# Spooking at Small Dogs



## HannahC (Apr 30, 2012)

Hello everyone!

This is my first time posting on here, but I am having a small dilemma.

My new horse and I, Rebel, have only been together for about two weeks. I had my previous horse for almost 10 years- she was already 20-21 when I got her, so she was extremely experienced and never spooked at anything. 

Rebel, however, is only four- he'll be five in July. He is usually very level headed, but of course there are things he has never seen before (but I did manage to get him used to my dad's boat and other trailers in our yard- I was so proud!)

The one thing that really scares him- and I fear that someone will get hurt because of it- is my neighbor's small dogs. One is some sort of terrier looking dog, and the other is a shi tzu. The terrier looking dog will come charging at Rebel, barking, and get under his feet. Rebel will then bolt, accented by small bucks. I am afraid he will hurt the dog, himself, or me. 

I know that he is not afraid of dogs in general. My dog, Larry, often spends time with me and the horses- Rebel is not frightened of him at all. I believe that the difficulty with the small dog is the fact that it is barking, and it gets under his feet, so he can't see the threat. 

I wondered if there is any way to safely desensitize Rebel to this. I also considered going over on my four wheeler to make sure the tiny dog is inside before I saddle up. I hate to ask my neighbors for assistance, because it isn't really their problem, and the last time it happened, the man was in the yard and said nothing to his pet.


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## Saddlebag (Jan 17, 2011)

It sounds like he hasn't had enough trail experience. Horses worry about small dogs because they can so easily get into their blind spots. The two areas are under the jaw and behind them. Rather than you getting hurt, why not dismount and lead him past the dogs. Use a nice long lead with a rope halter under his bridle. Give him at least 3' of lead and focus on a spot far ahead. If the dogs come out, give him plenty of lead and let him deal with them. With the long lead he can scoot ahead but you still maintain control. If the dogs are quite persistant, invest in a good water pistol. Dogs hate getting squirted and no harm done. They will learn to recognize your horse as the one that squirts water at them. We dealt with a GS that would hide in long grass then come barreling out by turning my mare and chasing him. After that he sat on the step whining until we had passed by.


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## mildot (Oct 18, 2011)

Make him chase the dogs. Teach him the dogs fear him, not the other way around.

If a dog gets hurt in the process, oh well, shouldn't have been roaming loose in the first place.


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## Cacowgirl (Feb 19, 2011)

Aren't there leash laws in your area? Have you ever walked your horse by on a lead to let him get used to the noise?


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## HannahC (Apr 30, 2012)

Thank you everyone for the quick replies!

For a young horse, Rebel is amazingly brave, but I can't blame him at all for being afraid when the dog comes running at him ready to take him down. 

Large dogs- he's totally fine. He lived with three Sharpes for the past three years- and he's ridden with several large dogs before. These tiny things freak him out though.

Saddlebag, I really like your idea of using a squirt gun. I had never considered this before, but it would definitely come in handy. I also think leading him on foot would be a good idea also. I had already done this once, but the dog in question was inside at the time. 

Mildot, I actually used to do just that on my mare! Like I said though, she was much older and wiser. This little dog is certainly annoying.

Cacowgirl, I actually ride on my grandfather's property just behind my house- there are several acres of fields that lay just behind my house. A few houses back up to the fields and the house in question is beside my own house separated by a field. 

I definitely will try leading him with the dog in question around. I only have polyester lead ropes- should I use a lunge line or would this be so long as to be dangerous?


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## QOS (Dec 8, 2008)

I agree with chasing the dog!!! Or if you lead the horse past and dogging comes running out - take you a little lounge whip and pop his butt. Owner may have issues with that and come running out instead of "doing nothing". Teachable moment for all - owner get your idiot dog before he either gets drop kicked for a field goal, popped on the butt with a whip or you possibly get hurt when your horse bolts with you in the saddle. 

Dogs can be pretty darn smart and little dog will learn quick enough to leave the big horsey alone!! I love dogs. But I love well behaved dogs! I ride with a friend who takes his dog along. She runs in and out, running up behind Biscuit and he once got so upset he kept charging her. It was making me a nervous wreak. We were coming in once at a pretty fast extended trot to get out of a incoming storm and she ran right up behind him. He kicked out and thank God my butt stayed in the saddle . I don't like riding with her!


