One of our local parks is huge, with picnic areas, grills, and long walking trails. It's not the grassy park that you imagine in the center of many cities and towns, but full of wild grasses and flowers, a small lake, and gravel trails. The trails are for walkers, runners, people to walk their dogs, and even horses. It's probably more appropriate to call it an outdoor recreation area than a park.
One of the first things you see as you get out of your car is a post with a box on top full of plastic bags and a sign reminding people that it is mandatory that they pick up any dog poop that their dog tries to leave as a present to nature. That's not surprising because that's the law here in the US, and pet owners across the country have come to accept the common sense of not leaving these presents for others to deal with.
But, can anyone tell me why, i mean why?, someone who rides their horse on the same trails thinks they have the right to leave the presents their horse decides to donate right there in the middle of the trail, as they ride off happily into the sunset? If you compare a pile of dog poop to a mountain of horse poop, ..... well, you really can't make that comparison. It would be like comparing Lake Michigan to the Pacific Ocean. It would be like comparing a Family Meal at McDonalds to all the food set out at an All You Can Eat Buffet.
Granted, if they were forced to clean it up they would use all the plastic bags in the box, and that could get expensive, but surely there must be a way to handle this. Maybe the Forest Preserve District needs to leave buckets, big buckets, lots of big buckets, around the post for horse owners to use?
I was on my bike and, as usual, day dreaming and looking at the scenery, when out of nothing but pure luck i happened to look up — seconds before running into a pile of horse poop so large that it would probably have destroyed my bike's tires had i hit it, not to say anything about my pride and ego. Luckily i was able to swerve around it, but this is horse shit.
Can anyone tell me why this isn't illegal?
4 comments:
No, I cannot...other than to say, as the onetime spouse of a horse owner, that I think riders are not necessarily (always) aware that their mount is expelling poop as they ride along...unlike a dog-owner, who can hardly claim ignorance of the fact. But the same question has certainly occurred to me, as I run the shared trails near my home here in the PNW.
Hey, a fellow runner who also admits to thinking about horse poop. Welcome. :-)
Ignorance? I don't buy it. They can be told to keep their eyes open or stay home. My guess is that they (usually) know, but choose to ignore it because it would obviously be a pain to have to clean it up.
I'm sure you're right...riders simply choose to ignore the steaming piles they leave in their wake. In any case, on further reflection, I don't think I've ever come across a solo rider in the woods. They've always been in a group, and my poor attempt at an excuse for them could only be claimed by the very last rider in the line. :)
I can't imagine owners cleaning horse poop at the middle of the road. I never give it a thought, but yeah it is a serious issue, why not?
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