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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Horse riders should pick up their poo!!

569 replies

Instagram · 13/12/2021 21:14

It’s surely a potential hazard leaving horse manure on the road!
Tractors are required to clean up excess mud they leave on the road, dog poo is collected by their owners.
So why can’t horse riders be required to show common decency if they are to use the road.
Apparently an outdated law from when horses were the main mode of transport allows this and prevents action being taken.
With the number of accidents never mind inconveniences caused by this negligence surely this should be amended?

OP posts:
Thread gallery
7
KarmaStar · 15/12/2021 13:37

Not this again.😒
Yabvu.
Ask for some common sense for Christmas.

XmasElf10 · 15/12/2021 13:55

No tractor driver I have ever encountered has cleaned up the mud they drop. What about sheep poo? Cow poo? There are lots of farm animals moved by herding along road around here as well as the ones that escape and hide out in hedges for days on end! Once the farmer has herded their cows across the road do you want them to go back and scoop some poop??

DickMabutt73962 · 15/12/2021 14:17

Oh god, it's the 'kids dying from eating dairy lea whilst hanging upside down' thread all over again 😂

DickMabutt73962 · 15/12/2021 14:19

[quote Instagram]www.weeklygripe.co.uk/horse-manure-on-the-road-is-dangerous[/quote]
😂

This article has no data to back up the claims, just someone who CYCLES claiming that it's dangerous to cars.

SW1amp · 15/12/2021 14:22

I grew up rurally and when I was learning to drive, the cardinal rule was always ‘never go so fast that you couldn’t stop if you encountered a cow, tractor or collapsed wall around the next corner’

It’s advice I’ve stuck by when riding bikes as well, and it’s served me pretty well - the times I’ve ever encountered an unexpected hazard, I’ve stopped in time and never had an accident

So why can’t motorbike riders apply the same to their driving?
I can’t really follow the logic that the law has to change after hundreds (thousands?) of years of horses using roads, so that twats can ride motorbikes like twats instead of slowing down

countingto10 · 15/12/2021 14:41

TBF motorcyclists are one of the most considerate road users as far as horse riders are concerned IMO, them and lorry drivers. They are a vulnerable road user and appreciate that riders are in the same position. In my experience, young women seem to be the worst, distracted by their phones Hmm

Wintersonata · 15/12/2021 15:16

Horse riders could be obliged to be tailed by a cyclist or pedestrian who could shout to them to stop when the horse craps over the road. A similar thing to car drivers having to be preceded by a man with a red flag on foot, but in reverse

This must be a joke?

Maverickess · 15/12/2021 18:13

@countingto10

TBF motorcyclists are one of the most considerate road users as far as horse riders are concerned IMO, them and lorry drivers. They are a vulnerable road user and appreciate that riders are in the same position. In my experience, young women seem to be the worst, distracted by their phones Hmm
Yes I agree about motorbikes and lorry drivers and bus drivers actually too, I've always found them to be the most considerate towards me when I've been on the road on a horse and stick to the highway code and actively try and keep all road users safe rather than only the ones they don't think are all posh. Not all of course, but the majority. I've found that cyclists unfortunately are the worst, and actually that doesn't include just on roads but designated bridleways too, passing too close and too fast and with no warning when they fly past and almost take your stirrup with them. Not all of course, but the majority I have met at least.

I don't really think the problem here is horses, or actually horse poo though, I think it's the perception people have of horse owners in general. I don't really believe that anyone really wants to know the actual reasons behind horses not being able to be 'toilet' trained, or are interested in coming to a suitable solution for places where there's issues with wheelchairs, motorised scooters or prams, because although I can see it could be an issue somewhere, I don't think the issue is that great (say in the region of cars parking across pavements and footpaths) that a solution couldn't be found for individual issues where this occurs frequently. That's of course if you know, people want to actually solve the problem rather than call horse riders posh twats and tell us that we don't want to without even trying.
I also don't think anyone's really that interested in how road riding affects horses joints, tendons and ligaments, or why people need to ride on the road to access bridleways, or the reasons that you can't just hop across any farmers field you fancy. Or that anyone thinks, with the amount of crap that is pumped onto our coast lines, that a few piles of horse shit are the biggest problem faced by children playing on the beach.

Horse threads always go the same way, road tax, posh, entitled, snobs, rich, ignorant etc etc etc. It's more about the stereotype than the actual issues.

Octavia174 · 15/12/2021 18:25

So why can’t horse riders apply the same to their riding?
I can’t really follow the logic that the law has to change after a hundred years of motorcyclists using roads, so that twats can ride horses like twats instead of cleaning up their shit

That sounds a lot better lol!

Why do people have to call other people do hobbies they don't like & will never meet horrible names?

We all have to use the roads, learn to rub along instead of turning on one another.

NMC2022 · 15/12/2021 18:41

I would rather a child ran through horse shit than dog shit. Because it's not dangerous and thousands of children spend their lives grubbing about in horse muck, I know I did
My stomach is cast iron Grin will happily pick up horse muck with bare hands if I had to but no way would I do that with dog/cat
I'm pretty sure a child could fall face first in it without the slightest issue

Enko · 15/12/2021 18:51

I would settle for them not horse riding down lanes they are not meant to.

LadyTiredWinterBottom2 · 15/12/2021 18:56

Well, dear reader. I have had an accident involving horse shit.

I was rambling in the country when l realised we might have gone orf course. So l got my phone out to check a map.

Walked through a big pile of it whilst looking at said map.

DH said it was the best bit.

gunnersgold · 15/12/2021 19:03

Dogs are carnivores , horses are herbivores. It's basically grass 🙄.. also it's not possible to get off clear it up carry it home and dispose of it ! You obviously dont know anything about animals !

