# Poo picking in Scotland



## Rollin (25 July 2009)

Isn't it extraordinary that Scotland seems to be the only part of the UK (or Europe) where riders need to either 'muck-out the horse' or dismount and pick poo  when the wish to enjoy the countryside apparently supported by the BHS.

Even more extrodinairy when you consider, that when I lived just a mile from what is now Loch Lomond and Trossachs National Park, the roadside verges were awash with beer cans and bottles;  cycling friends gave up using one stretch of cycle route and returned to the highway, because of the out of control dogs and dog excrement on the path. Horse riders were banned from cantering in the park, whereas cycling friends boasted that they could do 40mph on the downhill routes off road, shared by walkers and horse riders.

Where I live now horse manure is sold for 5 euros per sack, my muckheap is lifted for free and I NEVER see any roadside litter.

Has Scotland got its priorities right?


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## Cuffey (25 July 2009)

BHS Scotland is responding to an increase in unpleasant letters in numerous local papers about horse poo on shared Access routes
You may not be aware but most representatives in the Scottish Parliament are central belt ''townies'
All it needs is someone to start the ball rolling and legislation will come in like the stop the hunting, stop the dog fouling--cyclists can do no wrong
All BHS is asking is for people to take reasonable precautions--to tidy up in ''sensitive'' areas, eg dont muck your lorry out in the beach car park after enjoying a canter on the shore. If your livery yard is near houses and your horses poos in someones driveway go back and remove it later.

I recently responded to this letter, the route is used by a livery yard and private individuals to give access to a large forest:
''Horses depositing hazard for cyclists

I WAS disgusted on Sunday morning when I went out training on my road bike. The amount of horse dung on the cycle route between Blackcraig and New Galloway Road was appalling. 
I had to swerve to avoid riding through it, particuarly at the beginning of the cycle route at Blackcraig. 
There were walkers about with dogs and they, too, had to watch were they were stepping. If a dog had fouled the footpath there would have been uproar as there has been before. 
I do not have a dog or a horse so I am not biased in any way. The footpath is for the public, not just for horses. It could pose a health hazard! 
I feel it would be common courtesy to clear away the mess when horses have been out, as dog owners have to.

http://www.gallowaygazette.co.uk/news/Letters-to-the-Editor.5358840.jp


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## SpruceRI (25 July 2009)

Can you imagine carrying a shovel and sack with you when riding?

Some horses poo every 10yds it seems.  You'd spend more time off the horse than on!!!


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## V1NN (25 July 2009)

omg this is a bit ridiculous. horse cack is good for the ground


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## Cuffey (25 July 2009)

[ QUOTE ]
omg this is a bit ridiculous. horse cack is good for the ground 
	
	
		
		
	


	





[/ QUOTE ]

Totally agree--but  assure you a lot of folk do not see things the way we do--rare these days for people to lift horse poo off the road for the roses etc.

One of the Galloway towns held its Riding of the Marches festival and instead of enjoying the spectacle, they rushed to write to the newspaper about the 'mess' the horses left.
They are probably the same people who complain about effluent spreading and cows mooing too early in the morning.
They are vociferous and we ignore them at our peril!!


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## ladyt25 (25 July 2009)

It makes me mad to be honest - there are tonnes of horseriders round our way, we ride on roads an BRIDLEPATHS so i think it is perfectly reasonable to expect to find horse poo on a bridleway. IF horse poo was such a problem on roads you wouldn't be able to move for, due to the amount of horses about the roads theoretically should be completely full of them. The reality is the manure stays on the road for a day or two at the most. It is not hazardous to health, it is on ROADS not footpaths and in my opinion, horse manure, cow dung, mud from farm vehicles and remains of road kill are part and parcel of living in the countryside and every day life.

If someones hits and kills a rabbit, hedgehog, pigeon etc then, if a rule was brought about horse poo then surely too the person who hit the animal should move that off the road? It causes as much trouble at the end of the day - attracts flies etc etc.

Cyclists who moan about horse poo should stick to city riding shouldn't they and, as for walkers - stick to footpaths!!!

This world becomes a more ridiculous place by the day. The amount of litter purposefully dumped on verges, ditches and sides of roads is much more offensive - the majority of it does NOT biodegrade and it's just revolting and can be (ie broken bottles, cans etc) hazardous to people, dogs, horses etc.

