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?

Not that I’ve seen. Just towpaths where cyclists, walkers, buggies and wheelchair users share the same space as horses.

Interesting as well that it is apparently impossible to dismount to move horseshit from shared paths, and too much effort to return or move it, yet on a pavement it is miraculously an option.

Well it's not impossible to dismount in many cases (despite some claims here) - it's not necessarily safe or sensible though. Returning to pick it up would be safer and I would advocate that on a pavement, or a narrow, shared path - because, as I said above, I'd prefer that to other users pushing for a change in access rights preventing horses using that path.

You do occasionally see people suggesting riders should retrieve droppings from roads and bridlepaths. I have absolutely no time for these people - because their arguments are largely illogical. It's not remotely comparable to droppings on an urban shared path - where mostly I see merit in the disabled access argument - or a pavement (where horses should not be in the first place).

There is, however, no way in hell I would be strapping anything to my horse's undercarriage to collect droppings. Saddles are very carefully fitted to ensure they don't impede the horse's movement. These sorts of contraptions could be very harmful for a ridden horse (who moves in a very different way to a carriage horse who is pulling, not carrying weight on his back).

Yes yabu and ridiculous horse poos are huge unmisssable and good for the vegetation.

What would your horse get hit by on a towpath?

Quad bikes, mopeds, bicycles, people on different types of scooters, people throwing things at horses, get attached by dogs, etc, etc

I attempted to go to the village shop earlier in my wheelchair. I had to call my husband to collect me as the pavement was absolutely covered in horse shit, not too dissimilar to the photo above and I was in a wheelchair where it would have effected the movement of the small front wheels. I couldn't go into the road as it's an extremely busy through road. I had to sit and freeze then be loaded into the car. So much for new found independence when I got my chair as I can't even get to the shop.

Ask yourself this question:- Would you rather tread in some dog poo or some horse poo? I know which I would. Horse poo is totally biodegradable,that is why it is spread on gardens as fertiliser. It does not carry nasty,possibly dangerous bacteria like dog poo does.

Sorry Valerrie . I hope it doesn’t put you off exploring with your new wheels.

Spangles, I’ll go for not stepping in either thanks.

Ask yourself this question:- Would you rather tread in some dog poo or some horse poo?

Alternatively you could ask yourself this question:- Would you rather tread in any type of poo or no poo?

I vote NO POO 🚫 💩 🚫

Not that I’ve seen. Just towpaths where cyclists, walkers, buggies and wheelchair users share the same space as horses

And yet no one is doing anything wrong? I’m so glad my locality have better things to get irate about.

So .. you expect a rider to get off their horse.... on a road (thus leaving ahirse not under control) to pick up poo, (which is essentially grass) which decomposes within a day. ?
Hmmm

I wonder if all the high horses people are riding on this thread leave shit everywhere?

Valerrie

That’s honestly awful.

I think it’s different on bridelways, muddy paths etc but horses don’t belong on the pavement. And if it is actually necessary for any reason and dismounting is absolutely impossible or unsafe: I’d really expect the riders to come back and clean it up.

I have actually heard people complaining about horse poo on roads too getting their tyres dirty, dunno if that's happened on this thread yet

Yup - pages back. It was in horse poo bingo.

@Flyingflipflop

And yes, this thread has just got down right silly now. I'm off to be posh, entitled and a rich twat because I own a horse.

Such fun!

I'm not really bothered whether my DDs step in horse poo or dog poo on the way to school, the result would be the same, ie I would have to make sure they got if off their shoes before they arrived at school. She couldn't say to her class teacher, 'It's all right, Miss, it's only horse poo not dog poo, therefore my shoes are not dirty really.'

which decomposes within a day. ?

Err No. There's been a huge pile on the pavement near us which has been there at least a week and is still blocking the pavement - it may have dispersed slightly, but it's definitely still a pile.

OP, would you like to come and ride my horse, pop off, pick up a poo and then hop back on? You’re more than welcome to try, she’s only 4 1/2 so you should find it easy... 😉

why don't riders use the strap on poo bags when on public paths, can't be any worse than bridles and saddles?

The same reason why people at first refused to pick up their dog crap.

The same reason why people at first refused to go outside to smoke.

The same reason why people drank and drove.

It's the reason why laws are needed - some people won't "do the right thing" until the law forces them to do so.

Lots of people have answered your question. Strap on poo bags can work with carriage horses, not with ridden horses.

This threads still going?