Looking for riders input on horse riders leaving poop behind

[Bluey]

@endlessclimb

If it’s on the gravel on the side of the road “next to the grass”, it’s not being left in his yard.

If it’s in the road in front of the driveway, it’s not being left in his yard. (even if they should kick it off to the side for obvious reasons)

If it’s IN the driveway, you tell them to stop trespassing.

If it’s IN the lawn, you tell them to stop trespassing.

If that doesn’t suit his fancy, I can put up a blocking fence for $20, in an hour and a half.

I’m confused how we got here, where instead of taking action we want to complain and not take preventative action. The second the BM basically told me to shove it, a fence would have been up. Problem solved.

Except OP doesn’t seem to mind riders crossing, is the dumps that anyone with any sense would not want on their property, here front of the house, even if it was their horses that left them, I think?

Not being the OP’s horses, it feels the owners of said horses are the ones that should remedy the situation and find a solution, like hurrying the horses along there so they don’t dump.
We successfully did that with hundreds of horses for decades, is easy to do, or come back to clean the rare dump.

No one is expected to clean it all, just from their own horse.

[endlessclimb]

It doesn’t sound like the horse owners are willing to do anything though.

So instead of continuing to escalate this to the BO (who’s next, the county board? Mayor?), just fence the front. Problem solved. If it’s on the road, as annoying as it may be, it’s not within your “complaint jurisdiction”.

[beowulf]

@endlessclimb

Question. With the concern of losing access to trails, why would this be your response here but not on a road side? It’s possible the young couple with the goldendoodle has gobs of money to make your access disappear, so wouldn’t it be best to get off and pick up the poop no matter where you are?

The primary difference is one is public woodland deeded specifically for open spaces and/or equestrian use. The other is a private residence. It’s pretty rude to leave poop in someone’s driveway.

In my town the people rallying against farms and equestrian access are the people who just moved into a right to farm community in the last few years. They knew what this town was when they moved in - for many people, the school and ‘agricultural aesthetic’ is what draws in young couples who want to raise their children somewhere better. They want the relative safety of a sleepy, agricultural town - but without the inconveniences of manure, noises, and farm machinery.

How would their money to make the access disappear? Many of these properties are conservation lands owned by the town and/or or deed restricted private conservation land to give public access. They would have to fight Town Hall.

To the OP specifically: No, it’s not right, but it’s one of those things where it’s easier to deal with the minor inconvenience versus make big enemies in the place you live and presumably, may be raising your children. Chalk it up to one of those many minor social injustices.

[endlessclimb]

@beowulf

They would have to fight Town Hall.

Right, but big money makes that a heck of a lot easier. Big money = big voice, as unfair as that may be.

This person got willed the house, so while they didn’t choose to live here, it would make a lot more sense to deal with it as it is rather than make waves. If they don’t like it, fix up the house and land, sell for a tidy profit, and move on.

[FitzE]

Again, a reasonable request from a new neighbour not to leave piles of manure on their drive =/= ‘making big enemies’ ‘making waves’ ‘being THAT neighbour’ etc.

If a new person making such a basic, obvious request results in the whole area talking about them or them being seen as bad and wrong, that’s one effed up community.

Bottom line: those whose horses poop on someone’s drive who don’t clean up after themselves at their bloody convenience are the bad guys. Don’t turn this on the reasonable new guy who simply doesn’t want what none of us would be allowed to leave at our own farms/boarding facilities.

[beowulf]

@endlessclimb

Right, but big money makes that a heck of a lot easier. Big money = big voice, as unfair as that may be.

On a local level, that’s not really how it works, and it’s certainly not how most Town Halls function. There is a ton of bureaucracy set in place to prevent someone from reversing deed restricted/conservation restricted land. Often these restrictions are set in terms of 15-25 years. Additionally many properties are set in local ‘Chapterland options’ - and if someone changes (or attempts to) the use of those properties, not only does it trigger a significant rollback tax, the town also gets right of first refusal for that property - so not much money can do there, to change that fact.

The people with a lot of money are usually too busy vacationing at their second/third home to care about what happens on a local level.

[Angela_Freda]

When did we learn OP is a guy?

[FitzE]

OP said ‘new guy’ at one point in his posts.

@Newtohorseppl

I’ve always waved trying to be friendly as the new guy on the street, mostly they wave back…OK off to a good start.

[McGurk]

The OP does not have to justify his perfectly cogent, reasonable request to one contrarian poster by providing 8 X 10 color glossies with circles, arrows and measurements.

The OP is not the bad neighbor in this scenario.

