Taking your dog out for walkies?

Know your legal responsibilities to horse riders and other members of the public

I was interested to read a recent newspaper article reporting on the story of an experienced horse rider who has been awarded in the region of £500,000 after she suffered life changing injuries when the horse she was riding came in to contact with two off-lead dogs.

The facts of the case were that the horse rider encountered a professional dog walker who was out with four dogs off-lead whilst riding on a bridleway. It was reported that the horse rider warned the dog walker to keep the dogs under control, and whilst the dog walker managed to put two dogs back on leads, the other two ignored her commands and ran away from her.

The two dogs reportedly circled the horse, causing the horse to be startled and rear up, following which the horse rider fell off and the horse landed on top of her. The rider suffered fractures to her spine and pelvis as well as a head injury, leaving her confined to a wheelchair for many months. 

The horse rider sued the dog walker for her personal injury and financial losses, and the matter proceeded to a court trial.

The judge found that the dog walker was entirely responsible for the injuries sustained to the horse rider due to the failure to keep the dogs under control.  The judge concluded that the dog walker should have known that horses were regularly ridden in that area, and that the dog walker’s failure to take reasonable steps to prevent the risk of injury to horse riders had caused the accident. Despite the horse rider being very experienced, no criticism was placed on her for any failure to control the horse.

This case is of importance to dog owners and professional dog walkers, particularly those who let their dogs off-lead.  Whilst allowing a dog to run unleashed is not in itself illegal, it is clear from this Court Judgment that those responsible for a dog need to be very conscious of their surroundings and the potential risks of injury to others, before deciding to allow a dog, even a friendly one, off-lead.  In areas known to be frequented by horse riders, including common land and bridleways, people walking dogs have an even greater responsibility, in circumstances where the Court found it foreseeable that a dog could frighten a horse and risk injuring the rider.

Further, this case highlights the importance of dog owners and professional dog walkers having sufficient pet specific public liability insurance in place for such unexpected eventualities.

At Barker Son & Isherwood LLP we are specialists in all types of personal injury claims.  If you have been injured in an incident involving an animal, a member of our Personal Injury Team would be pleased to meet with you for a no obligation free consultation at our offices in Andover.  We are able to offer No Win No Fee funding arrangements for appropriate cases and pride ourselves in providing a personal, empathetic legal service to our injured clients. Please contact us today on info@bsandi.co.uk or call on 01264 353411.