Looking for riders input on horse riders leaving poop behind

[endlessclimb]

“edge of the grass” sounds like “edge of the road” to me. Where else does grass have an edge that horses riding down the road can poop on?

OP, I encourage you to take a step back. A righteous war in your mind may ostracize you from every neighbor around, who apparently don’t have the same issues as you do. You may need their help some day. Stop worrying about the horse poop, focus on fixing this place up and go back to suburbia, perhaps. ETA: It’s probably too late for the ostracizing though honestly, as I’m sure everyone talks and you’re known as a city slicker whiner already.

This is why I said from the start that this is not the hill I’d pick to die on here.

Analogy: I don’t have to hit my brakes to avoid being side swiped by someone who didn’t check their blind spot, but I do because it’s easier than dealing with the alternative. I was in the right, but it doesn’t matter. Path of least resistance.

[Sdel]

It sounds like at this point the OP’s best bet is to have some kind of fence installed at their property line to prevent pooing on their lawn. Put up a sign about not pooping in the driveway where it meets the road, and do their best to ignore anything between the fence and the actual road.

It sounds to me there is some confusion as to what is actually the OP’s property line and what is the right of way. You don’t get to control the right of way.

[candyappy]

@Newtohorseppl

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!

She is giving us responsible horse owners a bad reputation. With her attitude I would be so tempted to scoop it up and leave it in the front seat of her vehicle , the fresher the better…( no don’t) !!

I think maybe fencing off the front of your property may be the best way to stop it as obviously she is lacking in the ability to show any thought for others feelings, respect for property and good judgment.

If they don’t want to dismount and take care of it why not just take the opportunity as they drive past on the way home??

[FjordBCRF]

@candyappy

She is giving us responsible horse owners a bad reputation. With her attitude I would be so tempted to scoop it up and leave it in the front seat of her vehicle , the fresher the better…( no don’t) !!

I’d be half a mind to relocate any poop to the entrance of their drive . Not a good way to make friends but I’d be tempted!

[candyappy]

@endlessclimb

Op, it would be super tempting to put one of those floppy blow up things at the end of the driveway, just to prove a point.

We have several places in our small town whose front yards are filled with a huge number of these air filled, flapping and blowing decorations. If the horses had any thought of pooping it would be accomplished long before they reached your driveway or lawn OP. At best it would force them to the opposite side of the road.

[Sdel]

In my opinion, it boils down to this:

A right of way is not legally the OP’s property, even if they are maintaining it. Meaning they have no leg to stand on to prevent the riders from doing what they want since it really isn’t “their lawn”.

If the riders are crossing over the actual property line onto the property the OP actually owns, then it’s a trespassing issue and the OP can address the issue with recourse.

Clarifying the property boundaries would go a long way here. It sounds like the OP is on a Farm to Market type of road where there is a generous right of way and the horses are being ridden there and not on the OP’s actual property. Poop in the path of where a vehicle will be driving is still rude though.

You know the saying….Good fences make good neighbors.

[beowulf]

I had a whole thing typed but, COTH decided to eat it.

I see both sides, as someone who grew up in a right to farm community that has been overrun by development and NIMBYs who try to ban equestrian access to historical logging/travel routes – but also as someone who owns a home down the road from a large equestrian facility that seems to use my front yard/driveway as a stop point on their hack and frequently leaves 3-4 piles of large poop right in front of my house. I think the latter is unspeakably rude.

There is a distinction between manure in condensed residential areas, and manure out in open spaces or on the trail.

Our local trail groups have lately come under scrutiny by ‘concerned residents’ who feel horses should not have the right to travel on their trails, mostly by young couples who walk their goldendoodles and are tired of walking around large deposits on the trail. To them, I say tough cow udders – move somewhere else.

However, as a lifelong trail rider that rides on the road where forced, I do try to either pick up my manure later when I get home, or shove it off the road. It is incredibly dangerous to dismount to do this - especially on busy roads where multiple lives can be imperiled by a loose horse. Just don’t expect this of equestrians - and also, it may be your side of the road is the safer side. There are a lot of truly insane drivers out there who routinely put horse riders in jeopardy. Trust me when I tell you we ride on these roads as a last resort. I was literally forced off of the road not two months ago by someone who felt more entitled to the road than me. It shook me so badly, I filed a formal police report. Drivers are insane.

As more people are forced into rural areas and zoning gradually assimilates rural into dense suburbia, equestrians are going to need to learn how to navigate the modern world with some grace and tact that fosters good will in their neighbors. In that same hand, residents of formerly rural areas need to understand that farms have a right to exist there, and need to understand that farms come with farm animals – and lots of manure, noises, and inappropriate things right in front of their children.

[Maria]

I feel that if you are riding on someone else’s property, whether it is “on” their property or on the “edge” of their property, that property should be respected.