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## mildot (Oct 18, 2011)

QOS said:


> take you a little lounge whip and pop his butt. Owner may have issues with that and come running out instead of "doing nothing". Teachable moment for all - owner get your idiot dog before he either gets drop kicked for a field goal, popped on the butt with a whip or you possibly get hurt when your horse bolts with you in the saddle.!


Agree 100%. One of the reasons why I carry a dressage whip instead of a crop when trail riding.


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## Joe4d (Sep 1, 2011)

what do you mean it isnt the neighbors problem ? Of course it is. It is illegal in most areas to let your dog run loose onto someone elses property. You need to tell him in no uncertain terms to keep his dog at home.


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## mildot (Oct 18, 2011)

There's always that livestock harassing law that most states have. It's a death sentence for any dog caught doing it. And last time I checked horses were livestock.


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## Skyseternalangel (Jul 23, 2011)

Chase those little runts down!

Your safety is more important than upsetting neighbors who don't even seem to care since they said nothing about their little yappers underneath your horse. Those dogs will learn their lesson and leave him alone.


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## hemms (Apr 18, 2012)

A cat darted out under my inexperienced horse this past fall, actually colliding into his legs (it was watching the horse ahead of us). I landed on the gravel road and broke a rib. Thankfully, my helmet-less head barely kissed the ground - I couldn't BELIEVE I'd forgotten it! 

Loose dog off its own property is always fair game. Warn the neighbour that your safety is not an option and neither is his loose canines. Chase them down, bark at them with your biggest voice. Get animal control involved if this does not work. 

Polite is NOT worth you becoming permanently paralysed from an accident.


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## HannahC (Apr 30, 2012)

I am looking into investing in a water gun- they make some with pretty good distances that I can hang from a rifle strap 

I'll be sure to let Rebel get used to it before I carry it- I would never spray him of course.

I've never carried a crop before while riding- and at the risk of sounding stupid, I am not sure about the difference between a crop and a dressage whip. I worry that I would drop it or accidentally hit Rebel with it. I'm such a clutz XD


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## MisssMarie (Jan 31, 2012)

If you want to carry something, do paintball gun. It scares the dog AND warns the owner big time
_Posted via Mobile Device_


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## mildot (Oct 18, 2011)

HannahC said:


> I've never carried a crop before while riding- and at the risk of sounding stupid, I am not sure about the difference between a crop and a dressage whip. I worry that I would drop it or accidentally hit Rebel with it. I'm such a clutz XD


Crop: short whip (maybe 24 - 26 inches)

Dressage whip: long (38 - 45 inches)

Most crops have a wrist loop so dropping them is not that easy. I've never seen a dressage whip with a wrist loop (not to say they don't exist or you couldn't make out out of parachute cord and duct tape), but in 9 months of riding with one I've dropped it once. And I direct rein so I have a rein in each hand. I think I was messing around adjusting a stirrup and dropped the whip. I've never lost it while actually riding.

When you carry a dressage whip, it lies over your thigh so it's pretty hard to hit the horse accidentally. And unless the horse is mental, a light brushing with the whip should not mean anything to them.

Here's how you carry a whip, you flick your wrist out to apply it back just behind your leg.


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## ohmyitschelle (Aug 23, 2008)

I have had experience in owning a mare who hated small animals around her... like most, it scared her and she couldn't locate the threat as well as a larger animal. I was once riding around my boarding property that was surrounded by houses that had a little of land each, like a lane of small lifestyle properties... anyway one of them had this fancy long haired little dog (for the life of me I couldn't tell you the breed) and it would run around the lane and onto our property without supervision. I would always shoo it away before it got near the horses, but this time since I was riding, I didn't get as much chance to react. But my horse did and as it came towards us yapping its head off she swung her hind leg out and connected with it... the dog spun around yelping it's head off and took for home before I could dismount and check if it was okay. I felt guilty that my horse most probably caused some kind of injury (I didn't even know which house it came from and it was a private lane with a special gate lock so visitors couldn't just come down it) but at the end of the day, after speaking with our property manager, they told me I wasn't liable as the accident happened on our property which was also private and it is up to dog owners to be responsible and look after them. As a dog owner myself, I felt terrible, but would have never allowed my dog even in the country to roam without supervision.

