However, the owner of the horse says the crash could not have been prevented and was not something that happened often.
Nurse Sue Roker said she was walking along Ocean View Beach on Sunday afternoon with her husband and two dogs when a herd of about eight horses approached.
"It was like being in the middle of the Wingatui racecourse.
"I heard them coming from behind me, but there was nowhere to go."
Her husband moved out of the way, but as she went to grab one of her dogs she was knocked to the ground, she said.
"I was shaken and crying. It was very scary."
She spent the afternoon at the urgent doctors clinic as she had a sore head, neck and shoulder on her right side, but was still waiting for confirmation of her injury.
"I will be off work until Wednesday."
Silver Stream Horses owner and operator Barbara Verlinden said a group of five young girls, including her 12-year-old daughter, were having a riding lesson on the beach when the herd was spooked by an open umbrella flying about.
Some of the girls came off the startled horses, although her daughter managed to stay on hers, which was the animal that ran into Mrs Roker.
The incident was an unfortunate situation that no-one could have controlled, she said.
"She [Mrs Roker] stepped out in front of the horses instead of staying still so there wasn’t a way to avoid hitting her.
"It’s not the girls' fault, they did their very best to try to get their horses to slow down."
Mrs Roker said she would now be wary at the beach.
"I don’t want this to happen to anyone else.
"I think there does need to be conditions around having horses on the beach. They do the same for dogs."
Mrs Roker said she would be getting in touch with the Dunedin City Council about the incident.
Ms Verlinden said the girls were familiar with the horses, which were well-trained and usually placid.
The Dunedin City Council’s Reserves and Beaches Bylaw 2017 permits people to ride on most Dunedin beaches, including Ocean View Beach.
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Comments
Ms Verlinden seems to be trying to duck responsibility for something that's clearly her fault. If these horses get spooked by something as trivial as an umbrella, they shouldn't be on the beach.
I totally agree. Ms Verlinden is making excuses for something that is her fault. The young girls should not have been in charge of all those horses without an adult present. I have walked along that beach many many times over the years and have often had problems with horses Their owners seem to have a self entitled attitude that they can use the beach but dogs can't. One time a woman on a horse yelled at me to get my two dogs out of the way or they might spook her horse. My two dogs have as much rite to be on the beach as anyones horses . An older gentleman running his hoses up the beach once threatened me with his whip if I didn't get out of his way. In my opinion these horseowners are simply bullies.
In this day and age horses should be confined to farms where they can get plenty of exercise without terrorising others. The y should also not be allowed on public roads anymore either with the speed and amount of traffic using roads nowadays. The current horse laws were written many years ago and are now irrelevant.
The person with the out of control umbrella should be publicly flogged on the town hall steps. This will then never happen again!
We assume they're not cavalry, warhorse used to incoming.
So not only was a women hit and injured, requiring medical treatment, the riders were not even in complete control of their horses. To say that it hasn't happened before is no defense. An out of control horse can kill. They should not be on beaches especially if ridden by young riders who cant fully control them and certainly not in large groups. Pure luck that woman wasn't killed.
Oh come on really? While I sympathise will the lady injuried, do we not see this as an over reaction? Situations are always going to arise, do we need yet more laws and regulations? For goodness sakes, the kids were out riding their horses, the horses got spooked, a lady freaked out and got in the way of the spooked horses. No doubt the owner of the horses feels bad enough, as will the kids. Do we really need an investigation, court appearances, law changes, fines and signs saying you can't do this anymore? No wonder we term NZ as the 'nanny state'. If we were seriously THAT passionate about harm to people, there are other far more pressing issues than horses on the beach!....Meth anyone?
Unfortunately it appears how NZ is being run now days, ( Gun laws) it happens to one person, no stats are gathered to ensure it is ongoing or in fact a problem at all, so the rules, law or bylaws are changed to suit one person or a predetermined outcome. Sure accidents happen. she needs to take responsibility for her own actions. And I'm not a horse fan
must be a tiny beach