We all know that Dobbin goes potty, and not always where we would like for Dobbin to go potty, water buckets anyone.

This comes down to being conscientious, courteous, respectful and not being an entitled brat.

If I were approached by a pleasant person asking me to respect his wishes for his property, I would do my utmost to honor those wishes.

At some point those riders may find access will be totally cut off and they will have to ride on the other side of the road with the guardrail and drop off.

Which is better, having a more dangerous ride or being respectful and scooping Dobbins poop to continue to have access to the safer route?

[Mondo]

@endlessclimb

Stop worrying about the horse poop, focus on fixing this place up and go back to suburbia, perhaps. ETA: It’s probably too late for the ostracizing though honestly, as I’m sure everyone talks and you’re known as a city slicker whiner already.

Maybe your climb is endless because you are such a nasty piece of work to all others you encounter. Just a thought.

@Newtohorseppl - I apologize on behalf of endlessclimb and the Barn Manager you spoke to and the snooty bitches on their horses who gave you grief. (I expect that these latter folks were very young). Most of us equestrians are better than that. Your request is not unreasonable. I think a sign that says, “Please clean up after your horse” is perfectly reasonable. I also think that you might talk to your neighbors across the road and see if they have had any issues. Maybe a group of you would have more impact on the barn dwellers.
Finally, and I’m not joking here, if it were me I absolutely would collect the manure for a few weeks and go dump it - in one big pile - smack in the middle of the stables’ driveway. Under the cover of darkness of course, so you have plausible deniability. I mean after all, YOU don’t have horses. I wonder where they think you could come up with such a huge pile of horse $hit. Seriously. I don’t know where you are, but if you were local to me, I’d come over and help you do it. LOL Good luck.

[endlessclimb]

I guess the question is where does it stop?

How about someone who moved out of the city to the country, by a pig farm. Now they want the farmer to stop spraying the pig shit on his fields because they don’t like the smell.

Or the people who moved next to a race track and then complained the weekend drag races were too loud.

They were there first. No one else on the street seems to have this issue. If scooping a pile of poop off the driveway once a week MAX is the hill someone new to the country, who will likely need help laying tile or grading their driveway in the future, is the one OP wants to die on, go right on ahead. But it’s a lonely world out there when you can’t get along and go with the (pre existing) flow, especially on large property.

Are they being rude by dismissing you? Yes and no. You’re going over there complaining about something they’ve been doing for the last [many] years without a problem. The driveway, sure, I agree with you. But the side of the road? No, I think you’re out of line and over reacting.

In both cases, I wouldn’t die on that hill.

You’re known by everyone on your street now, and not in a positive light.

Put the blow up thing up and I bet it quits. Or put your fence up, being mindful of the road easements.

And, make enemies of your neighbors, who are doing what they’ve been doing for the last [many] years, before you came along.

Me? I’d take the minute to scoop the poop into the ditch and go back to working on the house without a second thought, because sometimes it’s not worth the fight.

[endlessclimb]

@Mondo

Maybe your climb is endless because you are such a nasty piece of work to all others you encounter. Just a thought.

Never made enemies of neighbors, thats for sure. In fact, I just went and apologized for something that isn’t my fault or my problem in order to keep them friendly (they thought they owned 20’x500’ of my land, when two surveys say no). I could have said ‘screw you, shove it, my land, suck it up’ but instead I went over there to smooth it over and agreed to put a gate in my fence so they didn’t feel blocked off.

There are major neighborly infractions and minor ones. This is the latter. It’s worth way way more to keep the people on your side.

[Ghazzu]

@George_T_Mule

FWIW, horse shit isn’t very good fertilizer, and doesn’t compost worth a darn. But it makes an OK mulch once dried out.

Untrue.
It composts just fine if you manage your compost pile properly.
The professor in charge of the ag program where I teach is always asking me to bring more of my compost.

[2DogsFarm]

@beowulf

Drivers are insane.

Those with zero horse experience or knowledge are certainly dangerous!
And not just to riders, but any oncoming traffic when they decide you & your horse are too slow & ZOOOOOM! past
Case in point:
Driving my 34" mini home from neighbor’s, on the 2-lane road, a distance of maybe 100’ from his driveway to the intersection where I’d turn left to get to my property.
Driver comes up behind us.
Slows, then decides we’re too slow & BLOWS HIS HORN before zooming past to beat us to the intersection.
Obviously had no clue the noise might have spooked the mini & saved himself not even a full minute getting to the 4-Way Stop
Luckily my mini had zero Fs to give.
& I managed to keep the lines in both hands & not

[Simkie]

@endlessclimb

I guess the question is where does it stop?

How about someone who moved out of the city to the country, by a pig farm. Now they want the farmer to stop spraying the pig shit on his fields because they don’t like the smell.

