A north-east woman has described the moment her horse was bitten by a dog and chased for two miles in an Aberdeen woodland.
Pat Dorward was out enjoying a ride with a friend when a dog and its owner approached in Countesswells Wood.
She says the dog began snapping at her horse, Dhabi, who threw her off in fright before galloping away.
Miss Dorward, of Drumoak, said: “It was around 1.45pm on Sunday and we came out of the car park of Countesswells Wood.
“The other horse ran away and came within an inch of being hit by a car on the roads.
“The dog then began to bite my horse as it galloped away on the Blacktop road.
“I fell off and was then helped by a man in a car who took me towards the horse.
“Lots of cars stopped on the road and watched the horse as it ran away.
“The driver helped to restrain the dog and I managed to bring the horse towards me.”
The 56-year-old said Dhabi had been badly shaken by the incident, and that he would need to be worked on before being taken out into a public space again.
“He’s totally traumatised, he’s going to need rehabilitation if he’s ever going to go out riding again,” she said.
Miss Dorward claimed that dogs are becoming a frequent problem for horse riders, and urged owners to be responsible for their pets.
“I spoke to the owner, but he did not see the issue,” she said, referring to Sunday’s incident. “He said it was just because the dog had not seen a horse before.
“This is the fourth time it has happened in those woods, dogs come found and start nipping at the heels of the horses but this time found it was a full on attack.
“Police have said it is not a criminal matter.”
Ruth Riddell, the north-east access officer of the British Horse Society, acknowledged it was becoming an “increasing problem”.
She said: “It is an increasing problem, a lot of dog owners do not realise the potential danger.
“Lots of dogs are not used to seeing horses and can react surprisingly quickly and the horse is likely to retreat.”