Unfair:

[sandgrubber]

Thinking back, the worst harm an animal has done to me was a horse named Mandy. I was 10. Mandy didn't like kids and both bit and kicked. We usually got past her safely. One day I got kicked, and spent several weeks in hospital under heavy painkillers with a ruptured kidney. The usual, inadequate parental supervision. I don't remember anyone even considering doing anything with the horse . . .

Why is it that a dog who sends a kid to hospital gets pts, while a horse that bucks, kicks, bites, or otherwise inflicts bodily harm is just accepted?

[WreckitWhippet]

That didn't happen at our house, our horses were carefully chosen and such things were not tolerated. We sent one bastard to the knackery for lashing out.

[Cosmolo]

Accepted by whom?

[huskies4life88]

when i was 7 my horse ran me straight into a tree and then threw me into a fence that hard barb wire on top.

i needed 27 stitches and i had a broken leg.

my parents got the horse PTS.

[JulesP]

Plenty of horses get PTS for hurting people.

[Weasels]

I have a couple of theories:

- dogs are predators, horses are prey. Our deep instinctive fear of an aggressive dog is greater than that of a horse.

- A horse is a bigger commitment than a dog, so people that have them are more likly to be animal savvy and to think about why they were lashing out and rationalise it to avoid the situation in future. Dogs are easier to get rid of too, as anyone that has to find a backhoe hire on a Sunday for a dead horse can attest.

I'm continually amazed at how cat owners can get away with so much (not saying they all take advantage of that of course), reinforced by the native bird I saw ripped in half on my walk this morning.

Just a thought (or two)

[Nic.B]

I dont think the two are comparable really. Dogs are companion animals, horses are livestock.

That sort of behaviour from a horse is simply bad manners. No way on earth our horses would behave that way.

Years ago I helped with some rescue ponies, they were little shits very badly behaved and I had to be careful working with them. No way I would let anyone near them that didnt know what they were doing.

As an aside. Stats show the risks of death and injury is very, very high when working with horses.

Edited November 1, 2011 by Nic.B

[megan_]

Horses aren't roaming around the burbs, living in our homes

[Weasels]

It could also be more a product of the time and place you grew up Sandgrubber? I find people are less and less tolerant of any inconvenience/injury that an animal (or any part of the natural world) causes them. The papers here lately have been full of articles complaining about bird swoopings and about taking revenge (sometimes pre-emptive) on sharks.

I have had a few nasty throws off horses, most of them were from them being spooked, not the horses fault. The most recent one (13 years ago) well.... he was kind of a jerk horse, but he's just living out his days in the paddocks now and doesn't get ridden or go near the road, so there doesn't seem to be any reason to put him down.

[casowner]

I haven't ridden a dog recently. Dogs aren't considered beasts of burden we do not put saddles on them, put bits in their mouths, get on their backs and expect them to go where we want including in circles repetively. I got swooped by a magpie once, doesn't mean I expect all swooping magpies to be shot out of the sky. Sorry but I do not see any comparison but for what it is worth if one of my horses had maliciously injured someone it would be pts

[jacqui835]

People can be injured by dogs just walking down the street, for example, you can be wanting to go and buy some coffee and be attacked by a dog that doesn't belong to you. To be injured by a horse you have to want to interact with one.

Who is more likely to report the attack? If I was bitten by someone else's dog randomly, I would report that for sure. If my horse (not that I own a horse ) stepped on my foot because he didn't want his bridle on and broke my foot (true story - though I wasn't the victim), well it wouldn't have happened if they hadn't engaged with the horse.

Anytime you elect to engage with an animal that size, there is going to be decent risk involved - hence you often sign waivers when you go riding, you are never asked to do that with dogs.

[Nic.B]

Behavioural issues with horses can be well managed and IMO are very separate to issues with dogs . It is not unusual for a horse to kick out which is why some horses wear a red ribbon in their tail when out and about or at shows etc.

You would have to be mad to stand behind a horse who is known to kick out.

I would not pts a horse with issues either....well it would have to be a very dangerous horse for me to do so.

[Nekhbet]

depends on the issue - my one and only horse was an absolute arse of an animal. He attacked, was sneaky and tried to kill me by pressing me into a wall and then kicking out at my mother when she tried to get him off. A couple of experienced trainers had a look and one ran out of his stall in the stables and refused to go back in. If he wasnt a free lease horse I would have sent him to the knackery. He was no good to anyone including himself.

Dogs and horses have different behaviours though. A prey animal kicking out because you sneak up out of eye shot, well, you deserve it. A dog annoyed to its limit will lash out with its teeth. But when animals of any species make a bee line to a person or other animal and intentionally go out of their way to cause serious damage/death you have a big problem.

