POLICE are investigating reports that a woman and her horse were attacked by a ‘bully-type dog’.

The incident was reported to have occurred on the evening of Wednesday, February 7, on a private lane in the Culcheth and Glazebury area.

It is said that the dog tried to bite the horse and bit the woman’s foot, before chasing them into a nearby farm, leaving the rider ‘absolutely terrified’.

It was described as being black with its ears cropped, and it was a ‘no doubt a stereotypical bully dog’, with its head ‘twice the size of a football’.

The woman who reported the incident said: “We go walking up a private lane, and alongside the lane is a public footpath with trees and hedges.

“At around 5pm on Wednesday evening, a dog came running and the owner told me not to worry as he is really friendly.

“I said be careful, as if he comes near my horse he will probably get kicked. The dog has gone to bite my horse’s leg so mine has walloped it.

“Then it was circling around him, jumping up to try and get hold of his throat. Then it got hold of my foot, but luckily not latched on.

“I galloped off and it came chasing me back to the farm, where it tried to attack another horse in a stable.

“I tried to shoo the dog off, luckily it hasn’t got me, it just squared up to me. The owner came walking around and said he had never done anything like this before.”

She said that she was lucky to be on her horse at the time, as if she had not, she ‘dreads to think what would have happened’.

“If that was a child on a smaller horse, there would’ve been a dead horse and a very injured human,” she added.

“It was horrific. I’m absolutely terrified. Horses are my hobby and keep me sane, and I’m terrified to go about my daily hobby after a stressful day at work.

“There should be nowhere safer than a private lane.

“My horse has to go back to the vets for a check-up because he's in rehabilitation for a ligament injury, but for him to have to gallop on concrete has probably done damage to that leg.”

A spokesman for Cheshire Police said: “At around 6pm on Wednesday, February 7, police were called to reports of a dog attack in Culcheth.

“The caller reported that they were riding a horse in a field when a dog ran towards them and started to attack them.

“There were no reports of any injuries.

“The owner of the dog passed their details to the victim and enquiries are ongoing.”

The spokesman added that the breed of the dog has not yet been confirmed.