Or the people who moved next to a race track and then complained the weekend drag races were too loud.

This isn’t someone complaining about what’s happening on a property next door or down the road.

This is someone who is complaining about something happening in his driveway.

Totally different scenario than the ones you’re trying to compare to. He’s not complaining about the flies the barn draws, or the trailers lining up to pull in for a weekend show, or buyers getting lost and looking for directions. He’s complaining about literal piles of shit being left in his own driveway.

[SoCoPony]

Sorry the stupid electric cars are sneaky, you are happily trotting down the road with your human looking for the cut to pop into the woods and one those creep up on you.

Spook

Now I must say the blow up, arm wavy what the ever things, that were suggested.

NOPE.

Rider off and I am gone.

Now let’s think here. Rider possibly hurt and I am loose and possibly I can get hurt or worse I can get hit by a car and I am smashed through the windshield and now I am dead.

A human may file against the homeowners insurance who put that horse eating arm wavy blow up doll in their yard for damages cause to human and pony.

Now for the pooping in your drive, that wasn’t very nice. On the road that is different. A sign about please clean up and a pitch fork to do so would put the point across.

But I am just a horse of course, and sometimes humans need to think about how decisions could come back at them.

[BatCoach]

@endlessclimb

I guess the question is where does it stop?

How about someone who moved out of the city to the country, by a pig farm. Now they want the farmer to stop spraying the pig shit on his fields because they don’t like the smell.

Or the people who moved next to a race track and then complained the weekend drag races were too loud.

You must have missed this post.

@Newtohorseppl

It’s residential I guess, I’m the only house on the same side as the horse farm. There is quite a few places on the other side but those are set way off the street. The farm is only a few years old, my grandfather was gone before it was built. My grandmother was struggling living alone so she moved to assisted living shortly after the farm was opened. The houses on the other side were there and a few more popped up recently. When my grandparents built their house 50 years ago they were the only house on the road. And for what ever reason they built it fairly close to the road, maybe didn’t want to shovel out a big long driveway in the winter. Horses ride by during the week but definitely see many more on the weekends**. 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.

The Horse farm came well after the OP’s family built their home on this plot 50 years ago. The equestrians are encroaching on HIS land. So lets all stop with that fake narrative that OP is some uppity city slicker. He’s a very reasonable person who is doing an admirable job of trying to figure out how to best handle a situation that he inherited. I’m sure if both of his grandparents were alive and able-bodied when the farm was built (he clearly explains they were not) then this would have been nipped in the bud by them, but it sounds like the property has been in a bit of disrepair so the local horse folks have run rough-shod over his driveway it since it looked like no one cared. Now someone does.

My condolences @Newtohorseppl on the loss of your grandparents. Good on you for taking over the property and fixing it up. I also apologize for some of the reactions that you have gotten here, as well as the terrible Barn Manager who honestly sounds like an immature brat.

OP - I like the idea of contacting the Barn Owner. You might have to look this up in town’s registrar office, but its likely that the lady you spoke with at the barn is just a worker there. A conversation property owner to property owner might go a little farther. Hopefully the property owner can have some more respect for you since your house was there before they decided to build a barn.

Might you be able to put up a simple post and chain driveway fence like this?

You don’t need to fence your whole property, just around your driveway which should give people a good visual of “private property do not pass through.” I also think that once you get the landscaping back under control there might be fewer manure instances. People might allow their horse to poo on an overgrown, uncared for lawn that looks like no one will notice it, but they would (should!) think twice when it is obviously a nice, cared-for lawn. MOST people want to help keep nice things looking nice, but there are exceptions to every rule I guess.

Best of luck to you @Newtohorseppl please continue to ask questions. We horse people are a wacky and passionate bunch, and we are an incredibly varied lot. Most of us are nice humans - but every niche group has some jerks right?

[Ghazzu]

@Southernboy

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

And when somebody falls while mounting because their horse spooked, they’ll sue the landowner because he provided the mounting block.

[Ghazzu]

@2DogsFarm

You tried Nice, move on to EffU.

I read this initially as “Move on to EMU.”
Bet that would keep them away, though.

[K_VanOlst]

@SoCoPony

A human may file against the homeowners insurance who put that horse eating arm wavy blow up doll in their yard for damages cause to human and pony.

That’s a pretty incredible reach…

[MorganMaresVT]

I too live in a very horsey area where I ride on dirt roads and don’t generally think about where the horse poops because there are so few houses. Probably because of that, if my horse did go on a driveway, I’d take care of it because it would be so obviously obnoxious to leave it there.

OP, I think you could put up “no horses” signs along your road frontage. Maybe losing access will wake people from that barn up.

To everyone on this thread thinking “no big deal, just deal with it…” more of that threatens more loss of places to ride. This seemed relevant to drop here.