I would try and find some friendly riders who have dog proof horses, and see if you can bribe them into a session of getting on and off their horse, demonstrating to Jasper that people on horses are just that.
My boy Rocky once discovered me ON a horse.. (my Mum had him on a lead) and he was ASTOUNDED to realise it was ME up there and I was the same ME when I got off, ever since that he has been noticeably better with ridden horses (they scare the pants off him!) than he was. But since we don't walk where horses are ridden and he has so many OTHER hang ups, its bottom of our list of priorities at the moment!
Dogs & horses
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Re: Dogs & horses
West Midlands based 1-2-1 Training & Behaviour Canine Consultant
Re: Dogs & horses
That story reminds me of one of my old terriers, what must be 15 or 16 years ago....
I used to go SCUBA diving, and this one time I took along my Border Terrier. I didn't usually, because there's too much gear and 'stuff' to carry and keep you busy, but it was a shore dive from a sandy beach and I thought she'd have a great time running about on the sand.
I didn't really think much more about it beforehand, but disappearing under the water and not coming back really freaked her out. (Not that I knew of course, swimming about under water). When we came out the water about a half hour later, she was still a bit panicky, and frantically looking towards the water where we'd gone in. She was beside herself over the moon when she realised we did come back, but the people on the shore looking after her said she'd been quite upset the moment we went under, and just didn't understand where I'd gone.
It all ended up being ok, but I still felt a bit guilty being so thoughtless and didn't dive again that day as we'd planned to. I never actually took her on a diving trip again. It just wasn't a dog friendly thing to do.
I'd go about things differently if I was still diving, but I'm older and wiser than I was back then.... sometimes.
I used to go SCUBA diving, and this one time I took along my Border Terrier. I didn't usually, because there's too much gear and 'stuff' to carry and keep you busy, but it was a shore dive from a sandy beach and I thought she'd have a great time running about on the sand.
I didn't really think much more about it beforehand, but disappearing under the water and not coming back really freaked her out. (Not that I knew of course, swimming about under water). When we came out the water about a half hour later, she was still a bit panicky, and frantically looking towards the water where we'd gone in. She was beside herself over the moon when she realised we did come back, but the people on the shore looking after her said she'd been quite upset the moment we went under, and just didn't understand where I'd gone.
It all ended up being ok, but I still felt a bit guilty being so thoughtless and didn't dive again that day as we'd planned to. I never actually took her on a diving trip again. It just wasn't a dog friendly thing to do.
I'd go about things differently if I was still diving, but I'm older and wiser than I was back then.... sometimes.
Re: Dogs & horses
I never considered the effect of diving on a dog, I bet that was just horrifying for her. Lesson learned though. 
I wonder how a Newfoundland would've reacted. I bet he would have dragged you back to shore
I wonder how a Newfoundland would've reacted. I bet he would have dragged you back to shore
Re: Dogs & horses
This was a very timely thread for us... Good thing i read it, because during our walk in the nature park on Sunday we encountered a horse rider. First time ever that Ari saw a horse. He wanted to investigate, of course.. But we were far enough, and he was on his 30 ft training leash, so I held on to him fairly easily, and we were able to just wait for the horse to pass. After that we followed the horse's tracks, with Ari's nose glued to the ground, and him making all kinds of noises as he was following the unfamiliar scent.. But we lost the horse, and eventually moved on to our normal walk, or so I thought..
Fast forward 20 min.
We were on the way back, and came across a dog aggressive dog, all teeth and snarly face. Leashed, so we quickly passed him without any contact or interaction, and continued on the trail...and who is coming towards us?? You got it - the same darn horse that I had hoped we'd lost for good.
Being caught on a narrow trail between the horse and the snarly dog, I think I chose wise, and enticed Ari to run into the woods. He reluctantly followed, and that's where we stayed, first watching the horse going by, and then hearing snarly dog's barking when the horse caught up with them.
Overall - not bad. I am glad I was at least theoretically prepared, and knew that letting Ari to explore the strange humongous creature was not a good idea. So, all is well that ends well.
Fast forward 20 min.
We were on the way back, and came across a dog aggressive dog, all teeth and snarly face. Leashed, so we quickly passed him without any contact or interaction, and continued on the trail...and who is coming towards us?? You got it - the same darn horse that I had hoped we'd lost for good.
Being caught on a narrow trail between the horse and the snarly dog, I think I chose wise, and enticed Ari to run into the woods. He reluctantly followed, and that's where we stayed, first watching the horse going by, and then hearing snarly dog's barking when the horse caught up with them.
Overall - not bad. I am glad I was at least theoretically prepared, and knew that letting Ari to explore the strange humongous creature was not a good idea. So, all is well that ends well.
