Do you let your horse poo..

Ron doesn't even try to stop, in fact he barely slows down.... but he does almost always do it across this one driveway we ride past... If you look back it's like there's bollards been grown in front of their drive! :rolleyes:

Tom tries to stop, but can't bear to be left behind by Ron, so just shuffles along for a few strides until he's done, then jogs to catch up!
 
My things really dont care. Standing, walking, trotting, cantering, you name it they'll s***e anywhere & everywhere. Usually in massive quantities.

I do wish they'd learn to stop mashing it into their beds though. My mare is especially bad & impossible to bed in any sensible way without it turning into a stinking mess.

As for the pony, well, you could track us by the multiple piles he leaves in a trail up the road!!
 
Pedantic said:
Mine won't walk and poo without being forced., I only really force the issue if crossing a road.
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^^this. I'm happy to let her stop, if she keeps moving then she kicks poo all over her boots and tail :o

ETA, as she has got older she doesn't usually want to go when we are schooling anyway. And at a show, she's empty by the time we get off the box - finds travelling far too exciting :D
 
Yup, humans can walk (and run) and poo at the same time too. But we don't, unless we're seriously in fear of our lives. So on that basis, if my horse needs to poo, he alerts me and where possible we pull to one side, stop and he has his poo undisturbed.

Fortunately, he hardly ever poos when we're out. I say fortunately, as most of our hacking is on a Sustrans track which we are allowed to use provided we remove poo... and horse is very large and ridden bareback, so if I have to dismount to scrape a poo off the track, it is a long walk to the next suitable mounting spot (and I hate getting back to the yard with poo all over my boots).
 
Mine has never,ever,ever in 5.5years,pooed in a school or on a course (at home or away) which is very handy:) He will,however, usually squeeze one poo out per hack but has to be told to keep moving and does so begrudgingly,with very wide,slow hind leg steps,like a baby with a massively full nappy... ;)
 
I have watched videos of my lad racing and he's done his business whilst in the final 3 furlongs so if he can do that and come in the top 3 in his races, he can do it at walk.
;)
 
I do not allow them to stop to poop, nothing more annoying if you are leading one from another horse and it stops dead to poop - usually means you drop the lead rope.

They can poop when charging around the field so they can poop on the move when ridden.
 
Is it odd that I would like to see photographic evidence of horses pooing over jumps? I'm imagining an arc formation.

I usually gently insist they walk on, but not rigidly and I haven't felt it necessary to do so in trot... my BF was amazed watching the Olympic horses pooing in canter without a second thought ;-)
 
if hacking then yes stop. if i was WORKING the horse the no i would make the horse go forward..every horse can poo in walk, trot and canter its just a habit they pick up on that if the stop for one you will let them. they can run around a feild pooing so what is the difference. i too agree with it been a bad habit you may have to encourage forward at first but the will sharp get the idea.

all that comes into mind is naughty riding school ponies trying to get out of work. lol
 
Mine has to stop - he's very insistent! He once stopped midway round a cross country course to have a wee!! He's quite special! :D
 
My horse will happily walk , trot, canter, jump whilst having a poo! however he has white legs and If I can tell he is going to- I stop him if possible so he doesn't catch his legs :p obviously not if in a class competing
 
Mollie rarely poos when being ridden, but if she does, I let her stop. We're usually in the arena so it's easier to clean that way anyway. I don't think she's ever pooed on a hack but if safe to do so I'd let her stop.

Lots of the other horses poo and wee while tied outside their stables, making a mess of the yard. I think Mollie's pooed only once on the yard, she must have been desperate. :)
 
Mine won't move when pooing but then he is a stubborn Exmoor pony, sometimes he even stops dead to inspect ANOTHER poo on a ride, then poo's on it....:confused::o

I have to say though he's never tried to go in a competition. He just does it on hacks, so I let him :o
 
You can stop them going?!

As to whether I let them stand or not, I'll generally let mine stop if I'm just schooling - I don't think it's necessary to make them less comfortable. Though if I was doing a dressage test or something critical of course I'd make them walk on :) But generally mine holds it in anyway, so it's never been an issue that comes up. I understand not wanting to teach them that pooping means stopping, though.

I do wish he wasn't such a wuss about peeing with a person on board, though. He really won't go unless he's desperate, and when he's uncomfortable and holding it in I'm sure it distracts him.
 
I'm glad not to be the only one with a determined stop-to-poop beast! At 13 yrs, and most of those as a riding school pony I would have to get pretty cross with him to try and break his habit of stopping dead (even in trot). We haven't competed yet and it bothers me that he might try it then and embarrass us, but in the school at home it does make cleaning up easier!
 
No my horses do not stop to poo when they are being worked. From weanlings upwards mine are taught that when we are asking them to do something, even if it is just the babies being led from field to field, they keep to the pace we require and if they need to poo then they do it on the move.
 
Nope, on the move= on the move... Exception being those who can't- one had broken his dock as a youngster, so genuinely couldn't go on the move. All ours are quite happy to poo whilst hooning round the field, so can obviously do it :D
 
So it seems to be 50/50. I would however like to see pictures of these very talented "poo on the move" types. Maybe a new breed of horse? Some of these posts have really made me chuckle! We seem to have a whole lotta poop going on anyway!
 
FreddiesGal said:
So it seems to be 50/50. I would however like to see pictures of these very talented "poo on the move" types. Maybe a new breed of horse? Some of these posts have really made me chuckle! We seem to have a whole lotta poop going on anyway!
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Hardly a new breed, it's what they evolved to do!

Mine poo as they are going EXCEPT for Flynn who is a bit of an exception in that he has suffered significant damage to his back and, under vet instruction, is worked as and when he feels up to it. If he feels that his back is up to pooing as he moves he will, if his back is not feeling as good then he has to stop. It's a useful indicator of how he's feeling in himself.

Everyone else keeps working through it. It's something they should have been taught as babies and unless there is a physical reason why they cannot keep moving it's just bad manners for them to stop.
 
I didn't realise it was considered 'bad manners' for horses to stop - I've always let mine pause for a poo. She does save it for when we're walking though - so I've never had a problem of coming to a grinding halt mid-canter :p
 
Don't let him stop to do it but its never really been a problem anyway as he usually waits until he's in canter to do it, leaving me a lovely long trail of the stuff to collect from the arena!
 
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