I’m outside messing around with house repairs this afternoon and I did see a few riders go out a while ago but was busy up on a ladder so I didn’t get a chance to talk to them. I’m going to try and bring it up when I see them pass back by.
Pavement can be slippery for horses with shoes on, especially if the driveway is angled.
If you don’t want riders on your driveway put up posts and baling twine and they will have to to ride around it.
They will have to go down to the road and contend with traffic and those with shoes on their horses may slip over and fall off on pavement. They will grumble under their breath at having to do it. It may be illegal to cordon off the public bit at the end.
Falling off a horse is worse than falling off a bike. If you get ‘thrown up’ you are falling from over 6 foot in the air. Falling onto pavement is worse. Bones break, skulls break, brains get reverberated in the skull and … If the horse slips over you can get your foot caught between the road and the pavement, but at least your driveway will be manure free.
I just asked my hubby for a male perspective.
Let it go mentally. If the worst thing in your life is horse manure at the end of your driveway you have a pretty good life.
If they give lessons you can go and take lessons and become one of us. Horses are magical, you will have a life long wonder off awe.
Or as others have said sell your house and go where there is an HOA, from what I have read you will have heaps of other problems doing that.
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I can not imagine any barn owner being upset if you ask if you can use a fork to go down the road to clean up a pile in a driveway.
I am still shocked at how rude horse people are, and I am a horse person who cleans their own stalls and all that.
I guess I should not be shocked by this with the amount of mess the horse people in my part of the world leave in the parking area at the local park.
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We have an arena and everyone coming to use it is supposed to clean after themselves, not let the parking lot/driveway in front of it become a manure pile, or us to have to be cleaning after them either.
We do have manure carts and forks by every gate, two one on each side of the main entrance.
You won’t believe how many still won’t clean after themselves?
After a few times, we deny them the use of the barn, they are not welcome any more.
No one is asking all manure is cleaned from every place, bar ditches, etc., just in places like a short driveway in front of a house/garage or front of the barn area.
Think, if that was your driveway, would you not think it rude that people riding by let their horses dump on it?
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I’m in the same boat as @trubandloki 
Clearly some of the posters here (not the OP) are not dealing with the same level of land development that exists in my part of the world. Everything – all open spaces – and I do mean everything – beaches, trails, conservation land, undeveloped land – is under attack by people that are not familiar with horses or other livestock. People view horses in the same light they would a giant dog. They think horse poop is disgusting and DO NOT UNDERSTAND why equestrians do not clean up after themselves. As a result, riders are losing access to shared use land.
It’s attitudes like the ones on this board that are going to continue to work against shared use space for equestrians.
People – it’s simple. Do the common courtesy to clean up after your horse where reasonable.
And the excuse that you can’t borrow barn tools is pathetic! I have always boarded. It is not a problem to grab a muck bucket and a shovel and drive down the road after your ride and pick it up. It’s a simple, small effort you can make to meet the community halfway. Drive back to the barn afterwards and return the tools. I can promise you no one will complain.
Also not an excuse to ‘forget’ after a long days ride and caring for your horse. Make it a priority.
The times they are A’ changing. Either change with them or lose further ground.
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Just musing out loud here…
Is it any worse to have to move a pile of horse poop, then to have to go out with my grabber and bag up the Tim Hortons, Subway and DQ rubbish that ends in my hedge at the front of the house?
I take bags with me when I walk my dogs, always pick up after them,. Our back yard is open to the service track, and people walk along there with their dogs off leash, and I end up clearing their poop out of my yard. I object to clearing both the litter, and the dog 
, but apart from pleas on the local FB page, not much I can do, because it’s not a targetable group like a barn.
So i understand your frustration, but it’s a cost benefit thing…good relationships rather than bad neighbors…
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Back when we boarded out in a rural area (more than one barn and area), my husband and I frequently rode out along the county roads. If one of our horses pooped, we ALWAYS came back afterwards and picked it up. We do the same in our semi-rural acreage tract subdivision where we (and several other people) keep horses.
