Police horse attacked by out of control dog but rider managers to cling on

An out of control dog was filmed attacking a helpless police horse for five minutes in east London.

Shocking footage shows the dog, believed to be an American bully, biting and jumping at the horse’s legs as it spins around with the officer in the saddle.

At one point, the dog sinks its teeth into the horse, named Urbane, who tries to shake it off but it hangs on.

Mounted officers are heard shouting ‘get control of your dog’, ‘get the dog’ and ‘be brave’ in front of horrified bystanders in Victoria Park, in Hackney.

A man dressed in a camouflage tracksuit seems to be the owner but this has not been confirmed.

He has been criticised on social media for being slow to jump in and sauntering over with another dog on its lead.

Other clips show the same man trying to get control of the dog once he no longer has the second dog with him.

@lailaboll

Watch at your own discretion #victoriapark #london

♬ original sound – Laila Bell

The Metropolitan Police tweeted heartbreaking photos of Urbane’s injuries today.

They said: ‘Urbane has been to the vets and is having some well-earned recuperation. He will hopefully be back on duty as soon as he has fully recovered but not before

‘We can’t stress enough how important it is to keep dogs on a lead if you can’t recall them or get them under control. Huge thanks to members of public who tried to help.’

A 37-year-old witness who was walking her own pet in the park told The Sun: ‘It was shocking and scary. You could tell it was bad.

‘I spotted the dog and the body language was way too interested in the horses and was going over to antagonise them.’

A passer-by eventually got hold of the dog, as the officer shouted: ‘Get that dog on a lead immediately.’

Get in touch with our news team by emailing us at webnews@metro.co.uk.

For more stories like this, check our news page.