What started as a regular day in the saddle for two students at a Saanichton private riding class turned into a terrifying moment when they were thrown from their horses that had been spooked by an off-leash dog.
On Nov. 6, the riders were significantly injured after an off-leash dog broke away from its owner and ran onto a private property on Derrinberg Road, just off East Saanich Road, startling the horses from behind.
"The dog owner recalled her dog and then continued to walk," said equine professional Brooklyn Greig, who was conducting the riding lessons when the incident happened.
"I don't even know if she'd realized what had happened fully, but we called out to her and said, 'You just caused an accident, you need to put your dog on a leash'."
One student, a seasoned rider, hit the fence and injured her rib and shoulder. The other student, a novice rider, fell directly on her back and was concerned that she had broken something.
"I have no idea what happened. I felt a disturbance in the horse and then I flew through the air and landed flat on my back," said the rider who wanted to remain anonymous. "There's the shock of first hitting the ground followed by instant overwhelming pain with tremoring and muscle spasms."
She was taken to Saanich Peninsula Hospital immediately where she had an X-ray that showed no signs of fractures despite the excruciating pain.
On Nov. 14, she was back in the stables and told Peninsula B次元官网网址 Review she was deeply traumatized by what happened.
She has been attending debriefing meetings with Greig to help her process the incident and is getting support to help her through her fear.
"I have no plans to get back up on the horse again because I don't know what these injuries would look like long term," she said. "It's too risky for me because there's a possibility of this accident happening again, knowing that in this particular area, people still continue to walk their dogs off-leash."
She said having the dog on leash can reduce the level of unpredictability, pointing out recall is never 100 per cent guaranteed. "There's always the time where someone will say, 'My dog's always listened except for that one time'," she added.
The other rider took a few days off school to recover from the accident and is undergoing routine chiropractic sessions.
For Greig, who's been involved in handling, riding and training horses for 13 years, the incident brought her a lot of anxiety, anger and sadness.
She said she feels disempowered knowing it happened on their private property, the fourth time an off-leash dog chased or ran at their horses within the last three years.
The equine professional also emphasized the need for people to understand the "prey-predator" dynamics that played out in this case: horses are the prey animals and dogs are the predators who want to chase the prey.
"When the dog ran on to the grass outside the riding ring, the horses reacted and were spooked," she added. "I want to be able to safely offer services to my clients on private land. Our horses are under control because we have fencing and all the safety things in place in deference to our neighbours and the community."
She said there needs to be a bylaw shift to prevent similar incidents from happening in the future.
Under District of Central Saanich to regulate the keeping of animals, no person shall allow their animals to trespass on any private property (section 2.4.2) and the owner of a dog must not allow their dog to harass an animal (section 3.4). Failure to comply can result in a $100 or $200 fine, respectively.
Capital Regional District (CRD) bylaw and animal care services told Peninsula B次元官网网址 Review both sections may be applied to the case under Bylaw 2097.
The owner of the dog was fined $100.
Greig is hoping to voice her concerns about the existing bylaw and to have the municipality consider changes to ensure the safety of her riders and her livelihood.
"There's a very real thing that there's a loss of income for me here and most importantly, the accident has hugely impacted my clients' school work, hobbies, their pleasures and daily rhythms," she said.