Of course we couldn’t do anything about a horse right when it was happening, except for perhaps being able to feel it about to happen, and try to move the horse a bit into a less intrusive area (into the bar ditch, or just past a driveway, for instance) – a few feet at most is all that would be possible in such a situation, IME.
But we have never ever just left a pile on someone’s private property – much less in the middle of a driveway – nor edging their property (even if strictly in the public right of way). Rural area or not, there’s no sense in needlessly antagonizing property owners, especially since one never knows when it might be necessary to have their assistance sometime.
It’s truly not that big a deal, nor time consuming, to swing back by with a muck bucket and a fork to pick up a manure pile. It’s the neighborly thing to do. I feel the same way about picking up after dogs.
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[Edit] Horse poop basically does not smell, decomposes rapidly and the rider probably did not know or could not get off to clean it up.
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What is “bar ditch”? It has been mentioned twice and I have no idea what it is.
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Pretty bad.
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OP would you be willing to supply a muck bucket and manure fork at the end of your driveway and dump it periodically in the Forrest yourself? That may be the most efficient way to encourage riders to return and clean up after themselves.
I realize this may seem above and beyond what feels required for a non horse owner but it’s likely the most painless way to deal with this long term.
And then for the times when someone forgets then it will make it less hassle for you to deal with.
I’m with the other posters who would return to clean up if my horse messed on your driveway but boy I would appreciate a fork and bucket being readily available.
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this is the way we have always done as responsible horse owners.
We are in a city where horses are common, there are about a hundred head here and as far as I know every one takes great care not to infringe on others
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A bar ditch is the low grassy area parallel to a road, in which rain water will collect. A channel into which water can drain off the road.
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I was able to talk with the riders that went by on their way home for a minute this afternoon,they weren’t super friendly…I mentioned maybe just cleaning up the mess after the ride was done if it happened again in the driveway or left a pile on the edge of the yard to at least spread it out. They were not impressed…I got sorry we can’t help where the horse poops and its not a big deal anyway. 2 of them rolled their eyes at me and all 3 rode off. I was kinda thinking I might get that reaction. Very snooty…great
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Sigh.
I am sorry that they are so rude.
I promise that all horse people are not this rude and inconsiderate.
They are not wrong that they can not control where their horse manures sometimes, but they can control how they deal with it when it happens.
No wonder no one wants horse people to ride anywhere anymore.
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Agreed, I was really hoping that they would say yea no problem and tell the others that ride to be more courteous about the mess left behind. I’ll go down to the farm this week after work and try to talk to whoever is in charge and see what I get from them.
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I’ve always heard it called “borrow ditch,” and saw it defined as the wide, shallow ditches on the sides of a rural-type road where dirt was dug out (“borrowed”) to raise the actual road a little higher so that water would drain off. That’s what I’ve seen, anyway.
If it’s been their custom not to clear up, then I’m guessing that they feel wrong footed. Without listening to the conversation and reading all the nuances I can see how it may not have gone well.
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I beg to differ. I compost stall cleanings in large quantities and dig them into my flower and veg gardens. It composts very well. It isn’t ‘hot’, which is to say it’s low in ammonia and nitrates, and won’t burn plants like chicken poop even when fresh.
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I am horrified reading many of the replies on this thread. I am privileged enough to ride on all private land and I cannot even fathom leaving a pile of poop in the middle of someone’s driveway!! If I can’t remove the poop while I am riding, I most certainly return after the ride and take care of it. I wouldn’t leave poop in the middle of my own driveway, so I sure as hell wouldn’t leave it in someone else’s.
@Newtohorseppl I am so sorry you have to deal with these rude, entitled people. I do not think requesting that the width of your driveway be kept free of manure is unreasonable. I hope you find the barn owner/manager to be more receptive than the individual riders.
This is why people start fencing off their properties and not allowing horses, and I don’t blame them.
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