Out walking my 2 Border collies tonight when I nearly stepped in a large pile of horse poo now being a responsible dog owner I bag up after my 2,so why do horse owners get away with leaving it where it falls

I always got sent out with a bucket to pick up horse poo for the roses! You don't get that these days! I don't mind the smell of horse either. Dog poo however is grim, and I always pick it up -there's nothing worse than when a child steps in it. Was always my job to clean the affected footwear. Can't imagine it being very practical to pick horse poo, for lots of reasons. At least it's big enough to see!

> . Can't imagine it being very practical to pick horse poo, for lots of reasons

Ditto, what are riders meant to do, park their horses up & start shovelling in the middle of the road apart from being non to practical I'd have thought dangerous to.
What about cat poo?

Sorry lacey that made me laugh and at least we can use horse poo on the roses

It's not illegal to leave it, essentially it's harmless unlike dog poo.

I was allways told its because it didn't pose a risk to people's health like dog mess can.

Cat poo is way worse than dog IMO. They're like tiny little land mines in your garden. Gross.

I hate hate hate cat poo. And there Is zero responsibility to clean that up!

Horse poo is entirely forage. So harmless.

Dog poo however is recycled protein and therefore an ideal home for bacteria to grow.

Cat poo is slimy worms of the devil himself.

why do horse owners get away with leaving it where it falls

I live in london & the police do daily patrols on horseback.....lol, it would be a wonderful theatrical sketch watching them picking up.......maybe you should write scripts for the west end

At one time it was said if horse had ben wormed recently it could be in poo and so not good for dog to eat it?? May not be true but remember seeing it on a forum

Our lot never attempt to eat dog poos thank goodness!

I never worry about any of our gang eating other animal poos whether it be horse/pony, cow, sheep, deer, rabbit, it is just a naturel process that our canine friends sometimes need do.

Farm animals like the horse, cow, sheep, pig, donkey are frequently wormed.
By the time the wormed animals poo has passed through it's system it should have been absorbed by the "wormed" animal and as far as I can see, very little residue would be passed out into the poo.

We have never had a sick dog because of eating horse/farm animal poo. And I'm not going to start worrying about it now.

Think for some reason that maybe care should be taked with the border collies though!

My Cocker loves to roll in horse poo until his a lovely shade of green. The fresher the better too. I also recall being told my mom 7sed to be sent out to clean up the tatter man's horse manure for the vegetable plot!
Cats are different due to being in dependant and they do not poo on the roads or pavements. I've watched dog owners outside school waiting for their children and NOT clean up their dogs poo! I always carry spares and offer one to someone leaving the crime scene  often they say it's on the grass and walk off!

> Out walking my 2 Border collies tonight when I nearly stepped in a large pile of horse poo now being a responsible dog owner I bag up after my 2,so why do horse owners get away with leaving it where it falls

Apart from the practicalities of dismounting, and having something to put horse pooh into      Horse pooh is bio-degradable and for the most part, dog pooh isn't.    Fact is many people do go out and collect what a horse drops - great for the garden!!

> At one time it was said if horse had ben wormed recently it could be in poo and so not good for dog to eat it?

It's only dogs that are MDR1 affected or carriers, there is certainly a chance that if the horse was wormed with an ivermectin based wormer and an MDR1 carrier ate it they could be very ill indeed, possibly even leading to death.

MDR1 is a strange gene, even carriers can show clinical signs, or rather have less tolerance to certain drugs. So anyone with an untested collie type, or dog of unknown parentage should be aware of this. Recently a friend of a friend's cockapoo was seriously ill after eating horse poo, after investigating where she got it it seems the 'cockerpoo' had a beardie grandad.

> Horse poo is entirely forage. So harmless.

Unless the horse has been wormed and then any manure that the dog eats will make it seriously ill

i am horse owner also disabled how am i ment to get off 18.2hd pick poo up i need help to mount due to left leg weekness
i think people need to think before they post things !!!!!
what happens if its young spooky horse you espect rider to jump on and off to pick poo !!!!!!

