Riders Say Dog Viciously Attacked Horses In Trabuco Canyon

TRABUCO CANYON (CBSLA.com) — Three women are trying to track down the owner of a dog that attacked their Icelandic horses during a ride Friday in O'Neill Regional Park, a popular hiking spot nestled in Trabuco Canyon.

Rider Sandie Weaver tells CBS2/KCAL9's Laurie Perez that at around noon a large dog was running off leash when it came up and started biting the horses' legs. She thinks it was a boxer-pitbull mix and weighed around 95 pounds.

She says the attack was unprovoked and went on for at least three minutes, with the riders trying to beat the dog off with crops while it bit the horses on the legs and neck.

Weaver says her horse, "Aska," tried to fend off the dog as best it could but eventually whipped around to run up the hill, and she was thrown to the ground dangerously close to a cliff.

Her friend Helga Thordarson, of Trabuco Canyon, was atop her horse, "Tyr," who was able to put a stop to the attack when it kicked the dog in the mouth. The horse suffered cuts to its legs.

The attack has left Weaver, who was fortunately wearing a helmet, badly bruised and with a possibly fractured wrist, she says.

The horses were treated by a veterinarian, who says during attacks like these it's important to locate the dog and check for rabies.

The women say they found the dog's owner on the trail but she gave them a fake phone number and no apology.

They've reported the incident and ask anyone with information about the dog's owner to contact O'Neill Park Rangers.