April 2023 Issue

EAST COAST EQUESTRIAN April 2023 Page 33 Go ahead...Ask da Mare leaves when animals are nearby? How tall is your horse? A fall from a 16 or 17-hand horse is much more dramatic than one from a pony. You might talk this over with other equestrian friends, too. Maybe you don’t need the airbags, but a protective vest might be worth looking into. Regardless, you do need a new helmet! Dear Mal… Please don’t misunderstand my question as somehow critical of horses or the people who ride them. I love to see horses, and think they are amazing, beautiful creatures. But when I see them on the trails, all I can think of is their poop. I walk my dogs several miles on the local trails almost ev- ery day, and every day I encounter at least two giant horse poop piles. Dog walkers are supposed to clean up after their pets and I wonder why horse owners are not required to do likewise. As an aside, I contribute a lot of money to trail conservation groups and have raised this issue with them several times. I know a lot of them are horse people, so they don’t take my complaints seriously. But I am on the verge of letting them know they can kiss my money goodbye unless they do something about this issue. I’ve confronted some of the horse riders when I see them, and they seem pretty arrogant to me. My dogs don’t like them, ei- ther—they’re afraid of horses and get a little barky when I’m talking to the riders. They don’t even get off their horses to discuss this issue. They just tell me that they are not required to do what the rest of us are required to do. Isn’t there some sort of code of conduct for these people? -Angry on the Trail Dear Angry… Yipes! That’s a whole lot of baggage you’re dragging along the trails. Let’s put this issue into a manageable little carry-on, shall we? To begin, dogs are not vege- tarians. They eat meat, which goes in one end as perfectly fine food, and comes out the other end as a stinky pile. Horses, on the other hand, eat grain, hay and grass. When all this input comes out after its trip through the horse’s gut, it’s basically a pile of stewed grass. It is chemical free and, if the trail is a grassy one, the poop just turns into loose trail matter. So, it seems prudent for dog walkers to pick up their doggies’ poop, but horse poop doesn’t present the same problems. Now let’s take a look at logistics. A dog walker carrying one of those ubiquitous poop bags can just lean over and pick up the dog’s mess. A pile of manure might weigh a few pounds, depending on how much water the horse had been drinking. And, as you have observed, the horse poop would likely not fit into a standard poop bag. Then we come to the aspect of this story that seems most offensive to you. You may have seen people in movies just grab onto their horses’manes and hop on with hardly any effort. In real life, getting off a tall horse without having something to help get back on the horse is problem- atic. You see the riders as arrogant because they won’t get off their horses; they, on the other hand, realize that if they got off their horses it would likely be difficult if not impossible to get back on. I know. It’s a dilemma, right? You mentioned that your dogs dislike riders as much as you do and get “barky” around the horses. That presents another issue. Your dogs bark, and that spooks some horses. The riders may be trying to be po- lite but simultaneously concerned that their horses may spook or kick or do something else unpredictable and unplanned. Maybe it would be useful for you to take a few steps back from that precipice you’re straddling. You and your dogs love the trails? Check. You and your dogs walk several miles a day on the trails? Check. On those walks you see one or two piles of horse poop? Double-check. So your several-mile-walk is interrupted by about two square feet of annoy- ance. You donate lots of money to trail conservation; you may be surprised to know that equestri- ans do, too. And many equestrian groups work with conservation organizations to strengthen, main- tain and develop new trails. Trail riders are expected to be polite and considerate, just as other trail users are. You say you love to see horses. Take that thought with you on the Real Estate trails, instead of the thought that you might encounter some poop on the trail. And please, don’t punish the conservation groups. Your do- nations help them keep trails open for all of us. Perhaps you could ask the conservation group to introduce you to some of the equestrians who work on trails. Get to know them, work with them and discover that they’re probably not arrogant jerks after all. Have a question for Mal? Email her at PAEquest@aol. com. (Continued from page 24) To advertise call (717) 509-9800 The Devon Horse Show Preview! Plus, our semi- annual Real Estate Showcase! Coming in the May issue! Brenda Carpenter Photography