# What do you do if your horse poo's in a public place?



## Tayto (20 May 2013)

Is there any law about picking up horse poo while out hacking?

Yesterday we were out hacking and went through a housing estate to get into the woods. Typically, my horse could not wait till we were in the woods and poo'd in the middle of the road. A woman came out of her house and chased after us telling us to pick it up. 

We were unsure if we were breaking any kind of law by not picking it up?

Firstly - what am I supposed to pick the poo up with 
Secondly - where am I supposed to put said poo?
Thirdly - How am I supposed to hold on to my horse while picking up the poo
Fourthly (<<<< is that even a word?) - re-mounting my horse would be near impossible as she is a pest to mount and I would probably cause an accident with an oncoming car while wrestling my horse to allow me back on board!

Comment/thoughts please


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## mynutmeg (20 May 2013)

to my knowledge there is no requirement to pick up after your horse in the way there is to pick up after your dog


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## Amymay (20 May 2013)

There is no law stating that you have to pick up your horses droppings.


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## Tayto (20 May 2013)

I didnt think there was - I felt awful that she had done it there and felt a bit red faced afterwards but I didnt really know what to do. Maybe the woman should look at the bright side and use it for her roses!


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## Misty05 (20 May 2013)

If my horse poos on the small estate near me, or near the local school, I will go and pick it up after my ride. But anywhere else, No.


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## YasandCrystal (20 May 2013)

I have had people rush out with a shovel to collect the poo for their roses before  

Some folk are very strange - horse poo on a road surely is inoffensive?


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## Suelin (20 May 2013)

Ignore the woman.  You are not breaking any laws.  She ought to put it on her rhubarb.  (Yes I know that custard is the usual thing!)


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## niagaraduval (20 May 2013)

No there are no laws and horse poo isn't toxic like dog poo. Horse poo is just grass when you think about it and washed away in the rain.


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## Brightbay (20 May 2013)

Point out that, while you could come back and remove it later, you are in fact saving her a trip to B&Q...

http://www.diy.com/nav/garden/garde...B-and-Q-Horse-Manure-11227536?noCookies=false


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## Shantara (20 May 2013)

The only place I will pick it up is on the path that I ride on that leads away from the yard and really, I pick it up to keep the peace with the neighbour who seems intent of making life difficult for all of us. And it is just my yard too. He was standing outside the house, moaning at YM for some insignificant thing (again!) and a horse from another yard strolled past, on the path and pooped! YM pointed it out and he avoided the subject. Pathetic if you ask me.


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## MerrySherryRider (20 May 2013)

Being vegetarian animals the droppings break down quickly and are washed away by rain. They don't have the same health implications as dog and cat poo.
 However, its better to ride near the edge of the road (not pavement though) as it can be slippery for motorbikes if its in the middle of the road.

I've only had abuse from one man who lived in a new house in a  village next to the bridleway.
Just ignored him, as he was obviously finding village life a surprise.

However, I did once go back in my car to pick up my horse's droppings after a woman stopped to chat outside the Coop and I had to stand my horse on the (wide) pavement so traffic wasn't obstructed.
 I felt that in the interests of good public relations, clearing the pavement was fair.


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## cobalobM (20 May 2013)

don't you all carry a spade and bucket with you 24/7?!?!?!


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## Richie (20 May 2013)

yes, dog poo is more harmful than horse poo.

Has anyone ever witnessed a mounted police-horse-rider clearing up?

There is nothing I can find on horse manure laws but I've found this on dog dirt law:

The Dogs (Fouling of Land) Act 1996, allows
authorities to designate any land in their area as poop
scoop areas where dog owners must clean up after
their pets without having to refer to central
government. The land must be publicly accessible and
open to the air, however the following is not included;
 Carriageways with a speed limit of more than 40 mph
 Land used for agriculture or woodlands
 Land which is predominantly marshland,
moor or heath
 Rural common land
Exceptions to the offence are:
 The person in charge of the dog has a reasonable
excuse for not clearing up (being unaware of the
fouling or not having the means to clean up is not
an excuse)
 The owner or occupier of the land has consented to
the faeces being left
 The person puts the faeces in a bin on the land
 The person in charge of the dog has a registered
visual impairment

If you see the lady again please ask her to take it up with her MP if she wants a new law.


