Horse rules in equestrian communities

[Ed_the_foxhunter]

Hello friends.

Three years ago, my wife and I purchased a home in what was billed as an equestrian community. We have ten acres, a five stall barn, and plenty of room for the two horses we have here with us. There are just over 50, ten-acre-plus properties in this community. They boast having eight miles of hiking and riding trails on the website.

Recently, our Owners Association Board sent out a notice which started…“We have a problem. There have been horse droppings found on our roads and trails!” My first reaction was “Well, duh…it’s a horse community!” I thought it had to be a joke, but then I realized that more and more properties are owned by people who like living in horse country, but don’t actually own or appreciate horses all that much. Some believe that we who do ride should carry zip-locks in our saddle bags to clean up after our horse each time it has the audacity to actually relieve itself on the common lands and trails, as if it were a poodle in the city park.

I’m interested in whether others who live in similar equestrian communities have guidelines for horse owners/riders they might be willing to share. Do you have to go back and clean up after your horses? Everywhere? Anywhere? We have no common stables or riding areas; just the community easements on the roads and trails. Recreational easements follow every boundary line of every property here, so it is not a trespass issue, just people who seem to be offended by the sight of horse biscuits in a horse community.

Thanks in Advance.

Ed the foxhunter in South Keswick, VA

[cnigh]

Not in a community, but we have use of a National Park for riding. All types use the park, walking and biking as well as equestrians.

The rules are simple, all manure must be kicked off the trails. No galloping, dogs on a leash and poop must be carried out.

In your case, your community must have rules to follow.

[cheval_convert]

We have to cross town roads in a neighborhood to get to trails. If a horse poops on the road, we go back to pick it up after our ride. It’s the courteous thing to do.

[TheBigEasy]

I live in the middle of Amish country, and no one would dare suggest they pickup poop on county roads or anywhere else they travel - including the local Walmart or Target. It’s just NBD to the people here.

Im surprised this isn’t spelled out already in the community covenants.

Carrying out horse poop poop on a three or four mile trail ride would be completely impractical. Expecting poop bags on riding horses would be ludicrous.

Except maybe, once a week, volunteers picking the paths…I don’t see how this is practical. What do they expect you to do here?

[JanM]

Do they want you to carry a giant pooper scooper?

I think it’s a bad sign that so many are moving into the community that don’t have horses, and don’t appreciate them. It doesn’t sound as if it’s going to be a horse community for many more years, once the people who are moving in now become the voting majority.

[Ed_the_foxhunter]

JanM, you are giving voice to my concerns. I may have to organize our horse owning neighbors to form an advocacy block!

[Chall]

Riding horse (bareback equipment shown)from Bun bags, horsie manure catcher.
https://www.mcssl.com/store/bun-bag/…c4c8ba993470ba

If your horse hasn’t had anything under his tail before (not trained to a crupper) the first time should be umm, fun and lively.

[pluvinel]

@Ed the foxhunter

JanM, you are giving voice to my concerns. I may have to organize our horse owning neighbors to form an advocacy block!

Yup…the best defense is a good offense. Start reading the CCR and HOA rules and commit them to memory.

In Florida your neighbors are called “Condo Commandos”…these are people who have nothing better to do than sit on condo boards and make up rules.

[Ed_the_foxhunter]

Pluvinel, you have got that right!! People are not so meticulous about their dogs, but the sight of horse biscuits is apparently offensive to them.

[Tyrus_Mom]

This happens everywhere. You have a horse friendly neighborhood and a bunch of people move in who don’t like the smell of manure, don’t want to look at farm animals… and you think quietly… why the H did they move to a horse area?

[BeeHoney]

[USER][/USER] What you describe sounds a bit insane. I don’t know what kind of an idiot moves to the country, or more specifically to an equestrian community, and then is offended by the inevitable evidence of live horses. Making requirements regarding picking up horse manure is absurd. There’s just no reasonable way to pick up and pack out horse manure while riding. Even the suggestion to “kick it off the trails” I find a bit absurd. I have friends of all ages–including the age where dismounting and remounting without the aid of a block is difficult. This requirement would simply make it impossible for many extremely responsible and pleasant people to enjoy riding in the community. As far as requiring people to come back and pick up the manure, that’s a bit ridiculous as well. That would require someone to put a muck tub and pitchfork into their vehicle and go driving about like a crazy person searching for 1-2 piles of manure that they might not even remember where it was dropped. I’m sorry, but I wouldn’t do this. Keep in mind that a normal horse passes manure approximately once per hour.

There’s also the matter that on a factual level, horse manure breaks down extremely quickly and harmlessly in weather conditions that VA experiences. Horse manure also does NOT present a health hazard the way dog or cat feces would. It also does not present a water quality hazard. I think it really demonstrates the ignorance of many of your neighbors that they would approach horse manure with the same attitude as dog droppings.

The only solutions I can think of…funding a community landscaping service person to remove manure that is visible from the road once per week, or using an ATV, pick the trails periodically during periods of high use. Of course, that would cost money in the form of HOA fees, which I personally think would be a waste of $$ but that might placate certain parties.

