Heather Knox (56) and Donna Summers (42) were riding in the fields behind Diageo last week when the dog, possibly a malamute breed, bit both horses and chased one across the fields.
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| Lucky to be alive, the owner and her horse escaped |
“It started barking, but my horse (Fi, a Highland) is not frightened of dogs, as she is quite used to them, so we weren’t bothered about it until it started circling us,” Ms Knox said.
“The dog then started jumping up at the horses and biting them on the ankles.
“Fi was getting more and more upset, and she just took off across the field, very fast, and the dog chased us.
“If I had come off, I would have broken my back. I thought I was going to get killed.”
Eventually, the dog, which Ms Knox said had distinctive blue eyes, stopped and she brought her horse under control before the dog’s owner, an elderly man, apologised.
Ms Knox, who has been riding in Levenmouth for over 18 years, said she was so upset at the time she didn’t get his name but has since reported the incident to Fife Police under the Dangerous Dogs Act.
She continued: “We were lucky we weren’t near a road, as we could have ended up in the middle of it.
“He (the dog owner) said he was sorry and said his dog wasn’t used to horses. I told him it should have been on a lead if he couldn’t control it.
“It was so traumatic for both of the horses. The dog was like a predator and we were its prey.”
Both Ms Knox and Ms Summers are experienced riders, have qualifications in equine studies and, as members of the North East Fife Riding Club, the ladies are used to taking their animals out in public, but have never experienced anything like the incident.
Hoping she will never go through the same experience again, Ms Knox asked for dog walkers to show more control and added she is wary of taking Fi, who suffered a wound during the incident, back out in the open in case she comes face to face with the dog again.
A spokesman from Fife Police said enquiries into the incident were continuing.
(Fife Today - Sept 30, 2011)