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## Fransurrey (20 May 2013)

As others have said, there's no requirement to pick it up. However, in the interests of PR, if she'd come after me like that, I'd have politely pointed this out, but would offer to come back after I'd finished putting my horse away to bag it up for her garden if she supplied a bag. I used to ride on a pavement when I did roadwork on a nasty blind bend. A couple of times Henry stopped and did some business and I got off and kicked it into the gutter. I knew that most people didn't mind me riding on that pavement (and one stopped to commend me for being sensible!), but I did cringe when I saw that others had ridden on it and let their horses foul it.


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## Boxers (20 May 2013)

horselessb said:



			don't you all carry a spade and bucket with you 24/7?!?!?! 

Click to expand...

When we were on holiday in Turkey last year, two mounted policemen rode by the front of the hotel - closely followed by a man, on foot, carrying a shovel and a bin bag!

Would add though, they were riding on a promenade between the hotel gardens and the beach, it was a wide path rather than a road.


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## DixieMare (20 May 2013)

I remember hearing that because horses are not meat eaters, that means they don't carry disease in their poo likes dogs or cats.
and that's why their is a law for dogs ( but not sure 100% about horse )

sorry, that wasnt helpful really was it


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## OWLIE185 (20 May 2013)

Unless there are local by-laws in place to disallow horses discharging their bowls in public or it was a private housing estate then your horse is legally allowed to poo on the public highway.


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## mandwhy (20 May 2013)

I also have a path alongside where my horses live so if I walk back past it I kick it into the hedge in the interest of public relations and cyclists not trying to mow me down for it 

I understand why motorcyclists etc may be annoyed for safety reasons and in your situation I would try and have a reasonable conversation about it being vegetable and not harmful like dog poo and for that reason it is not illegal, at all. Not even a bit! 

I find it weird that people are offended by horse poo, it doesn't really smell unless super fresh, its just like compost really... I suppose I am biased since I am surrounded by it often  

There is so much dog poo along our path and I think that is very disrespectful, weird how it is so different.


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## StoptheCavalry (20 May 2013)

We have a track that leads through a very very posh gravelled driveway to one enormous house (at one point it was a potential home to the beckhams!) so if he poo'd on there I think I would be so mortified I would pick it all up and shove it in my pockets if I had to. Other than that its only grass and it washes away very quickly and isn't easily missed.


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## DixieMare (20 May 2013)

StoptheCavalry said:



			We have a track that leads through a very very posh gravelled driveway to one enormous house (at one point it was a potential home to the beckhams!) so if he poo'd on there I think I would be so mortified I would pick it all up and shove it in my pockets if I had to.
		
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LOL that made me laugh


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## slumdog (20 May 2013)

I've JUST commented on a Facebook post about this, it was a pic of some poo on the road and it said "will horse riders pick this sh** up please you selfish gits, kids walk down here. Or I'm going to beep my horn and rev my engine every time I go past you"

To which I replied "I don't kick every dog I see just because 'some' people don't pick up after them. Just sayin"

Idiot.


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## Suechoccy (20 May 2013)

No law but...

our local bridleway group goes out and picks up horseriders' horsepoos if they're:

- on a pavement
- on the paved bit of bridleway as it enters/exits the guided bus station
- in the parking area by the village shops/outside the shop doors which open onto the road
- across someone's private driveway entrance or mown lawn-verge
- on the housing estate cul-de-sac where children play football in the street

(these areas all get checked several times a week)

and we have a phonenumber which residents can phone if they find a poo in a bad area, and we go out and pick it up.


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## Hutchlou (20 May 2013)

My lad ALWAYS poos when we hack out, so unless he manages to hold it in until we reach the fields or bridleways I always return & pick it up (poop scoop in the boot of the car!) when I get back to the yard. Keeps the villagers happy!


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## NikkiF (20 May 2013)

Very rarely have this problem as my lad doesn't seem to like doing his poos in public, he always goes in stable as soon as he sees his tack!