[huskies4life88]

my brother wont go near a horse since he saw what happened to drew on neighbours all those years ago

i keep trying to tell him that was very dramatised, even though things like that may happen, its not a reason to live your life in fear.

Im not scared of horses, even though my parents put my horse to sleep after that incident when I was 7 I have still never hesitated to give one a good riding , i love riding through the bush and doing some hurdles here and there

But I agree about the livestock and companion animal thing.

dogs are bought to be peoples friends and companions and when they cross that line and become a danger its in the best interest of the dog and human to have the dog pts. ( not saying this is the case all the time because some cases are not so open and shut) but as it has been mentioned you dont just walk into your friends home and have a horse start biting and hanging off your face or throat or trying to rip your arms off ( just an eg please dont take this literally lol)

[Linda K]

first of all, would drop the PETA line in calling the companion animals, they are pets. Rant over.

I think generally though, most people that get a horse don;t go in blindly like they might with a dog, the kid may have done riding lessons, or go and get them once they have the horse, do the whole pony club thing and generally learn how to behave around horses, whereas with dogs, as has already been said, you can have this interaction just from walking down the street or on a park - a horse is not generally going to come bursting up to you in a park, and then lunge and attack/ I also disagree with the comment about cats getting away with more too - if the owner is responsible, then the cats are either indoor only, or in enclosures, and not wandering around free, and they also are not likely to run up and attack.

[Nic.B]

first of all, would drop the PETA line in calling the companion animals, they are pets. Rant over.

I think generally though, most people that get a horse don;t go in blindly like they might with a dog, the kid may have done riding lessons, or go and get them once they have the horse, do the whole pony club thing and generally learn how to behave around horses, whereas with dogs, as has already been said, you can have this interaction just from walking down the street or on a park - a horse is not generally going to come bursting up to you in a park, and then lunge and attack/ I also disagree with the comment about cats getting away with more too - if the owner is responsible, then the cats are either indoor only, or in enclosures, and not wandering around free, and they also are not likely to run up and attack.

What has PETA got do do with this?

Dogs and cats are companion animals, that is a fact.

Horses, cows, sheep (just to name a few) are livestock. That is also a fact.

[huskies4life88]

first of all, would drop the PETA line in calling the companion animals, they are pets. Rant over.

I think generally though, most people that get a horse don;t go in blindly like they might with a dog, the kid may have done riding lessons, or go and get them once they have the horse, do the whole pony club thing and generally learn how to behave around horses, whereas with dogs, as has already been said, you can have this interaction just from walking down the street or on a park - a horse is not generally going to come bursting up to you in a park, and then lunge and attack/ I also disagree with the comment about cats getting away with more too - if the owner is responsible, then the cats are either indoor only, or in enclosures, and not wandering around free, and they also are not likely to run up and attack.

What has PETA got do do with this?

Dogs and cats are companion animals, that is a fact.

Horses, cows, sheep (just to name a few) are livestock. That is also a fact.

What I was thinking.

[Andisa]

Accepted by whom?

Agree.

I had a few bastards over the years but managed to turn them around. I broke in 3 of my own and 1 for a neighbour. I would not think twice about sending a horse to the knackery if I could not sort it out myself or with the help of the local breakers.

The horse that I had my worst injuries from I had for almost 15 yrs (got him as a baby with his mother) - loved the bugger. He kicked me in the face as a yearling and I saved his life that day, Dad was going to send him off but I stopped him. He fractured my face, I was only about 13 or so then. My big fall was 4 yrs later during a ODE while jumping, I had a weak ankle and I twisted it in the stirrup while jumping and just let go - unfortunately the landing was a good one and I have lived with it since. I had surgery on my foot but that accident was not the horses fault.

The young ones will bite and kick until they learn manners, but given time to mature and settle if they were still not safe they would not have had a future.

Edited November 1, 2011 by Andisa

[Weasels]

I also disagree with the comment about cats getting away with more too - if the owner is responsible, then the cats are either indoor only, or in enclosures, and not wandering around free, and they also are not likely to run up and attack.

I absolutely believe that the majority of cat owners are responsible. But IME an irresponsible cat owner is much less likely to face any conseqences than an irresponsible dog owner.

No they aren't likely to attack humans but wandering cats do kill plenty of native animals, spread disease, poop in other people's yards, cause an increase in the population through unchecked matings and cause nuisance through inciting dog barking or fighting loudly amongst themselves in the middle of the night.

I'm not a cat-hater despite the above I would just he happier if more were kept under control.

[wings]

Agree with most of the other posters, not sure if the comparison is a good one.

Also the average person is much more likely to encounter a dog then a horse, especially a loose one. Thus the chances of a negative encounter are much higher with a dog.