Ok, rant over.


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## Rollin (25 July 2009)

I totally agree about the litter.  

A friend from Central Scotland came for a holiday recently - she could not believe her eyes NO litter and NO cigarette ends or chewing gum on the pavement in any of the towns we visited.  She thought it fantastic.

I cannot imagine any of the hundreds of cyclists and joggers, who will be out in force, throughout August complaining about horse poo.

Cyclists were not allowed to use bridleways prior to 195?, perhaps the legislation should have been drafted to warn them that poo might be encountered and they cycle at their own risk.


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## Quadro (26 July 2009)

what people do not understand is the dog/cat/fox excriement contains the very harmful toxiplasmosis bacteria which is potentially fatal particularly to young children, horse "poo" along with cattle/sheep/deer etc is harmless you can even eat it and it would do u no harm, this is due to these animals being herbivores and dogs etc are carnivores, horse "poo" is totally biodegradeable and actually benefits the ground with its carbon content etc 
the idea of picking after your horse is totally ridiculous and unworkable, if this law was going to be introduced i for one would set up a petition and most certainly not be picking it up after myself!!!


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## MagicMelon (26 July 2009)

I think it depends where you are with regards to litter etc. just as anywhere.  I like in NE Scotland and very rarely see litter in the countryside round me.  I've never known that riders are meant to clear up after themselves, find that quite amusing.  I used to hack all the time and never did so, I would always try to move the horse onto the grass verge though purely because my family (and now me) rode motorbikes and I was always told how slippy and dangerous it was for them!  I dont hack anymore but if I did, Id never pick up poo!  How on earth do you do so?!


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## suzysparkle (26 July 2009)

Well, I'm also in North Scotland and see plenty litter. Basically within a 10 mile radius of the Elgin burger joints (ie packaging from there). Then after that...you see lots of roadkill. Fortunately I live further out than the 'rubbish radius'.
The problem is that up here Bridleways don't really exist as we can ride on any right of way. Even FC routes with Horseshoes on are open to anyone. The BHS article suggests you jump off and kick the poo onto the verge or off the path....not that you pick it up. 
I think it's mad. It's gone in about 3 days anyway. I recently overtook a people carrier where the kids in the back seat were chucking all sorts of rubbish out the windows. One plastic bottle hit my windscreen! Needless to say I blared my Horn but they probably thought I was being a girl racer. Made my blood boil.


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## WishfulThinker (28 July 2009)

I remember when I worked at a local livery yard in 2003 and one morning when putting the horses out I had to go on the road to a field and one couple came out and asked when I would be clearing the horse poo from the road.  

The poo wasnt in front of the livery yard and there were a few privately kept horses about so I said I wouldnt be, and they then said that they would complain to the council...........

This was a road in the  middle of the country surrounded by farm land.  They were most definately townies who didnt get that you get poo and mud in the country!!


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## NeilM (28 July 2009)

[ QUOTE ]
Well, I'm also in North Scotland and see plenty litter. Basically within a 10 mile radius of the Elgin burger joints (ie packaging from there). 

[/ QUOTE ] 

I'm in South West England and we suffer the same down here. If you ride to somewhere picturesque which is also accessible by car, you will find the roadside, lay bys and car parks littered with fast food wrappers.

It is a very strange state of affairs when waste which is natural, biodegradable and of no harm, and incidentally, has been around for tens of thousands of years, is complained about loudly as being disgusting and a health hazard and yet beer cans and burger boxes are left all over the countryside with hardly a peep heard from the 'disgusting poo' brigade. 

Ignore these people at your peril, they live in towns and have a loud voice, and politicians looking to keep their seats like to be seen to be doing something, anything, no matter how pointless and ineffectual.


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## Mithras (2 August 2009)

I couldn't agree more.  However, it is worth remembering that none of this advice or guidance has the force of law.  And neither should it - law should not be made in response to a couple of letters in a local newspaper!  

Scotland is a strange country in many ways.  There are great unused swathes of it which are in a treeless and unnatural state.  And then most of the population is concentrated into the tiny central belt.  Where I live, in the "countryside" outside Edinburgh, its more built up than commuter belt Surrey, the same distance away from London!  Scotland also suffers from a lack of off road footpaths and bridleways in many areas.  And yes, there is an awful lot of litter, dog muck, etc. 

