Thats just my opinion - And in my opinion, the father had no right to go off on one like he did - fair enough he might have been in shock but he could have the decency to accept some of the blame and apologise to Day1 for how he went off instead of making up different stories.

And I know animals react differently to the same thing and she may well be an 8 year old competent rider but when out on a trek you expect the unexpected whether it happens or not - dont you? Especially if your 8 year old girl is on a horse. And I know it is one of these things that happens and so it may not be all the dads fault but I still think he is mainly to blame. If it was me I would have been in front of my daughter and the horse to see these things coming and like Day1 said - he had a bell on his bike - he could of used that to warn people. You have to be stupid to not realise how an animal may react and then blame it on the otehr person when it was just bad timing, dont you?

Well said - I was getting to that but slowly lol. I hope everything goes well for you, let us know what she says good luck.

It sounds to me just like an unfortunate incident. Obviously you didn't just allow your dog to chase the horse, it appeared from nowhere so you had little notice - and, you say, your dog immediately recalled, so there is nothing more you could do there imo. As far as the father was concerned, I can understand why he would lash out in shock and anger initially, as that would be an understandable human reaction to seeing his child scared and hurt. However, once he calms down, if he is a reasonable man, then he will realise that there was fault on both sides, and these things happen when animals are involved. Horses are unpredictable (even the most bombproof can get spooked) and so he should have let you know they were there or waited a moment or two for you to get your dogs safely shut into the car before continuing their hack.

I think an apology if you see the girl's mum on her own would go a long way, but if the angry father is there again shouting his mouth off, I would just leave it for now. You have already apologised and there isn't really anything else you can do. I think if you go buying presents or whatever, it will just give the father more ammunition to shoot you down and say you knew you were in the wrong.

I think the one positive thing to come out of this, would be to try some training in your garden to stop your dogs barking at horses/cyclists etc that go by.

Try not to let it get you down too much, these things happen.

Day1 ~ I have sympathy for you as the horse & rider's appearance was a complete surprise & no doubt this contributed to the dog's reaction too. But I do understand that the father could have acted as aggressively & as angrily as he did because of shock, fright, concern over his daughter. But in these circumstances no-one is completely at fault ~ & it takes courage to admit your part in this unfortunate accident. I only wish the father could do the same.

If things don't improve or the father/family decides to escalate things ~ what about having a word with the head teacher at the school & see if he/she would mediate so that you & the rider's mother could talk it through sensibly as adults?

What blame has the dad to accept??

If the pony had run at the dog and the dog ran away...whose fault would it have been??

I have been in more or less this situation..

If the child was 8 I would highly doubt it was a horse.

The pony is probably good with dogs whilst out on a hack but would have gotten a fright at the dog running at it..

Its one of those things...I don't think anyone is to blame..yes everyone could have been a bit more "aware" of their surroundings..It could be that this child and her pony hack out regularly in the area and it just so happened this time your times crossed..

Apologise and move on..(next time shut the boot as soon as the dogs are in the boot might help)

Thanks to everyone for their comments, opinions and support, esp. SLB you seem to have had a bit of flack from voicing your views.
But i am far more confident to face both the mum and shouty dad in the playground in an hours time knowing that others dont think i am an evil irresponsible dog owner! I'm not anti-horse and love seeing horses out and about.
Thanks for highlighting a training need, to be honest i havent worked on the barking as we live in the middle of fields with no neighbours so i've always liked itthat they bark if something is outside the house? But yes need to get that properly curbed somehow.
And you know what? I'm damned proud of my dogs we took them all in off the streets as strays suffering from various forms of abuse, neglect and abandonment and they've all been lovely boys, had to put up with the birth of two babies and being flown 6000 miles to a new home with a new climate and surroundings. Good dogs, the best!

I was in the process of shutting the boot when he leapt out, i had literally got them off the leads, put my hand on top of the tailgate to shut it when he dashed out, i couldn't have been any quicker, it was split second stuff! I think i'll have a bloody good look around though next time first. And thinking about it this is the first time in 18months of walking my dogs over there (regularily) that i have ever seen a horse out there so not surprised it was a shock!

I think it's hard to place blame on either party because it was a genuine accident. I wouldn't say the dad was at fault but I wouldn't say OP was either - I think all you can do is accept that both parties could've done more with hindsight and I'm sure both the OP and the dad will be shaken up enough to prevent it happen - whether that's OP tethering the dogs before letting go or buying a tailgate guard to make the dogs more secure, and the dad keeping an eye a bit further ahead, I'm sure both parties have learnt a lesson.

To be honest, s**t happens. My last two dogs didn't chase horses yet managed to upset one when we turned a blind corner and were practically under a horses hooves. Not sure who was more startled, me, the rider, the dogs or the horse. Nobodys fault in that situation and personally I don't think anyones really to blame in your situation. Accidents happen and no animal can be guaranteed to behave in a certain way in any given situation.

I think it's just one of those things. It happens before you realise what is happening, and the OP called her dog back as soon as she realised.

Having been on a horse that bolted for no particular reason (we were standing in the stable yard waiting for the smithy to turn up to shoe her, nothing around to frighten her, just suddenly took it into her head to go for it) I know how unpredictable they can be, so I don't think its possible to have a completely bombproof horse or pony. And I don't care what anyone says there is no way any 8 year old wee lassie can fully control a pony or a horse, I was 10 when we had Violet, and if she took it into her head to take off I just had to hang on and pray for dear life. Mum and Dad never over-reacted, they said it was part of owning or riding a horse, you accepted they could be unpredictable and got back on if you fell off.

I suspect the father was just reacting to getting a fright at first, but now he's going a little too far but going around bad mouthing the OP, most people would let it go.

Day1, I hope you are able to resolve this situation, and I hope everyone is okay. Let us know how you get on.