Horse poo on roads, bridleways and fields isn't really a problem but on a pavement it is. Many years ago when my children were in pushchairs it was a pain having to steer them round piles of horse poo on the pavement near where I live. I know horses shouldn't be on a pavement but it often happened.
As to worming. About 25 years a GSD I owned was passing poo with blood in it. I rushed her to the vets and mentioned she had been fine the previous day at an agricultural show. There had been show jumping there and my vet asked had she eaten horse poo, I said yes and he thought it was wormer products in the poo. He said the rules were that they shouldn't be at a show within a certain time of being wormed but not all owners took notice. Luckily my dog quickly recovered. worming products have more than likely changed since then.

mibby the rider and horse was forced on to pavement by reckless driver
i am very experinced horse and carrage driver
i have been forced up on to pavements by drivers that do not slow down and force you off road
i had stagecouch bus force me and my horse on to pavent he was not for slowing down if had not went on pavement my horse and i would of been died and my son would not of had mother
as i said people really need to think bwfore they post things

>people really need to think bwfore they post things

There is no harm in debating these issues groveclydpoint. In fact, threads such as these actually educate and make people see a wider picture.

>what happens if its young spooky horse

Should it really be on a public highway if it is spooky? Isn't it a danger to everyone including itself?

Young spooky horses have to learn not to be spooky. That's not going to happen if it stands in the middle of a field all day, it needs to experience all manner of different things to become accustomed to them. That means going out on the roads. The problem is impatient/inexperienced drivers who dislike being delayed for a nanosecond and who drive like lunatics. Now they ARE a danger to themselves and others.

well said rozzie !!!
amount of times i have had horrendus experince with drivers driving up my young horse backside
i use to bring youngstock on before my accident
youngstock gain so much experince been out and about
non horse people/townies do not understand our way of life!!!!

No the horses were not forced off the road they chose not to ride on the pavements. On one occasion I saw a car being driven down the road with the passenger holding a young horse on a leading reign. The horse was on the pavement. This riding on pavements doesn't seem to be as much of a problem now even though the roads are busier and there are more horses because there is a riding school. Don't get me wrong I have nothing against horse riding. I drive very slowly near them and my dogs are told to sit and let horses past. I much prefer horses to cyclists.

Totally agree with everything you say about spooky horses RozzieRetriever . I also fully understand why it would not be practical for horse riders to dismount and pick up poo and take it home. What is of interest though (and open to debate) is the varying reasons given for not picking 'horse' poo up eg. spooky horses, disability etc

> Young spooky horses have to learn not to be spooky. That's not going to happen if it stands in the middle of a field all day, it needs to experience all manner of different things to become accustomed to them. That means going out on the roads.

I use to pass a guy often when I was visiting someone in the hospital who was getting young horses use to roads. They would stand next to a road on the pavement holding the horses there letting them watch the cars pass then walk them off (I asume to the stables that were up the road). There is a guy up the road from me who does the same thing, leads young horses up the road to get them use to it first.
Is that the common way riders do it? Seems a safe way to start them off to me.

Most of the horses I've come across on the roads have been great (someone clearly put work into them), some a bit unsure but under control (i allways give those extra extra space, slow to first gear and turn music down). However I have came across two so far who shouldn't have been riding on the road when they were and all most caused an accident both times. Sadly it's times like that that give all horse owners a negative image, just the same with dogs a few can make all in a bad light.

I've sometimes wondered if some sort of bag under the horse's tail couldn't be attached..... :-D I know horse poo is supposed to be safe, decomposes, vegetable matter etc etc, but I still don't much like treading in it or having my disgusting lot roll or eat it!

>non horse people/townies do not understand our way of life!!!!

Huge assumption there groveclydpoint and incorrect (in most cases) Horses do live in towns and ride on roads there too. Just because someone resides in a town does not mean that they automatically do not understand 'country'? ways or are in some way inferior to those lucky enough to live in the countryside!

The debate was about why horse owners do not clear up after their horses in the same way dog owners have to. You suggested that disability and 'spooky' horses was a good enough reason not to clear up after your horse. I am showing my age here, but I can remember when 'coal merchants' used horses to pull their carts and they carried a bucket and shovel to pick up an any deposits that 'Dobbin' made on their rounds. My grandmother would tell you that the milkmen of her day would also pick up after their horses. It is not uncommon to see horse drawn vehicles in some towns even now and in my experience, there is always a bucket to hand and someone jumps off and clears any mess up. So, some 'horse' people do clear up after their horses

(groveclydpoint: not picking on you! Just interested in the points you have raised.)

blackpool carriage drivers use a bag under horses tail to collect dung
i use to start young horse out on road with someone walking beside me
but unfory  drivers where i now live are horrendus
i have carrairge driviving road assment certifect so i do now in and outs of ridding and driving horses on roads
their is some nice drivers but most.are horrendus
i had teenage girl ride for me she wanted to cross main road at farm to go across to river
i stood and give slow sign the drivers ignored it my horse is 18.2hds clydesdale he was wearing reflective stuff and girl was same so both were well seen
i now very well known heavy horse driver he got fed up with drivers going up his carriage backside he now had brick attached to his driving whip
their been so many horses killed and riders injured in road accidentsdue to.drivers not slowing down .i my self had bad accident on road as child
ti would rather ride in fields than ride on roads

reply to Admin........
The examples you mention are horse Drivers - not horse Riders, don't know if you have done either but not really comparable for 'picking up' situation.