Had the opposite problem some years ago when a very keen gardener near the yard stopped me one day and asked if we could make all our horses do their business outside his house so he could put it on his compost heap! If only they could do it on command


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## PingPongPony (20 May 2013)

Like said, no law saying you have to pick it up.
I just wanted to ask though, does anyone realistically get off their horse on the beach and pick up the poo? I have been looking to go to the beach, to Skegness, and one of the rule for horse riders there is that if your horse drops, you must immediately pick it up. 
This has put me off going to that beach, as realistically, both me and horse will be more at risk if I get off as, a rearing, excited 16.2 ISH is not easy to handle at the best of times, never mind while on a beach and while trying to pick its poo up. Getting back on would be then out of the question, and she would probably be a hazard to other beach users if I were to get off. While on board I can keep her reasonably quiet and out of the way of people, and I can definitely make sure that she doesn't gallop off or rear like a lunatic!
I just wondered whether that rule is enforced and whether people actually follow it.
Ps. sorry to hijack your post OP


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## skint1 (20 May 2013)

Thank God I don't have to hack anywhere near anyone's house, I would be so scared someone would shout at me, or people would mow us down with their cars. I admit I really don't like it when people move into a village or a new build estate on the edge of the countryside and then whine about every little thing that isn't entirely picturesque. Horse poo isn't going to hurt anyone and even though I probably would go and pick up after us just to stop them whining I would really resent it and I don't think we should encourage this kind of pandering because before you know it, it will be the law that horses have to wear nappies or something.


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## julie111 (20 May 2013)

Tbh, where we live the locals are quick to grab their shovels and spread the poo in their gardens


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## vicki bee (20 May 2013)

I usually go and pickup after my ride if it was in a housing estate or something like that.

But otherwise, I don't bother.


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## moana (20 May 2013)

Leave it there, unlike dog poo.


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## Buds_mum (20 May 2013)

My horse often defouls the village, he likes to think its a public service for the resident roses!


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## Cortez (20 May 2013)

I ALWAYS pick up any poo if I'm riding in public (or in my own arena for that matter), I keep a poop bucket in the jeep. Non horse people don't have the same attitude to horse poop that we all do, and to them it is as disgusting as dog faeces - yes, I know it's "just grass", degrades easily, etc. etc. but in the intrerests of PR, peace and harmony, just pick it up.


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## LOZHUG (20 May 2013)

Ha ha her name wasn't Beryl was it?!! or she's not Beryl's sister from Anglesey is she?

We have one of them here every time we hack past she goes mental whether they poo or not and if they do she goes ballistic shouting pick it up and don't come past my house!!!!

Her new name is Miseraberyl!!!!!! 

People should make the most of the free manure for the garden and their roses


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## Buds_mum (20 May 2013)

Sorry on phone can't quote. But Cortez.... How many of us do you think have a driver and jeep following us on our hacks?! :/


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## Cortez (20 May 2013)

Buds_mum said:



			Sorry on phone can't quote. But Cortez.... How many of us do you think have a driver and jeep following us on our hacks?! :/
		
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I don't go on hacks, I ride in a public area. But if I was to hack in a residential or public place I would at least get off and kick droppings off the path; I'm not surprised the general public get ticked off with "arrogant" horse riders with the attitudes expressed. I personally think people's fear of poo is silly, but these are modern, urban people and we can't expect them to think horse crap is "cute" (like I do). Frankly the "use it on your roses" response is only going to get people's backs up.


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## Oberon (20 May 2013)

Some councils (such as Blackpool) have made a rule that landaus drivers have to pick up the poop and the horses must wear a 'nappy'. But there is no rule for individual riders to do so.

I've been yelled at by various people since I was a teenager .


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## Buds_mum (20 May 2013)

Cortez said:



			I don't go on hacks, I ride in a public area. But if I was to hack in a residential or public place I would at least get off and kick droppings off the path; I'm not surprised the general public get ticked off with "arrogant" horse riders with the attitudes expressed. I personally think people's fear of poo is silly, but these are modern, urban people and we can't expect them to think horse crap is "cute" (like I do). Frankly the "use it on your roses" response is only going to get people's backs up.
		
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I think, dont want to speak for the majority but most people wont ride on the pavements, OP was talking about to someone being annoyed after horse poo'd in the road, no one usually has to walk in the road. If my horse does it front of people I usually make light of it or say i'm sorry lol, its usually accompanied my a huge amount of wind  (him not me!!!! )


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## Cortez (20 May 2013)

Buds_mum said:



			I think, dont want to speak for the majority but most people wont ride on the pavements, OP was talking about to someone being annoyed after horse poo'd in the road, no one usually has to walk in the road. If my horse does it front of people I usually make light of it or say i'm sorry lol, its usually accompanied my a huge amount of wind  (him not me!!!! )
		
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Glad it's not you!!!!


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