Madcats · 15/12/2021 19:19

Oh you youngsters! It probably still is but, back in the 60's-80's, our road was on a short route between a riding stable and the South Downs. It was a concrete road, so you could hear the ponies coming.

So many keen gardeners were on "pony alert"; ready to grab a wheelbarrow and spade.

Yes it needed to season for a year (probably not the right word), but it wasn't the norm to get bags of compost/peat.

Yes, it wasn't the most exciting place to grow up.

underneaththeash · 15/12/2021 19:24

@NMC2022

I would rather a child ran through horse shit than dog shit. Because it's not dangerous and thousands of children spend their lives grubbing about in horse muck, I know I did My stomach is cast iron Grin will happily pick up horse muck with bare hands if I had to but no way would I do that with dog/cat I'm pretty sure a child could fall face first in it without the slightest issue
Me too - but I'd rather they ran through neither on our private road which I pay for with no pavement. It's hardly sociable, expecting someone to walk through faeces no matter what the animal - especially when horse poo is so big.
Justheretoaskaquestion91 · 15/12/2021 19:26

This read is one of my favourite things ever. It’s just so insane. I’m 95% sure OP is having everyone on but the 5% chance she’s really just this mental is keeping it spicy and I’m loving it. I didn’t know this was a thing, people actually complaining about horse poo.

countingto10 · 15/12/2021 19:36

I was really pleased that the parish council where I keep my horse shutdown the complaints about horse poo on the road straight away (I’m assuming the complainers were new to the area). They were told that the village was historically a horse village with racing stables etc and always will be and as far as the parish council was concerned, there is no issue with horse poo Grin

TwoLeftSocksWithHoles · 15/12/2021 20:39

@MorningStarling

To be honest I'd never considered this a problem before but actually there are simple solutions:
  1. Horse nappies
  2. Rider carries a backpack and a lightweight folding shovel. When the horse does a shit, the rider can collect it and, if there isn't anywhere suitable to dispose of it, take it home in their backpack.
  3. Horse riders could be obliged to be tailed by a cyclist or pedestrian who could shout to them to stop when the horse craps over the road. A similar thing to car drivers having to be preceded by a man with a red flag on foot, but in reverse.
Ré Option 3: it is not always realistic to have a 'bun scooper' following one, so I suggest a simpler, and considerably cheaper, alternative.

A champagne cork up attached to the riders hat's with a piece of knicker elastic and inserted up the horse's bum. When the horse 'pops the cork' it will shoot out and ricochet back 'donking' the rider in the back of the helmet, and so alerting them to the 'event' whereupon they can alight and scoop up the 'stuff'.

What do you think? Could work, couldn't it ?

HeronLanyon · 15/12/2021 20:45

Or (Heath Robinson) there could be high powered air hose (ignoring the fact the horse would bolt) so as it is ejected it is sprayed into neighbouring fields. Can see the flaws. No pooing where front gardens/cars/innocent pedestrians might be targeted.
Back to the drawing board

lonelylou09 · 15/12/2021 22:19

As an owner and rider of horses...yes you are being totally unreasonable.
Horses were around long before Cars so roads were made to be traveled by horses originally.
I'm lucky enough to have my own field but I'm sure my horse would get bored as hell going round and round his own field every day..he needs stimulation and proper exercise.
Wether and where he Pooh's while we are out on the road is mostly beyong my control...horses are not like dogs where they go once or twice a day..average is 12 times.
Getting on and off a horse unnecessarily whilst riding on the roads ..say if we had to stop and shovel up a bin bag full of hot horse poop and then clamber back on board whilst expecting the horse not to freak out At a large heavy flappy bag is more of a safety hazard than just leaving it to be squashed down.
There is nothing hazardous to humans or dogs in horse pooh..it's basically just recycled grass and the fact that my 2 dogs are 10 and 13 years old and eat horse pooh on an almost daily basis whilst I tend the horses is testament to that.
Saying that if for some reason I have to use the pavement or someone's driveway whilst out riding and the horse chooses that moment to go..I will go back and scrape it out on to the road.
When I was little my nan went crazy if a horse went past her bungalow and poohed..she would be straight out there collecting it to put on her rose bushes.
Get a life!

Gilead · 15/12/2021 22:52

🤣🤣🤣

Gilead · 15/12/2021 22:53

Used to grab it for the allotment.

Glitteryone · 16/12/2021 00:18

I have no issue with horse poo at all. It’s not toxic like dog poo.

DogsandCatsB4u · 16/12/2021 01:12

Learning a lot about horse poo on this thread but yes it stinks but the person cannot drop off the horse to pick ir up

WiddlinDiddlin · 16/12/2021 02:15

If a cyclist or motorbikist or car driver finds a small pile of poo an offensive obstruction in the road..

What will they think to a horse twirling about at the end of the reins whilst the rider hangs them over his or her arm, unfolds a shovel, unpacks a folding bucket, gathers up the poo, and then tries to get back on the river-dancing unicorn, as an offensive obstruction...

A major reason riders don't have to pick up poo is that it is MORE dangerous to stop, get off, fanny about and get back on.. on the road, and carrying shovels and buckets or bags whilst on horseback also increases the risk of accident.

It is annoying that sometimes, on road surfaces, there are things that make the road more slippery than usual.. ice, poo, rotting leaves, mud...

One thing that often poses a risk to horse riders, particularly on hills, is oil from vehicles making the tarmac slippery to shod horses.

I suggest car drivers should stop and clean up any time their car dribbles oil on the roads... after all at least the car stays put when you park it, put the hazards on, get out and start polishing oil up, and you've got a whole car to put the rubbish in when you're done...