To think that riders should have to clean up horse mess?

[CarriesBucketOfBlood]

You can get a £120 fine or whatever it is if you don't pick up after your dog. As a dog owner, I think this is absolutely right. Dog mess is antisocial and poses a health risk. I think it can cause blindness if ingested (?)

So why don't riders have to do the same? At the end of the road (suburban, we are a couple of miles from the nearest stables but they do occasionally make it this far across some farm land) there is a trail of horse mess that stretches about two metres across pavement and road.

It's rained multiple times and not been washed away, we don't have street cleaners that will come and clean it up. Why should the rider be able to leave it? It's just as disgusting and anti-social as a dog.

I mentioned to Dsis about it (she use to ride) and she semi agreed. Just made the point that they would need big bags to pick it up.

AIBU to think that riders should be forced to pick up after their horses?

[TwmSionCati]

oh whatever.
Horses are part of our lives, anyone who is lucky to get a deposit near their house should be grateful and pick it up with their hands.
mare's wee on the other hand, hmm maybe not

[CultureSucksDownWords]

Yes, what on earth to do about horse wee! Perhaps someone following the horse with a portable pressure washer? ????Or, as inimitable implies, the best solution is simply to put down all existing horses and then ban horse ownership from now on. ????Quite why no one cares as much about bloody cats shitting in everyone's gardens is beyond me...

[Thisisbonkers]

Just to go back a bit, if a car or motorcycle skids on horse poo in the road, I'd suggest they slow down a bit.

[TwmSionCati]

'shit is shit'

no no no! There are grades of shit and horse shit is grade A

[SirChenjin]

Culture - are you new to MN??! There are numerous threads about cats shitting in gardens which end in blood being shed

[Scremersford]

I do think its sad though that so many people lead such sanitised life, separate from looking after or caring for a large animal/s that they automatically associate their natural functions with dirt, lack of hygiene and so on.

One of the reasons I have a horse is because it gives me some link, however artificial, with our not so distant past and requires me to have some knowledge of large animal management, pasture management, how hay is made, and so on.

I also think its sad and not a little pathetic that some people lead such inactive lives that they have nothing better to do that try and put obstacles in the way of others that don't.

One of the many things I've learned from horses is that you always put the horse first, before yourself. Tough if you are tired or would like a bath, you care for the horse and make sure its comfortable first. The thought of horses wearing nappies because some people find horse poo distasteful disgusts me. And if the day comes that I'm wittering on about horse poo on pavements (not that our local authority has bothered to build any...) on an internet site, is the day I'll be incapable of enjoying many of the outdoor pleasures that exist on our planet. So pity me then too. In the meantime, try to enjoy your lives and not to obsess over things which aren't really a problem or a danger.

[TheWitTank]

As enjoyable and humerous as this is, I'm off to ride my poop machine and irritate the locals with my horses humungous shits although i won't as everyone round here is countrified and rational. I've packed my posh carrier bags and donned my diamond encrusted helmet and boots. I must throw some cash at all the poor, non horsey folk on my way past too. If I've got room for my money bags with the shit filled sacks hanging from my saddle. Tally Ho!

[SirChenjin]

Horse shit isn't grade A until it's been properly composted.

[cocobean2805]

horse farts have it all
This is so true.

[TwmSionCati]

well that is where you are wrong sirchenjin, it doesn't need composting; that is the joy of it. IN fact someone could shovel it straight off the pavement onto their roses!
But no they don't do that, they sit down and start writing angry letters about it instead!

[SirChenjin]

try to enjoy your lives and not to obsess over things which aren't really a problem or a danger

See, the thing is - for the people in wheelchairs who have no alternative but to go through it, or for the people who have to clean it up from their front doors, it is a problem and they don't enjoy it. If it's not a problem for you, excellent - take some time out of your day (and ignore the fact that you're tired or would like a bath) and do the decent thing. Return to where your pet has left its crap after your ride, and pick it up.

[SirChenjin]

No - it doesn't need composting, but it certainly isn't grade A until it is. Grade B, C maybe...but definitely not A.

[TwmSionCati]

you are probably right for your area sirchenjin...

[CultureSucksDownWords]

Not new at all SirChenjin, I must just blank out the "cat in gardens" threads...

