Looking for riders input on horse riders leaving poop behind

[Pico_Banana]

Another vote in favor of OP. It’s really no different than dog poop when you are talking about someone else’s lawn or driveway. It needs to be picked up by the animal owner. Period.

The only thing I would ask of OP is to be lenient with those of us who cannot dismount without something to dismount onto other than the ground. (Health issue.) I would need to return to the barn first but would come back as quickly as possible to clean up the manure.

Heck, I have my horses at home and I don’t even want my OWN horse’s poop left in my OWN driveway!

[MsM]

From a quick read, I am assuming that the horses are riding along the street but venture up the driveway a bit for safety reasons.

First, the plan to talk to the barn owners is a good one. With any luck ,s/he will tell riders from there to move poop on driveway during or shortly after their ride.

If that doesnt work, I would put something like traffic cones at the end of the driveway to block their access off the street. Kind of a pain when you need the driveway, but a short time may drive home the point.

Of course the horses may still poop in the road right at the driveway opening and inconsiderate riders could still leave it…

[trubandloki]

@MsM

I am assuming that the horses are riding along the street but venture up the driveway a bit for safety reasons.

The way I read it, the riders are riding along the front edge of the OP’s property, not necessarily on the road.

[hwake]

I do a lot of riding through local parkland, crossing a few driveways to get there. I do my best to make sure that my horse doesn’t leave piles of poop where someone will have to drive through it - either on the paved park roads or on driveways. (Horse poop on trails is a different matter.) When my mare tells me she’s trying to poop, we hustle to somewhere grassy ASAP. If she leaves a pile, I will dismount and kick/scrape it off the road. The effort is a basic courtesy, I think. If I ever left a pile of manure in my barn owner’s driveway, I’d be in trouble, so I don’t see why a neighbor’s driveway should be any different.

Safety can be an issue, re-mounting can be an issue, sure. But in where I am, losing access to property and trails is a huge issue too, and riders leaving manure in places it shouldn’t be (and insisting that anyone who has a problem with it is being unreasonable) contributes to that.

OP, I would have a friendly chat with the stable in question and just let them know you’d appreciate it if they could stop by and clean it up after their ride if it happens again. If you have some kind of fixture that would help shorter riders get back on afterward (mounting block, a ditch, even a big flat rock) I think that would also increase your odds of having a rider dismount to clean up.

[prudence]

California AB233 | 2023-2024 | Regular Session

I wrote a novel of a reply to accompany this link…letting it stand alone tho. This bill has been proposed by a legislator in California’s Bay Area.

[Southernboy]

Hi
Before you confront management at the barn, you might want to check on the right-of-way ordnances in your county. You might not have as much authority over that last ten feet of your property as you think.
Next, I go to the barn and ask for an intro lesson into horseback riding. Not only will it be fun, but you’ll get an understanding of what you are asking the riders to do.
The next step will depend on how you want to be received in the community. You could fence off your property if allowed or you could put out a small water trough, mounting block, a manure fork, and a “Don’t poop in my driveway” sign.
I do admire your effort at trying to understand the other side.

[endlessclimb]

It being an easement doesn’t make it a free for all in regards to what happens on it. Nearly every house has a “parkway” they are responsible for, regardless of whether or not they technically own it.

[2DogsFarm]

@Southernboy

Not only will it be fun, but you’ll get an understanding of what you are asking the riders to do

While I agree in theory, riding is never going to qualify as “fun” to someone uninterested.
Some 40yrs later, my brother still complains about the horsehair that got on his jeans when I put him on my TB bareback for a ponyride

[candyappy]

@Southernboy

you could put out a small water trough, mounting block, a manure fork,

That is a big expense and what is OP going to do with a water trough full of manure? I can see all these items being stolen pretty quickly…

[Southernboy]

That’s what I love about COTH. We all see things so differently. I was envisioning a trough, with water available for tired horses on their way back to the barn, while the riders dismounted and distributed manure appropriately.

[candyappy]

@Southernboy

That’s what I love about COTH. We all see things so differently. I was envisioning a trough, with water available for tired horses on their way back to the barn, while the riders dismounted and distributed manure appropriately.

