A Fife mum has appealed to dog owners to keep their pets under control after the pony her daughter riding was hurt in an attack on Leven beach.
Experienced rider Lucy Orr and her daughter, Hannah, 12, were enjoying a ride on Leven beach with two ponies and their owner on Saturday morning when the errant dog went for one of the horses.
Despite efforts to fend off the dog, described as a tan coloured Staffordshire type breed, it managed to bite the pony’s shoulder.
Lucy, who, along with her friend and the ponies’ owner, Mandy Elder, had taken Hannah and the animals to at the water’s edge at low tide, far away from the main Leven beach.
‘Could see the dog approaching’
“We had purposely taken the ponies away from the beach area as it’s a lot quieter and the salt water is beneficial to the ponies,” Lucy said.
“We could see the dog approaching from quite a distance and it immediately went for it.
“As it circled for a second time it jumped and bit the horse on the shoulder, injuring it, before it ran away.
“Thankfully our animals were stationary at the time otherwise it could have developed into a worse situation.
“As we took the ponies back to the trailer the woman owner of the dog did come to apologise but we were in too much shock.”
Now, following the attack, Lucy, who has 35 years of horse riding experience and regularly rides on Leven beach, has appealed to dog owners to be more vigilant of their pets whilst they are off the lead.
She said: “It’s lucky the pony, or the dog which was kicked a few times during the incident, weren’t more seriously injured.
“It’s not a witch hunt against dog owners as I firmly believe that there is enough beach for everyone to enjoy.
“I just want to appeal to owners to remain vigilant and in control of their pets whilst off the lead as their animals do have a potential to cause injury as highlighted in this instance.
“With so many families using the beach next time it could quite easily be a child instead of a pony that is injured.”
It’s understood the incident was not reported to the police.