> The examples you mention are horse Drivers - not horse Riders,

Very true .. Just curious but, are there any horse riders out there that have had to get their horses onto pavements (for whatever reason) and if the horses have messed, dismounted and kicked it into the road?

i do horse ridding and carraige driving ie horse driving

That's because Dobbin's poo was worth money then! They used to bag it and sell it to people in the posh end of town as fertilisers for the garden weren't so common then. It wasn't because of a social conscience!

We see people walking horses through our estate (by which I mean housing, not a stately type estate!). It is good for them. However, someone I used to know was thrown from a very placid horse because an idiot driver came screaming past her, cut her up scaring the horse which reared up, threw her, landed on top and broke her back. You could argue that not picking up the poo is irresponsible, so is stupid driving. Given a choice, I know which I'd take. Added to which, someone's bound to argue that you are not in proper control of the horse when you are dismounted, with your flappy plastic bag picking it up.

so true rozzie
you have to keep your wits about you all times ridding and driving you can not just sit their looking preaty
i have heavy horses my gelding very laid back big horse but you never now the day when something could go wrong i have also been involed with showjumpers and hunters
my pony i had as child was laid bag welsh type rusty was bomb proof but out hacking a car came right up behind mother and i rusty reared up and i.fell off got knocked out i was only 4yr at time
i live semi rural in housing est
only found out about duchess title when mother died

Does this mean we have to call you 'your Grace' now?

lol its so funny as am such tomboy

trying to figure out how to ride with stepladders for mounting and dismounting bag for poo.and shuval
............
any ideas

You need the horse to pull a small trailer and you can ride the horse like the King's Troop do                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                   

Drugs used for worming both horses and dogs still contain ivermectin or can do but not all recently wormed horse poo will make a dog sick so no need to panic  every time it happens.soem of us might be in the vet more times than we are out if that were the case.
As explained somewhere earlier its those dogs that carry the mdr1 gene mainly herding breeds that are at risk so that could include gsd but more commonly collies. The drug being ivermectin or any on the same drug family. worth considering if you dog eats poo of any animal that might be wormed with that drug and carries the gene not just horses. including as someone said  dogs  of unknown origin . I think millbemax is the most commonly used wormer for dogs that contains ivermectin , I am sure someone can correct me if I am wrong.

personally I just wish mine wouldn't poo eat but after years of  having some dogs that do some dogs that don't and have tried all sorts of things  completely stopping it escapes me

I grew up close to Red Rum's stable, and when those horses were out on the roads a stable lad followed on behind on a bike with a bucket and shovel. So it is possible to clean up.
The problem where I live is that horse riders seem to think it's OK to ride one on the road and one on the pavement. Horse poo on the road doesn't bother me, but on the pavement it does.

my clydesdale is out on loan to driving home he been pulling dray all summer at shows in scotland and england
looking to down size to shetland after hip and back surgary
so.wont need steps
dog poo bags will do

my friend just bought horse that was bred by donald mccain ie ginger mccain son

I remember seeing Donald and Ginger visiting Ginger's mum.
I used to see RR all the time when I was a child but I never realised how world famous he was until I was older !!!

donald mccain now based in cheshire he has massive racing and breding yard
so excited when my friend bought the gelding he is really nice chestnut
red rum was one of best natioal hunt horses wonder if chester is relatited to red rum

Facebook Replies:

Stephanie Presdee says: need a big bag, the carts used to have buckets and they used to shovel it up.

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Lisa Stewart Phillips says: Because horse poo is undigested vegetable matter. Dog poo is protein based and can carry parasites and diseases.

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Marilyn Barford says: I agree, horse poo is mainly processed grass and possibly some cereals.

the buckets that are in carts are for water not poo !!!!!
i do no what am talking about as i was professal carriage groom !!!
the nose bags that hang beside bucket are for feed
you need 1 up to 8 depending on number you are driving and one bucket
thwaites and samual smiths brewarys still deliver beer the boys that drive shires do not use bucket for poo yes i do noe thwaites and samual smith drivers and grooms