Dear Editor:
Re: Dog attacks horse and rider near Baden Powell Trail in the Lillooett Road area.
The reason that I wish to tell you about this incident which happened today, is that a bit of publicity may alert some owners of “out of control” dogs to avoid a future disaster.
I keep a horse at the North Shore Equestrian Centre, and ride him on the trails in that area. I encounter a lot of dogs and 90 per cent of their owners are responsible. If their dogs are insufficiently obedient or they just want to make sure that there is no incident, they will leash them when they see a horse approaching. I always thank them.
Today my horse knew that someone was coming long before I did and when I saw that the dog was running free, I stopped my horse and waited for the owner to attach the leash. The owner did try but the dog wasn’t listening. He was large and heavy-set and went straight for my horse’s nose and belly. Horses are like deer, a lot of animals want to eat them, especially wolves, and so horses do what they have been doing for millions of years. They run, as fast as they can.
We have experienced many dog attacks over the last year, but this was the most aggressive that my horse has been faced with. I came off hard, and horse and dog disappeared into the forest. He found his way back to the barn where he was taken care of by the barn staff. A friend came to look for me in her car, and a parks member found me, reunited with my horse and I found out from him that a lot of people had been alerted when a riderless horse returned. Thank you to everyone.
A lot of dog owners seem unaware that horses and dogs use the same trails, and many riders would love to take their horses for a trail ride but are afraid to do so because of all the dangerous dog encounters. My horse is a quarter horse, the kind the cowboys use, and is very calm by nature, but most of the horses at the barn are not. They are very expensive and often very nervous, performance horses. Too valuable to chance a dog attack.
It makes me very sad that these horses are kept in a riding arena and never have a chance to do a relaxing trail ride.
Lucy Collings
North Vancouver
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