My theory about the nanny state being worse in Scotland than even the rest of Britain is that it is essentially a socialist country.  And they like to control things, don't they?

I not only ride, but run and cycle too, and what annoys me is loose dogs chasing me when I do all these activities.  I fail to see why I can keep a 600kg horse under control yet dog owners cannot train and control their animals!  Uncontrolled dogs are a much more serious problem than horse poo!

There was an unofficial laminated sign put up near a traditional bridleway near me recently.  I hardly ever ride on it but it is definately an ancient carriage route.  It basically announced that this path was barred to cyclists, horse riders and motorcyclists.  I removed the notice and returned with my own, which read "Please refrain from putting up unofficial notices purporting to restrict access to public land.  Such notices will be removed.  This route is an ancient carriageway and as such a public right of way, and, in addition, the right to roam legislation permits unrestricted access by horseriders, cyclists and walkers.  It has been used for over 200 years by the aforementioned who have every right to enjoy the essentially rural nature of this community without being harassed by those who would wish to turn it into an extension of a city suburb.  At certain times of year, such routes may be subject to the development of nominal amounts of mud.  This is perfectly normal in the countryside and should not result in panic".

Rather good, I thought.  Must check if its still there.


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## alexandra_cmpbll (31 August 2009)

Hi I keep my horse in a yard in a gartcosh.  We got an anonymus letter complaining about horse dung on paths and it said the community are turning against horses!  we were not the only yard to get such a letter, we are left wondering if some one is going to harm our beloved horses because of horse dung!!  We also got a visit from the spca, someone had reported our horses were not being looked after.   they were shown round the yard and saw the horses were all perfectly healthy!!  Im sick of it....  This is my hobbie,  I love hacking out and enjoying the countryside were frightened to ride out at all now!!  Apart from the fact there are very few places to ride here we have to access main roads in order to get to the path we want, we are taking our lives in our hands, the cars are a nightmare.  We contacted bhs about guidelines for dung on paths and were told to get down and kick it to the side.  Is it just me or do all you other horsey people agree with doing this?  what about all the litter, dog dirt and graffiti every where.  we pay our taxes as well.  Interested to hear what you all think about this.


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## Cuffey (2 September 2009)

The issues are on multiuse paths, you should consider other users.
We are talking about getting poo onto pram or wheelchair wheels and taking it into houses--if where you ride does not come into that equation then no need to get into an argument about it
 People who have sight problems do trudge it in to houses, and why just because dog walkers and litter louts do it, should we stoop to their level, also its an offence for dogwalkers, it could become an offence for horse riders

*I really do not want the latter to happen* 

Please listen to NeilM
''Ignore these people at your peril, they live in towns and have a loud voice, and politicians looking to keep their seats like to be seen to be doing something, anything, no matter how pointless and ineffectual''


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## mintaka04 (2 September 2009)

Well, I think it's all down to manners, really. That and risk assesment.
If I'm riding on a busy road and my horse dungs, I'll leave it, because to try to stop and move it I'd probably cause an accident.
However, if my horse poos on a footpath where there are a lot of walkers, I'll kick it to the side.
I know horse poo isn't offensive, not to me anyhow, but not everyone thinks the same.
I certainly wouldn't want to be forced into making my horse wear a nappy or faecal collector when I was out on a ride...&lt;shudder&gt;


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## Pedantic (5 September 2009)

Cant really be arsed to get into this ridiculous argument, except to say that it's the shite that this country is breeding and which comes off the estates which are thrown up on what "was" riding area, which is a bigger worry, they got their poxy little brick/concrete abortions to live in with their poxy little chavmobiles in pink an purpe Renulalt Clits and bright red Vauxhall Turdo's with no bloody exhaust and noisy crap so called music blaring out the open windows, like we all want to hear it, right, they got their poxy industrial estates to create more and more traffic and pollution in the name of the economy, they build this garbage for garbage to live in right next to bridleways and countryside whats left of it, so they can drop their litter everywhere with their chavvy little git gene offspring, brass buckled Staffy/Ridgeback/Rotty/Mastif status symbol snapping at my friendly dog and well behaved horse, this is as long as he doesn't spook at the twat in his lycra cycle shorts speeding past with no warning on his super duper trial bike, it's a Bridleway, not a soddin race track, and I'm supposed to worry about the harmless shite comeing out my horse arse, FFS get real.


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