"Dung Guidance" issued by The British Horse Society Scotland

ridingsafely

ridingsafely

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"The British Horse Society Scotland (BHSS) admits that it is receiving a growing number of complaints about the increasing amount of dung deposited on paths and driveways on the fringes of urban areas.

Concerned that the conflict may fuel calls for legislation, the education and lobbying body has now launched a campaign urging riders to clean up the dung left by their mounts.

The 4,880-member BHSS's "Dung Guidance" leaflet – to be distributed to agricultural shows and riding schools - outlines key steps riders should take to minimise upset."

Read more from the NEWS.scotsman.com at: http://news.scotsman.com/uk/Now-they39ve-really-gone-and.5784344.jp

Read the “Dung Guidance” leaflet at: http://www.bhsscotland.org.uk/documents/BHSSdungguidance.pdf
 
That is the most fanatastic use of dung as a verb.
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Hilarious stuff.

However I'm a bit concerned at their state of mind if they really think legislation could actually be enforced/workable.
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I ride in north glasgow! Its hysterical. If the council had thought about it before tarmacing a perfectly good, grassy disused railway line, they could have included a grassy section for horses so the posh people did not have to step in mud or horse droppings.

The tarmaced area is only 4 foot wide!

I cannot dismount and then remount without needing a mounting block. Hoss is 16.3, I am 37 and arthritic! Unfortunately, my gymnastic days are over.

Its just as well hoss is fussy where he performs and only goes on grass or in the gutters.

It is the countryside, there is mud, there is muck get over it people.

Whatabout people who let their dogs crap everywhere and leave it? That is worse, you cant get worms or diseases from wholesome horse poo.

I would move it if I could get back safely on simply to keep the peace.

 
it is a bit ridiculous imho but one slightly serious point...
i met a lady years ago whose son had been quite badly injured when his motorbike skidded on dung on a corner, and he crashed.
since then i've often trotted on round corners (a good idea anyway as it gets you out of the 'motorists can't see me till they whizz around the corner' zone) so there's less chance of leaving a big pile there for some poor motorcylist to skid on...
 
The motorcycle example is a good one Kerrilli. As an ex biker I can see it would be a hazard!

Regarding paths and driveways, I have never got off, but I have gone back in the car and shifted it.

I have to ride along a 50mph relief road to get anywhere from my yard. It has a wide pathway, which is a cyclepath combined with pavement and then a grass verge all along it.

For safety's sake I do always ride along this path, I have been passed by Police cars and Police cyclists, they have all said the same, yes you are breaking the law, but it is safer for everyone if you keep doing what you are doing!

This is absolutely the only footpath I ever ride on, and if my horse dropped one there I would again go back and remove it. I am not getting off my horse next to a 50mph road to do it there and then though.

What annoys me though is the amount of droppings that do get dropped and left there. I don't think that is fair to the other users at all.
 
What about bridle paths tho? They can be used by others, but were primarily a route for horses. Surely then other should expect there to be horse poop there, and they should just deal with it.

If its a residential area, or a built up one or park etc, then I would try and more it. But I cant get on from the ground and so if there is no where safe for me to mount I wouldnt be getting off
 
