dumped me, and I went to the hospital.
Most recently at a different barn the dog that lives there is on an invisible fence, one that he doesn't always respect. He just bolted through the invisible fence and ran up into the arena. He was NOT trying to hurt my horse, but the mere act of running into the arena sent my horse into flee mode. I didn't see this dog coming, as with the last, as I was looking straight ahead.
Because i don't want this to be a repeated problem I have taken it upon myself to lock the dog in a stall whenever I ride. I really wish this was not an issue, but I have no control over any strays that might come by either. I understand that this could be a great opportunity to train. I always saw this current dog as a plus because he was a playful friend to my horse in the pasture, which I hoped would make my horse less afraid of running dogs. Apparently not in the arena. I ride alone most of the time. If I had my own place I would secure the arena with fencing where NO dog could come in without an invitation. Don't get me wrong, I love dogs, just not where I expect to safely ride my horse. First time was blatant negligence, second time wasn't as blatant but nonetheless ended badly. Now I will psychologically need to get past my fear of a dog being around my horse when riding, something I had hoped we had gotten past over the past year. Thanks for your responses. I imagine this happens a lot as horse barns typically have dogs there as well.


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## Jessabel (Mar 19, 2009)

I hate dogs at the best of times, and there is no way I'd put up with one harassing my horse, especially while I'm riding. Maybe you should make a point and bring some rope with you to tie the dog up. 

It kind of baffles me why the BO would allow an ill-mannered dog to run loose in the first place. He of all people should know better.


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## mls (Nov 28, 2006)

Jessabel said:


> It kind of baffles me why the BO would allow an ill-mannered dog to run loose in the first place. He of all people should know better.


The OP did not say the dog was ill mannered. The BO has taken the precaution of putting up invisible fencing. My guess is they did not take the time to train the dog with the fencing as they were supposed to.


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## freia (Nov 3, 2011)

Muppetgirl said:


> When the dogs come in the arena.....I line my horse up and run right at em!
> 
> ****....we need to get some cows!!! :lol:


Yes. That works. I notice when I ride through a neighborhood or on a trail, if a dog seems aggressive or charges, the horse will get antsy and feel like he's about to bolt. If I turn him straight into the dog, it almost seems like both horse and dog do the math very quickly (1200 pounds, vs 75 pounds...). Every time, the horse calms down and the dog turns and runs away. The dogs I do this to don't do it again.
I realize that doesn't help when you're in an arena focusing on riding and a dog just shoots out from under the railing. Maybe if several of you get together and agree that whenever the dog enters the arena, start walking it down. I bet the dog would learn quickly. Most dogs stay away after the first kick to the head or trampling as well.


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## Sherian (Aug 28, 2012)

Do you have a friend with a well trained dog that could help you with your horse - as you said no matter how careful you are to round up the BO's dog there will always be someone else's loose dog at some point. Maybe start with the dog just in the ring on a leash while you lunge and work up to him being loose while you ride? Is your horse upset by other small moving critters or is it a specific fear of dogs from the first incident?


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## horsecrazygirl (Apr 23, 2012)

my neighbors horse was chased by dogs and i think coyotes when he was younger.so now he has a zero small animal or looks like a dog tolerance.so no dog gets near him.


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## Muppetgirl (Sep 16, 2012)

How about instead of training the dog or being put out by locking it in a stall....why don't you train your horse? You cannot control every dog, but you CAN train and condition your horse to tolerate dogs to some degree that you won't fear hitting the dirt when your horse encounters one......change what you can control.....control what you cannot change......


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## AnrewPL (Jun 3, 2012)

Muppet girl has a really good point there; the only problem is that I think the OP said the dog mistakenly went at the horse. All the horses I have had have had to be well used to dogs, as they were used with cattle work. If we were just riding along through a paddock without any cattle the dogs tended to just trot along around the horses, right under their feet even, I ran my dog clean over one day on my horse as he was running along in front and wouldn’t get out of the way of the horse, I couldn’t pull up as I was trying to cut off a cow; taught the little ****** a healthy respect for horses though. 
The worst incident I ever heard of with dogs and horses though was from the guy who taught me to ride/train horses. He had bought a nice Arab/Quarter-horse filly and was riding her through the town he lived in (where I went to boarding school, how I knew him) and as he rode past a guys house the guy, sitting on the front porch, set his two bull terriers onto the horse. Yes, that’s right deliberately set them onto the horse. Despite my friend flogging the dogs with everything he had, and the horse doing everything she could do to fight them off they dragged her onto her knees before she managed to bite one and hurl it through the air, which scared it off. After that she managed to get up and stomp the back foot onto the other one’s head, didn’t kill it, but took it out of commission. After that my friend rode his horse up onto the front porch of the house and showed the guy why you shouldn’t set dogs onto horses owned, and being ridden by, former British Army 1st Parachute regiment troops. The horse would chase a dog on sight after that, can’t blame her. But the point being there is a difference between a dog near a horse, and a dog attacking a horse.


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## Foxhunter (Feb 5, 2012)

I Fox Hunt and the horses must be trained to accept dogs. Kicking a hound is the deadliest of sins! 
So, horses here are well use to dogs -and so they should be as we have 17 about the place and often more at various times. 

I agree that you cannot possibly control every dog situation, loose dogs about when you are riding and, as happened a dog running after a horse just because .......!

My Border Collie will trot around any horse being lunged - either behind it or in the opposite direction, I rarely ever stop her because it does the horses good. Fox Hound pups are just ignorant of the dangers horses can do and will play in the loose shed when the young horses are in there. 
One of the smallest terriers (weighs about 6lb) will get into a feed bowl in the loose sheds and see all the horses off whilst she eats their feed. 

When out riding if a dog runs up to a garden gate barking, the horses take no notice. If dogs run after them when out riding they take no notice. Even the youngsters!

Oh, you can shut dogs up in a stable but majority can jump out with no problem if they are not trained to stay there.


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## NordicJuniper (Jun 9, 2009)

I am sorry you fell off and got hurt, that is never any fun. The owner of the dog should be a little more aware of what their dog is doing.

I have an annoying little one year old puppy. She is insane and hyper. I take her to the barn with me sometimes. She loves horses and tried to play with them, she would never try to hurt them. But sometimes her playing means chasing. She will run at them and then she will turn and want them to chase her. It is a game to her. All of the horses at the barn are used to dogs so generally they ignore her. My horse however absolutely hated dogs, he has gotten better now. He would chase her and strike at her and try to bite her, she would run. She still thought it was a game. Yelling at her does no good and honestly if she gets kicked or bit then she will learn on her own. She isn't going to hurt my horse and he isn't afraid of her. I was lunging him today and she was running around with him. He has gotten better and payed her only a little attention. He will still get irritated with her but now he tries to sniff her and doesn't automatically try to kill her.

You can train your horse to be less spooky around dogs, it just takes time. I let my dog chase Junior while I am lunging him because then I know that when I ride him, if she chases him, he won't run. This has also helped on trail rides. He doesn't spook at the dogs that come running up to fences barking. We had four dogs come out and three of them were standing behind his back legs, sniffing him. Before he would have kicked them, but now he just sort of moved away. The owners were trying to get their dogs, but the dogs weren't being mean so no big deal.

My horse is 23, if I can train him to not mind dogs after a lifetime of disliking them to the extent of chasing them and flipping them over/trampling them, I believe that almost anyone could. It is just a matter of time and patience. My dog is an animal just like my horse. I can control her just as well as I can control him. Both have a mind of their own and and I am seriously not afraid of my 45lb dog hurting my 1100lb horse.


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