[clanter]

@Tyrus' Mom

This happens everywhere. You have a horse friendly neighborhood and a bunch of people move in who don’t like the smell of manure, don’t want to look at farm animals… and you think quietly… why the H did they move to a horse area?

were we live, in the 1950s the city was started as a horse friendly community, even had its own arena and riding club (that remained functional until about 2000 even though it was relocated outside the city limits).

But the right of horse ownership and maintaining horses within the city is embedded into the city’s Master Plan.

Most of the pastures have been sold, houses put in but horses are still here

[KBC]

I’m old enough to remember horse manure being like gold in urban areas. If a horse stopped and lifted its tail their would be a hoard of gardeners, bucket and shovel in hand waiting to dash out and claim the prize first.

Big different between dog dirt, toxic, fatty, smelly, lasts for ever, and horse dung, no fat, breaks down easily, easy to wipe off, and smells a lot better if you step in it.

[JanM]

BeeHoney-A few people are known as “Citidiots”, a species of human that moves to the lovely countryside, complain about the lack of fancy stores, don’t like the dirt, and hate the farm animals. They dislike the strange noises at night, and the bugs, and want everything to immediately turn into a big Disney park. Many also let their dogs and kids run wild, and wonder why their small dogs disappear at night when the coyotes are near, their big dogs get hauled away by animal control from chasing livestock, or get squashed by some driver on a public road. During hunting season there are often complaints about noise from guns too.

I used to live in a brand new subdivision out on former farmland, and it was on a busy, two-lane highway. I could always tell when new people moved in, because I’d see their big dogs running lose down the highway. Within a few days, someone would mention that roaming dogs were going to get run over, and the dog either was kept in the yard, or disappeared.

A big issue is when the number of homeowners that hate having horses or farm animals around become the majority, or at least get on all of the HOA ruling committees. If there are enough complaints on a constant basis to the HOA, then they will keep sending out nasty grams to owners. People who get sick of this will sell out and move to somewhere they can live in peace, and without an HOA.

[Rackonteur]

@Ed the foxhunter

Pluvinel, you have got that right!! People are not so meticulous about their dogs, but the sight of horse biscuits is apparently offensive to them.

So silly of them since horse poop is less malodorous than dog poop and is actually just good fertilizer needing to sit awhile before it can nourish trailside native wildflowers! Those “commandos” are messing with the fragile natural environment!

Seriously, though, can the HOA pay groundskeepers to pick up the poop as well as mow the lawns?

[shiloh]

It’s like the people that moved into new homes built directly across from a working dairy, then complained about the smell. Guess what isn’t there anymore?

It’s horse poo, folks and it’s not like dog doo - hiding in the grass for you to step in. Walk around it, kick it off the trail, pick it up for your garden - whatever…leave it long enough and it will degrade and disappear.

Can’t stand people who claim they want to live in the country, get there and then complain it’s not like the city.

[Ed_the_foxhunter]

We are all in agreement that city people moving to the city, then trying to eliminate the very rural characteristics that brought them here, is a serious problem across the country, but I really need specific rules that various communities have in place to try and balance the interests of horse owners/riders with those of other residents and users of recreational trails and roadways. I hope to find examples of how other communities have dealt with this issue to present to my own Owners Association board. Oh, and in our community, we do not have “grounds staff” or other employees. We use only contractors for snow removal and mowing. I’m sure they won’t be willing to pay someone to pick up after our horses… Thanks again for the support and sympathy; at least I know I’m not the only one incensed by those who move into a horse community, then expect there to be no indications that horses actually live here, too!

[js]

Sadly in our little equestrian community there are only 6 homes of 20 that are left owning horses. Sad that so many equestrian communities are no longer “equestrian”.

I’d suggest, after a thorough look at your HOA, that the horse owners in your community propose something that everyone will be agreeable with, like weekly or every few days the horse owners walk the trails and roads and pick up manure.

Are UTV’s or ATVs allowed? If someone owns one and is willing to invest in a manure vacuum, it would be handy to just drive along the trails/roads and vacuum up the manure.

[pluvinel]

@Ed the foxhunter

…I really need specific rules that various communities have in place to try and balance the interests of horse owners/riders with those of other residents and users of recreational trails and roadways…

It doesn’t matter what other communities do.

You need to start by reading the CCR’s (Covenants, Conditions & Restrictions) for your specific community. The CCR’s govern what the residents are allowed or not allowed to do. CCR’s are legal documents.

You may be protected “by right” if the CCR’s were properly drawn to protect horse owners. So you may be jumping the gun here and you can use that document to educate those who probably never read them what is allowed or not allowed.

Or…there might be grey areas that need to be negotiated…

Or…you may be SOL…whereupon you need to understand your state’s process for changing the CCR’s and will probably need to hire a real estate lawyer familiar with these disputes.

[mellsmom]

The same thing happened in Hickory Ridge in Ealrysville. It was set up as an equine community with a central barn and hacking trails. It quickly became very contentious and there is now no barn and no horses. The only horse communities I would consider “safe” for horse people are the ones in Aiken, SC. All other subdivisions usually have covenants that a specific number of votes can remove restrict the horses from the subdivision.
HOA’s scare me for that reason. The most recent piece of land I purchsed in a an area where there is a covenant like that however, the HOA was never started and 6 of the 10 lots are owned by horse people.