This mare in particular didn't like little animals though, and feral rabbits and even a hedgehog made the mistake of venturing close to her... she was an absolute delight to anything she could see well however.

If the owner of this dog doesn't want to see it crumpled in a mess when Rebel gets to the point of not tolerating this little intruder, I'd suggest you do something about it. At the end of the day like others said, it's just so not worth the risk - to all parties involved.


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## mildot (Oct 18, 2011)

I'm not at all sure why someone would feel responsible if the horse they are riding kicks a loose dog that is annoying it, even if it happens on a public right of way.

A) Dogs are not supposed to be loose in most locations.

B) Even if they are in a location where leashes are not required, they are supposed to be under control.

C) Horses do what they do to protect themselves.

D) Dogs are not allowed to harass livestock.

E) In most US states dogs can be killed on the spot for doing D) above.


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## ohmyitschelle (Aug 23, 2008)

mildot said:


> I'm not at all sure why someone would feel responsible if the horse they are riding kicks a loose dog that is annoying it, even if it happens on a public right of way.


In my case it was a reaction out of being a dog owner myself. I didn't feel the need to go and say "I'm so sorry your dog in which you let roam around everywhere harrassed my horse and she kicked it. I feel responsible." ... I never felt responsible in the slightest - she reacted out of fear. I did feel bad because it had to learn its lesson in a hard way. Over here in NZ our animals laws are incredibly relaxed compared to the US (which many have been trying to advocate for change as too many cases slip by now which are disgusting), however you are right, dogs are not allowed to harrass livestock. I had an incident with this... a husky escaped from his owner and took off down the road to the farms at the end ... after attacking a couple of sheep, she came into our paddocks, lunged at my older gelding who perhaps didn't move as fast as the mares did, attacked his neck (not too deeply but enough to send me into a panic) and one of his back legs before taking off further onto the property next door. I arrived at the paddocks unaware maybe ten minutes after the attack, found my horse the way he was, and then noticed what I thought was a "wolf" weaving in and out of the trees. She went through the boundary fence and started harrassing a foal. 

The result? This dog despite destroying two sheep, attacking my horse and I think she was caught before she laid damage on the foal, is still alive. The owners paid for all bills... and had a previous clean record. Despite her taste for blood, the dog was given a second chance to life. Whenever outside she has to wear a muzzle and is labelled a "dangerous dog". I know for a fact, if this was America, the dog would be dead. Its interesting, if a dog attacks a person, there is less hesitation to put it to sleep. But I found it really interesting and disgusting that this dog was allowed to live. The owners were lovely... but I was disappointed. The SPCA did really nothing other than advocate the contact between parties. I attempted to fight this, and even contacted free legal aide (student at the time)... I was actually told it would be a lengthy, costly affair to do anything about it. 

Sometimes I wish for your laws in the US. Here, animal rights are below substandard.


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## HannahC (Apr 30, 2012)

Thank you mildot for the pictures! They were really helpful! Rebel has been trained with spurs, but since I didn't have any when I test rode him, his owners loaned me a crop. I think I maybe barely touched him it twice. I ride western, so I mostly neck rein, I only direct rein when Rebel needs a bit of help, since he has just almost mastered the neck reining. 

Haha, the paintball gun is something I thought of also, but those things seriously hurt. I know I would be likely to accidentally shoot myself in the foot. 

Ohmyitschelle, that is terrible about the husky, I am so glad that none of your animals were seriously hurt. I would have felt bad if Rebel had kicked this dog also- like it's been mentioned, the dog would deserve it, but I never like to see any animal in pain. 

The little dog did retreat when I yelled at it- I _think_. It's a little hard to remember because Rebel was bolting and crow hopping, the dog was yapping, and I was simultaneously yelling for my dog Larry, and yelling at the little dog. So it's hard to tell which thing actually had an effect. 

Larry normally handles most of the dog business for me- but he's getting older and doesn't keep up as well as he used to. 

As for leading Rebel on foot sometime past the fluffy beast's house- would you guys recommend a lunge line or a lead rope?


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## mildot (Oct 18, 2011)

HannahC said:


> I ride western, so I mostly neck rein,


The pics I posted is how you use one when riding with a rein in each hand in contact, like I do.

With both loose reins in one hand, you can easily hold the whip however you like with the free hand.


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