[Gabilan]

"But you don't have to do any of that, do you? No-one forces you to own the horse, let alone ride it."

So what is the answer? That no-one ever ride a horse again? Or that they do but they find a way of cleaning up the shit as they go? I choose to live and ride in a very rural area. There's all kinds of shit on the road. It really doesn't seem to cause a problem or hazard to anyone. Suburban areas may be a different issue but I do think it is sad that we expect everything to be so sanitised. Poo from omnivores and carnivores can be a health hazard but horse poo really isn't.

As for me being forced to ride, my MH is often not good. As my GP and various other HCPs have made clear, me not wanting to ride is the clearest red flag symptom there is for me. Horse riding is my therapy. It's the reason I get up in the morning. They are amazing animals and it is a privilege to be around them. And yes, even the most amazing animals shit. There's a downside to everything but in this case, it's worth it.

[SirChenjin]

Hit return too soon. Fresh manure can burn the roots of plants and contains seeds and bacteria - so much better to compost it.

[Scremersford]

See, the thing is - for the people in wheelchairs who have no alternative but to go through it, or for the people who have to clean it up from their front doors, it is a problem and they don't enjoy it. If it's not a problem for you, excellent - take some time out of your day (and ignore the fact that you're tired or would like a bath) and do the decent thing. Return to where your pet has left its crap after your ride, and pick it up.

Are you suggesting that "people in wheelchairs" cannot steer around horse poo? Would that be all people in wheelchairs you are stereotyping, in your urge to use what you assume is an emotive element, or just some of them?

And if the poo is on a pavement, then its not going to be on a front door, is it?

Logic aside, why don't you follow the correct channels and do something useful, such as petitioning for a change in national law to compel the lifting of all poo from public places? Because agitating on mumsnet or having heated discussions with a couple of your friends in your locality isn't exactly very productive.

The problem for you and your posturing is that I don't think you have a majority of people who share the same sensitivities and that is why it is not the law. I think minorities who try to control the activities of large numbers of people are actually quite troublesome, certainly more so than the odd horse poo on a public road.

I also don't find your arguments very compelling, because you use anything and everything to prove your own obsessive point, rather than coming to the discussion open minded and fair. Your reference to "pet" rather than to a working animal just comes across as a little petulant. You sound like a typical nimby to me, and I would hazard a guess that more people dislike nimbies than horse poos, so what shall we do to remove you as a potential hazard from our legal enjoyment of public spaces?

[SirChenjin]

Eh?

[Scremersford]

Gabilan So what is the answer? That no-one ever ride a horse again?

At this point on mumsnet, someone usually pops up to say something along the lines of "You can ride in fields! Just stick to your own fields" or similar.

Then they say "I've just donated 25 acres to my local community, you can ride there". OK I just made that bit up.

They don't ever say "You shouldn't have a horse unless you have a spare 50,000 hectares to ride in so as to keep it stimulated and suitable for rehoming to a more normal part of the country where the ability to be ridden on quiet roads is a must".

[Scremersford]

Yes, SirChenjin* people like you, obsessing over horse poo and moaning about people enjoying yourself, are a real problem. So any suggestions as to what we can do about you and your issue? Before you spread your unrealistic assumptions about life in semi-rural areas any further, like a plague?

[SoupDragon]

So, Scremersford if your horse shat on a pavement you wouldn't bother to do the decent thing and go back to clear it up after your ride?

[SirChenjin]

You've lost it. Big time.

[Scremersford]

SoupDragon So, Scremersford if your horse shat on a pavement you wouldn't bother to do the decent thing and go back to clear it up after your ride?

I've already answered that further up the thread. If you were interested, you would bother reading it.

However, in general, no. If my horse poos in a public place, and there is no legal requirement to clean it up, then I will not. Because an awful lot of things I don't like but which aren't actually illegal happen in public places, and I don't get the right to control them, or berate people for doing them.

To be honest, if you are so artificial and precious, horse poo is the least of your worries. I wonder you dare go out your house for fear of all the dirt there is around.

[LookAtAllThesePhucksIGive]

YANBU but only if you can guarantee that it's you stuck in your vehicle waiting behind the horse while the shovelling is going on. Honestly op. Have a word. :o