Guard Horses Attack

There's this big old dog I've seen hunting out in our pasture off & on over the past 2 months. I believe he may be responsible for killing my favorite hen, Goldie, a few weeks ago. This time, I found him in my garden (next to the garage). I was leaving in the car, driving down the driveway when I noticed him. I stopped to tell him to go home, because the chickens were loose & he was "in range" to grab another one.

The dog looks like an old Golden Retriever, he moves kinda slow & I don't know how well he hears, but he heard me enough to very slowly trot away from me & out into the pasture. I believe his home is on the other side of our big pasture, which is maybe an acre or more across. Anyway, that's where he it looked like he was headed to me.

Lakota must've heard me yelling at him from the lower pasture, as I hear thundering hooves approaching. Suddenly she appears over the hill. She sees me, starts towards me in an easy lope, then sees the dog & changes direction toward him. Our other mare, Venus, is right on her heels, ready to help. I think, ok, they're just going to give him an Equine Escort off the property. Suddenly, they flatten out & pour on the speed, tearing towards this dog. They're catching him fast ... and the dog is still just trotting along his merry way. I realize they're going to overtake him. I'm yelling, but by now I'm too far away, it's windy & they can't hear over the noise in the trees & the sound of their hooves.

Reminding me of wolves hunting together, Venus races behind & flanks the old dog on the left, while Lakota pulls up on his right & swings around to kick him. At the last minute, the dog must've seen Lakota out of the corner of his eye. He slammed on his own brakes & ducked/lunged backwards, barely being missed by those flying hooves. Horrified, I stand screaming by the fence, powerlessly watching the drama unfold. Lakota, undeterred, turns back toward him, rearing up to stomp him, when finally, miraculously, she hears me. She literally stops & turns towards me while she's still on her hind legs (it looked like a dressage move), stops her attack & leaps from that position into a run toward me. Venus follows suit, ignoring the traumatized dog, and they both run to the fence, snorting & prancing, very proud of their efforts in protecting the chickens from the "evil canine terror." I praise them & pat them & give them bits of coveted "outside of the pasture" grass. I'm shaky from what I nearly saw. I don't want the dog to eat my chickens, but neither did I want to see the poor old fella get stomped to death by my indignant horses! Keeping the horses happy by me, I give the old guy time to recover himself & finish crossing the pasture.

Disaster was averted on all sides of the fence. Perhaps I need to hang "Warning - Attack Horse" signs around the property. It's definitely time to go talk to the neighbor before my horse kills her roaming dog & I get sued!

Note: I wasn't sure where the dog lived prior to this incident, but after he made it across the pasture, he crossed the street & limped up hill right to the house. Now that I know where the dog is coming from, I plan to go have a chat.