I have agreed to pick up ANY manure ANYWHERE, including in an open field, on a property I need to cross to access other land to ride on. The tenant has a large, long haired dog that loves to roll in horse poop and it creates a lot of grief for them. Bit annoying, but a small price to pay to keep access to a lot of other open land.

The boarders in this barn are not just rude, they’re incredibly short sighted.

Or, like the boarders at the commercial down the road from me, they’ll just move to another barn after they succeed in getting land closed to horses. I mean, why not? It’s not like they have their life savings and 20 years of work invested in a home and riding in that location like I do.

[2DogsFarm]

THIS.
I spread fresh manure & stall cleanings on my vegetable garden after everything has been harvested & beds are cleared of anything planted.
It composts over Winter & is a lovely rich planting medium by Spring.
One exception is my chickens’ manure.
I scoop their coop daily & toss it on the lawn just outside the coop door.
While I’m aware fresh chicken manure burns the bejesus out of plants, the grass there grows around twice as fast as anywhere else & is rich green & thick!

[endlessclimb]

Based on other descriptions, I’m not sure where the poop even IS, hence my ask for a drawing of what we’re considering “my driveway”.

Because if it’s ON THE DRIVEWAY, that’s trespass. Easy to solve. No need to go ask them to pretty please with sugar pick it up - you say “stay off my driveway.”

If it’s not, then OP has no recourse and might just want to shovel it instead of make enemies and STILL have no recourse. There’s no winning there.

Lots of land “technically” owns to halfway across the road. That doesn’t mean I have any rights up there. I can’t steal the gravel off of it and put it on my drive. I can’t restrict access.

I want to know what “on the driveway” means to someone unfamiliar with country living and country roads. I also want to know what “edge of the grass” means.

[FitzE]

When did we learn he was unfamiliar with country living and country roads?

News flash: plenty of people born and raised in the country with livestock of their own don’t tolerate piles of manure in their driveways.

In fact, I know of zero bona fide country folk who would find that even remotely an acceptable way to keep their own property nor would they visit that upon the properties of their neighbours.

[McGurk]

Please read the OP’s posts, and the other posts where they are quoted.

I’m not going to go back and find them for you, do your own homework. The OP clearly stated he doesn’t have a problem with manure in the road or in the grass, just deposited directly on his driveway.

You have ONCE AGAIN based your entire argument on a conclusion based on facts not in evidence, and rather than go back and revisit the evidence, you double down on your assertions.

[McGurk]

@Newtohorseppl

I don’t care about the poops along the roadside**. I just would like it if my little driveway didn’t have horse land mines left along the first few feet of it as i had it redone with crushed stone when I moved in.

You’re welcome.

[endlessclimb]

If that’s the case this is trespass and he needs not ask them to stop it - he tells them to quit, or he will involve the law.

Hence my confusion here. It’s either on his property and trespass (no need for petty moving the manure to their driveway), or it’s not and he should probably figure out how he’s going to scoop it into the ditch himself because he has no recourse.

[McGurk]

OR you could have read for comprehension from the beginning of this post and not started this ridiculous thread derail, complete with the demand for photos and diagrams.

There’s no need to clarify anything. The OP was perfectly clear.

Your confusion stems from either your failure to read carefully or your bringing a lot of preconceived notions (“city slicker”, “that neighbor”) to this thread.

Do better. This happens in a lot on threads your participate in.

[endlessclimb]

It’s on his drive way.

It’s trespass.

He doesn’t need a fence or a blow up thing or anything.

He needs to post signs, followed by calling the sheriff.

If it’s not actually on his property, as I suspect, he really doesn’t have a leg to stand on and that’s why he’s getting their cold shoulder.

[McGurk]

AS PREVIOUSLY DISCUSSSED AT LENGTH IN THIS THREAD, he doesn’t want to be “that neighbor” and block access to his driveway, because he doesn’t want to force them to us the other side of the road, which is patently unsafe.

He doesn’t want them to stop using his driveway, he just wants them to pick up the manure! The manure actually in his driveway, on his property

Why is this hard for you to understand?

[endlessclimb]

They’re not going to! As evidenced by their response!

And now he’s complaining about the edge of the grass!

[trubandloki]

@FitzE

News flash: plenty of people born and raised in the country with livestock of their own don’t tolerate piles of manure in their driveways.

This reminded me of an experience I had at my own house.

I was walking my horse down my driveway and my horse deposited a healthy sized pile of manure right in the middle of the driveway.
I walked on, did my riding. Came back home and the pile was gone. Weird.
I put my horse away and I encounter Mr. Trub who is clearly annoyed with me and I find out that he came out and found the huge pile in the middle of the driveway.
After I explained that I planned to clean it up when I got back from my ride and put my horse away, he understood and the next time it happened he happily waited for me to clean up after my own horse.