That never occurred to me that the trough was for drinking …

[KBC]

@candyappy

@Southernboy

That’s what I love about COTH. We all see things so differently. I was envisioning a trough, with water available for tired horses on their way back to the barn, while the riders dismounted and distributed manure appropriately.

That never occurred to me that the trough was for drinking …

I took the clue from “drinking” combined with trough…

I agree on stuff getting stolen, because these days if ain’t nailed down someone will think they are entitled to take it.

[candyappy]

@Southernboy

or you could put out a small water trough, mounting block, a manure fork, and a “Don’t poop in my driveway” sign.

@KBC all this put together had me thinking only of manure removal. I scoop a lot of poop here on our farm daily and I guess it is always on my mind…

[enjoytheride]

I think leaving manure on someone’s private property in the middle of their driveway is rude and I’d try to remove it.

We are losing land access faster and faster. We have a local city park that has horses and the mountain bikers there complain daily about horse manure or having to slow down for horses. When asked why they don’t stick to the bike only trails at the same park they won’t even hear about it. Some people I know have been hit by mountain bikers passing fast and close to them and the bikes don’t even stop when they hit someone. They are the same to hikers, and complain about baby strollers and families affecting their ability to make race times. Yet they don’t leave manure behind.

[jebabacus]

I’d put up a sign. I always go back and clean up my horses’ poop if they leave it in someone else’s driveway. If it’s near woods, or a field, I might get off and kick it to where it’s not bothering. I’ve actually given some thought into what I could carry to help move manure in these circumstances hahahahahaha.
It makes me crazy when my horses poop on our own driveway. I swear they wait until the most inconvenient times.

[Newtohorseppl]

I was able to get down to the farm yesterday afternoon after getting home to another pile of poop not on my driveway but on the edge of my grass. Why do they seem to let it go when passing my place? I was able to meet the farm manager she was a young woman probably in her late 20’s. It did not go well at all, she wasn’t even the least bit concerned about the poop issue. I asked her if it could be picked up by the horse riders in a reasonable amount of time after being left and she got very upset and went on about how horses have different rules and isn’t like dog poop all the stuff I read about on this thread. I told her I get that stuff, then i said the roadside I don’t care about at all just don’t want it left in the driveway anymore or piles left on the lawn. She was very angry and said that she was riding with the rider who’s horse left the poop in my driveway and it’s just to bad because it’s just part of life around here and i should get used to it. I was lost for words and left without saying anything more. Great!

[trubandloki]

I am sorry that the riders and barn owner near you are jerks, @Newtohorseppl!

It is time to buy some step in posts and cheap wire and made your lawn area off limits to them.

You tried to be polite.

Signed,
A person who owns one of those horses who always likes to manure in just the wrong place.

[Bluey]

Folks, if you know your horse’s pile won’t be appreciated somewhere you travel to and fro, easy to hurry your horse thru those spots, a bit of light trot will keep the horse moving thru there.
That is not rocket science horse training, is what we did in places like street intersections, where if a horse wanted to void was not a place we wanted them to use for a bathroom.
Horses learn those are hurry thru places and don’t even think about lifting their tails there.
Didn’t take long to teach a new horse where that was.

OP, sorry the barn manager was not listening to you.
Eventually she will have to learn to manage better than rudely dismissing anyone with sensible requests, which is the real job of a manager.
She should have listened and made an effort to work with you, at least try to, if she thought you were bringing an interesting request or were a pesky complainer.

Seems that your only choice now is to keep a big scoop handy in the garage, shrug your shoulders and clean after them yourself.
Don’t know that you can do much, not your place to educate rude neighbors.

[Lusoluv]

Now I would bump this conversation up to the barn owner, since the manager doesn’t have a clue re: etiquette and respect to property owners. Maybe the barn owner will!

[trubandloki]

@Bluey

Seems that your only choice now is to keep a big scoop handy in the garage, shrug your shoulders and clean after them yourself.
Don’t know that you can do much, not your place to educate rude neighbors.

The childish side of me likes the idea of the OP scooping the manure and plopping down in the driveway of the barn.

On the trotting topic, some places are just not that safe to be trotting.