Sounds like a freak accident to me and not the fault of the horse or rider in that instance as both horses and vehicles have a right to be on the road. Horse dung is a naturally occurring substance in my opinion. Horses have travelled along tracks and roads ( when they were indeed built) years before the use of mechanical vehicles came along.
Horse dung being on the roads is no different to that left by other farm animals, dripped from tractors or muck spreaders or mud left behind by the wheels of such vehicles. This is especially true of rural lanes.
Surface water caused by a sudden downpour and poor drainage is another natural hazard which can cause accidents.
Then there is ice and black ice, again naturally occurring and both can cause accidents on roads.
As for un-natural causes well there are fuel and oil spills, and leaks which again can cause accidents, even on corners as chances are they would not be seen until it was too late.
Whilst I see your point about the motorcyclist and I am glad he survived the accident I don't think it is right to apportion blame to horse riders when there are countless other hazards that could have caused an equal if not more serious accident.
If we are to apportion blame to ourselves for letting our horse poop on roads and even corners then in the same breath are we to apportion blame to other vehicle users who fail to deal with oil leaks on their vehicles properly, not allow livestock to travel on roads in between fields and farms, ban tractors, farm machinery and finally swear obscenities at the weather for allowing it to rain and create ice.
If mine or anyone else's horse poops on the road or on corners then so be it. If it is one pile or a series of dollops there is no difference. Personally I think it is unsafe to trot around corners/bends on roads especially when visibility is poor or the embankments are high as I think it increases the chances of an accident. The faster you are going on a horse the harder it is for a vehicle to react to your presence. Often you have no idea of what you will meet as you trot around a corner. A vehicle could be out of control and on the other side of the road, your side of the road. Or else they could be travelling at speed and if you are going a medium to fast gait then the driver is going to see you that much quicker and have less time to react because you will be upon them before they know it and have chance to react ( swerve etc) which can be made worse by high embankments or 'blind' bends.
I would not feel safe trotting around a corner just so that if my horse pooped it would a series of dollops than just one. From a risk point of view and compared to the list of other natural and man-made causes of accidents on roads listed above I don't feel that a bit of horse poo on the road or a corner creates much of a risk to other road users in the great scheme of things.
 
QR

I have lived in Milngavie for over a decade and have been both a horse owner and not in that time. There is not a huge issue with horse dung in the area as I frequently go out running round the local parks.

There is however still a massive issue with dog dirt which is smellier and doesn't break down. Not to mention the good old friendly pooch who "won't bite" but grabs hold of various bits of clothing.

These cause way more hazard than the odd bit of horse dung.

It is unrealistic to get off when I am out hacking so I am lucky that my horse doesn't like to poo when ridden only once when she was attacked by a dog!!!
 
I agree with you xtra. I am fed up of getting back from a hack only to pick out horse's feet to find it packed full of dog poo. Disgusting.

Horses are getting persecuted because their poos are more obvious than dogs.
 
I live in the country and ride on roads and on a private estate and on neighbouring farm land - I ride on roads with a 60mph limit and there is no way in hell I am getting off to move horse poop - it would be blooming more danger than good.

I think that mud left by tractors causes a much greater danger on the roads than horse poo - leaving mud on the road has a high risk of causing accidents. Im sure more drivers would like tractor mud to be cleared up after farm work than to have the odd horse poop kicked off the road.
 
In a rural area no problem--the complaints come usually in urban areas where someone could get poo on their pram/wheelchair wheels and take it into their house or on busy multi-use routes. Not everyone rides in the middle of nowhere!
 
Yes but then the urban people move to the country and start whingeing and before you know it you have idiots who think it's an improvement to pick up their dog's poop in a bag and then drop the bag.
Nation of what pedantic said!
For goodness sake, when we lived in a town when I was a kid, if a horse pooped on the road, half a dozen householders would rush out with their shovels and fight to the death to get it for their roses.
 
In the country park near Milngavie we now have a delightful selection of people who do pick it up but then leave the bag hanging from the nearest tree. Or dump it on the grass verge outside people's houses
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Thing is everybody can moan about other users but unless it is dangerous to me or genuinely upsetting I just have a grumble to myself then get on with it.
 
A friend of mine drove his numerous horses round the streets of his home town for many years, and one or two people did complain to both the council and my friend about dung on the road outside their houses.

After some investigation by my friend, it was established that, owing to an old by-law which had never been repealed, the dung actually belonged to the council as soon as it hit the road, as they used to lift it and use it on the council gardens/allotments.

If he had lifted the dung, my friend could have been found in breach of the law.
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I live just a few miles from Edinburgh. There is a public right of way near me which has been blocked to horseriders because they make it too muddy, according to Midlothian Council's access officers (whose duties it is to to enforce the right to roam legislation). I can't get my mountain bike through the barriers either. They want people to drive with their bikes and horses to certain trails and ride up and down, slowly and boringly.

I'm also a runner and train 5 days a week round here. I have never stood on horse dung, in fact I've rarely seen any, despite the huge number of horses round here. Yet I've stood on dog pooh twice in the last 6 months, and thats deeply, deeply unpleasant. I've also been chased and tripped by dogs and had objects thrown by teenagers out of cars at me, all of which are far more serious risks than horse dung on paths.
 
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