A Moray woman was left in shock after her horse was attacked by two dogs in Roseisle.
Carrie Thomson, from Forres, was riding her horse Tilly in Roseisle Forest on Wednesday before the dogs began their attack.
The two Bernese Mountain dogs cornered Carrie and her horse, then attacked them which led to the horse needing antibiotics and anti-inflammatory medication.
Carrie, 39, visits Roseisle roughly three times a week due to its proximity to her stables in Burghead.
She is now appealing for the dog owners to come forward after realising the extent of the injuries to her horse.
Carrie and her horse, Tilly, were walking in the woods when they turned on to a smaller track.
As soon as they turned the corner, two dogs came “flying towards” the pair.
Despite Carrie telling the dogs to sit, they didn’t listen and instead began to stalk towards the 22-year-old horse with their heads down.
She said: “We are regularly chased by dogs but I’ve never had anything as bad as this.
“Trying to keep an eye on two dogs at the same time was difficult.
“Then they started circling her and then started jumping up – I was terrified.”
Horse ‘just wanted to get away’ from attackers
Carrie said she had ‘no idea’ they were biting Tilly as the horse was spinning in circles.
“I looked down and one of the dogs almost had its teeth around my foot,” she added.
“It went to bite me, but because the horse was moving, it didn’t manage to connect.
“Then one of the dogs was jumping up in front of Tilly but I had no idea if it caught her or not.
“She didn’t try to kick the dogs or anything like that – she just wanted to get away.”
Eventually, Carrie was able to attract the attention of the dog owners after screaming for help.
She said: “Once I realised that these dogs weren’t stopping I started screaming for help.
“A woman walked around the corner and started to try to grab the dogs.
“A man, the other owner, then joined her and the two of them managed to restrain the dogs.”
Carrie said it took the owners about three to five minutes to arrive on the scene.
She said: “I tried checking my horse over but I was shaking. The owners asked if we were okay and I said I think so.
“Seeing the dogs there, I just wanted them gone.
“I started the appeal to find the owners as I would like them to pay for my vet bill.”
Experience left owner feeling ‘shaken up’
“At the moment, it discourages me from going out again in case something similar happens,” Carrie added.
“I’m hoping that once the shock wears off I won’t feel like that.
“At the moment, I don’t want to meet any strange dogs – even just by myself.
“When I was at the vet, there was a dog in the corner of the waiting room and all I could think about was how I wanted it to stay away from me.
“It’s not like me at all. I’m normally the first person to go up to a dog.
“The main thing I want to make people aware of is keeping their dogs within view, and even on a lead if needed.”
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