AIBU - Horse riders pick up poo?

[kaz2810]

First time asking on here so here it goes!

I'm bloody fuming, we live in a fairly large town but are lucky enough to live by a lovely canal. First 1/4 mile or so is a concrete path wide enough for 2 people to walk side by side. I'm walking along this afternoon and in the distance there are some horses & a women with a buggy feeding ducks. One of the horses poo's and as normal keeps going leaving a steaming pile all over the path meaning that anyone with a pram, wheelchair etc cannot get past unless they lift over or roll straight through it. ( bushes one side & water the other side of path) this is a daily occurance and I'm totally fed up of dodging it. Surely when on a concrete pathway the riders could show some consideration to others?

t's not irrelevant at all. Those historic rights are the reason that the public have access in the first place, otherwise the land where the paths are would be private property with no public access.

But the pathways only exist because they are maintained at public expense for the use of everyone. What happened centuries ago is entirely irrelevant to the basic need to act with consideration towards other people who have every right to use the path.

Omg her over yourself , it's essentially grass and will wash away in a few days. You can lift buggies over stuff or go round it . It's nothing like dog poo !! Go and live in a town if you don't want country stuff around you ! 🙄

Hendricksyousay, I personally wouldn't worry about horse shit in the country, goes with the territory, I'd say. But I find it on the way to school with my DDs, in the suburbs! As well as far too much dog shit!! And it's just a 10 minute walk.

@hendricksyousay - perhaps you need to go back and read the thread so you can get your facts straight. I do live in a town! And as for the just lift the buggy/pram over the sh*t not everyone is able to lift a buggy, pram or wheelchair over & unless you want to get up close and personal with the bushes or canal you sometimes cannot go round.

If the horse is on a path it shouldn't be then complain to the council. Horses are only allowed on certain paths but people need to realise they are often shared with walkers and cyclists . No one takes priority over the other but should respect the other as it were .

If you dont like horses, stay off of bridlepaths.

Just how big IS this horse shit?

Well anyways it's won't hurt you .. you can lift the front wheels and they tip the rear wheels over without being mega strong . If they are on a path they shouldn't be then complain , otherwise find another route 🤷‍♀️

If you dont like horses, stay off of bridlepaths.

OP hasn't suggested that she doesn't like horses, she simply doesn't like horse poo all over public footpaths on which she is perfectly entitled to walk.

Ok, I'm going to bow out of this one now - time to go do some work.

If you dont like horses, stay off of bridlepaths

OP hasn’t said she doesn’t like horses.

She’s not in a bridlepath.

HTH

she simply doesn't like horse poo all over public footpaths on which she is perfectly entitled to walk.

Towpaths are not public footpaths. From the Canal & Rivers Trust website:

Is the towpath a public right of way?
"Most towpaths are not public rights of way. Instead, the majority of our towpaths are ‘permissive paths’ as we allow members of the public to use them. Occasionally we need to close towpaths to carry out maintenance work."

Having said that, it seems that horses are not allowed access to some towpaths (unless they are pulling a barge).

But the pathways only exist because they are maintained at public expense for the use of everyone.

I think that only applies to canals that are owned by the Canals & Rivers Trust. And that's not fully funded by government any more, it became a charity a few years ago to enable them to raise money from private donors and save public money.

Some waterways are owned by separate organisations that get a lot of their money from mooring fees, licence fees from boats using them and from renting some waterside commercial properties. Then you get weird ones like the Arun-Wey navigation (mostly disused, but under restoration) where the towpath is still there but is now a bridleway.

Having said that, it seems that horses are not allowed access to some towpaths (unless they are pulling a barge).

It does seem confusing. I have definitely seen horses allowed alongside the Leeds-Liverpool canal, the Grand Union and the Royal Military canal but never on the Oxford or on the (admittedly few) sections of the Kennet & Avon that I've walked along.

So as the town has developed over the last 20yrs should the horsey people be obliged to move away op?

I'm also still waiting to hear an explanation as to how one horses shit covered the width of the path.

I posted a link ages ago www.bhs.org.uk/~/media/bhs/files/pdf-documents/access-leaflets/sharing-towpaths-final-response.ashx

It lists the main canal paths on there

leisure walkers tend not to leave shit allover the path

You say that, but... It is a problem, actually. And a more unsavoury one than a bit of horse shit, too.

This thread is bonkers. I particularly enjoyed the confusion over the differences between a horse (brain the size of a walnut, body of 500kg+) and a dog (larger brain, but maybe 25kg for a medium sized collie type)... Obviously they're completely comparable in terms of control and training. Plus the idea that they should be ridden on farms, fields and woodland - none of which is routinely legally accessible to riders, being, as it is, someone's livelihood... Genuinely hilarious.

I'm all for tolerance and trying to make things work for everyone, but it works both ways. It isn't helpful to focus on banning horses from paths, complain about them on the roads, and insult all horse owners with bizarre stereotypes. There has to be a compromise, reasonable adjustment - segregated access, for example. The collection bags some posters think are the holy grail are not designed for ridden horses - they're designed for carriage horses. They are not designed for horses being ridden at speed (as they might on a track before / after the shared area), and they would affect the biomechanics of the ridden horse in work. They could, conceivably, have a serious effect on the horse's physical well being when used long term (speculation, nobody has done this kind of study). Returning after the fact to pick up droppings in a shared space might be a more reasonable - but imperfect - compromise.

As for the OP, you can't grumble about new housing developments while citing the urban nature of the area as a reason why horses shouldn't be there. If you're rural, or semi-rural, and want the advantages that brings (which the OP seems to appreciate since comments have included "lucky enough" to be on the edge of countryside), you accept that countryside = country ways, animals and shit. At least if you're an urban dweller, who doesn't claim to be "lucky" to be on the edge of the countryside, you're consistent when you complain about horses...

Scottish horses are particularly lucky : Statutory access for equestrians exists on canal towpaths in Scotland.

Yeah sheep has it.

You say that, but... It is a problem, actually. And a more unsavoury one than a bit of horse shit, too.

My first lakeland, affectionately known as Stinky Boy, rolled in human shit twice, both times on public footpaths. It made fox shit seem fragrant by comparison.

On the second occasion, we were en route to a nice pub lunch when he did it, the little fucker. It must be at least 14 years ago, but my friend says she'll never forget the smell - and we'd gone in her car.

That's really great janey but many areas, including rural and semi rural don't have that available.

Apart from roadwork being an aspect of education, and some work on hard surfaces for conditioning, I've never met any rider who actively chooses to ride on roads or places like the op when a quiet bridle path is available.

Good for you. Bridleway networks vary hugely between regions, but in many parts of England, there are very few bridleways, and their use is limited further by poor maintenance, accessibility and - sometimes - shared use, such as where tow paths are also bridleways. What you said, Janey, was:

Woods, beaches, roads, farms and fields seems lots of places to ride horses

You didn't caveat this with "bridleways running through...", which would have been less hilarious and marginally more accurate - but still utterly naive in your understanding of how limited bridleway networks are in many parts of the country... As it stands, however, you did imply that fields and woods were fair game for riders, which they clearly aren't.