To think that if you have a Horse...

[Piglet28]

you should have to scoop up their crap! If you had a dog that messed on a pavement there would be outrage if you didn't pick it up, but if you are riding your horse and it craps everywhere you can just ride off and leave it?

What do you think?

[SarahStratton]

Unfortunately, given the way some wankers drive, sometimes there is not alternative apart from the pavement. We have to ride on roads to get to bridleways, and sometimes the pavement is the safer option.

Not advocating always riding on a pavement, just occasionally it is necessary to hop onto one -when a speeding cunt is coming past- .

[SarahStratton]

not = no.

[MitchiestInge]

when I did the riding and road safety thing it was definitely illegal to go on pavements or footpaths but why would you? i) there is never usually a pavement anyway and ii) if there is it is not usually very big

think it is ok to go on pavement to get out of the way of a lorry or something

I do ride on footpaths when confident of getting away with it though

[SarahStratton]

Exactly, sometimes there is no alternative.

[Maisiethemorningsidecat]

If they are on the road, then poo is fine

If they are on pavements or pedestrian paths and the horse craps everywhere making it impossible/very difficult to walk there then poo is not fine

[Saggyoldclothcatpuss]

Im a horse owner. I dont ride on the pavements. Horse shit is totally different from dog shit. Horses are vegetarian, dogs are carnivore. Dog shit is full of digested meat and the associated bacteria. Horse poo is digested organic matter. It is relatively harmless. Ive been trawling about in it with bare hands for years. I would never do this with dog poo. If its in the road, thats fair enough. Does anybody remember 'kerb your dog'? Theres not much difference.

[Shutupanddrive]

Yabu and ridiculous, how do you suggest they scoop it up and what should they do with it once they have?

[Eve]

Just look up the old conversation on this topic & get something more important in life to worry about.

[depob]

When we were kids we would run out with a kitchen knife and cut the poo balls in half. They look really strange. This is true. We were only allowed half hour of television per day so that might account for it.

[CaveMum]

On the subject of horses, anyone else planning on watching Inside Nature's Giants tomorrow on Channel 4 - they are looking at the racehorse.
It should be fascinating, particularly as I'm about to start the anatomy and physiology module for my degree, but I can be a tad squeamish! Might have to record it and watch in small parts!

[MitchiestInge]

Thanks for the reminder cavemum, was alerted too far in advance and might have missed it - should be good.

[Tchootnika]

depob - you remind me, we used to have a really good game with cowpats: run up to them, leap on them and you could skid for what felt like miles - excellent fun.
(Somehow it doesn't work so well in the last few years, the cow pat needs exactly the right crust/soft centre ratio. Ah well...)

Would only take a horse on the pavement in quite extreme circumstances, actually... Same as e.g. driving a car right up onto the pavement.

Anyway, their poos aren't that bad. Much more fragrant than the average compost heap or domestic dustbin.

[Shutupanddrive]

Oh thanks cavemum, I will watch that too

[fanjobanjowanjo]

Shouldn't be on pavements, but it's not practical to scoop the poop. I think that horses should be kept off the roads during rush hour (there's a riding school near where I work, on an Industrial Estate, and for some reason it's a great idea to bring learners out at 5pm for a stroll on the estate which is mental enough car wise at that time without adding small kids on horses to the mix!), for everyone's safety.

I always slow down for horses btw.

[ripstheirthroatoutliveupstairs]

Have only read the subject but, to answer 'to think that if you have a horse?'
You need never go hungry.

[BoffinMum]

A bigger question is do bears clean up after themselves in the woods?

[AWimbaWay]

When my Dad was a boy my Grandmother used to send him out with a bucket after the horses to scoop up the manure for the roses, apparently it was a bit of a race as to which child would get to it first!

[BoffinMum]

Should horses have disposable or reusable nappies?

[lolaflores]

Dear cow pat slider....that was our total fav game back in the misty mists of time. Also, a sun dried cow pat was the closest thing we had to frissbes and if they hit you they bloody hurt.

The lady with the poo issue, I heard this quote once made by a tv man at a religious theme park in USA. It was all manicured lawns and lovely vistas and a sunny sky. He turned to the camera and said " I do believe there were fleas in Paradise".
Think on dear lady. Poo is part of life. Where would we be but for the wonderful properties of poo poo. It is a bit of a bother, but a small price to pay.

[MissMap]

My Great Aunt remembers having horse manure rubbed on to her chest, when she was a child with a chest infection. Her nurse (nanny) would wrap her up with brown paper and string to keep it in place, and put her to bed!!

I think her memory may be deficient, as I have heard of goose grease being applied in this way, but surely not horse manure?

[daimbardiva]

I am bothered about it when it's RIGHT outside my front door and therefore liable to be stepped in by our children/ourselves (if we go out in the dark). I accept that it's not practical to scoop it up all the time, but if it directly impinges on people like this I think it would be only polite to remove it, or at least move it to the side of the track/road

[B52s]

Makes for an interesting time when you ride through a pile on a bend on your motorcycle. Why can't they poo on the straight bits only?

[Tchootnika]

daimbardiva - I see exactly what you're saying, and it's reasonable, except for the practical problem of riders dismounting, holding their horses while they kick poo into the gutter (or whereever), whilst traffic passes (since this would be on a highway). This would be potentially dangerous, and I think many drivers wouldn't take kindly to horses and riders blocking the road like this.
I think you might just have to keep a shovel by the front door (and a bucket - if you have any gardening neighbours and can offer them your horsepoo collection, they will love you. If you can gather enough, you could even set up a nice little cottage industry).

[Maisiethemorningsidecat]

Or perhaps the horse rider could return later and move it themselves, rather than expecting someone else to move it.

[Thingumy]

ffs

It's horse shit,its grass based and harmless.

Let's send out riders with shovels and bin bags so not to upset the town folk...