Poopa scoopa

[Laetitia]

I have heard that new legislation in America is being introduced in that all horse owners/riders etc have to clear up behind their horse,as one does after one's dog.This also includes paddocks.The mind boggles.Imagine going out for a hack with a large poopa scoopa tied to your saddle to do the necessary as and when.I suppose we could take a leaf out the book of that little Spanish village on a hill (can't remember its name) and use nappies, like they do for their donkeys.Without a shadow of a doubt it'll be in England before we can draw breath.Can our American friends throw any light on the subject? L

[KarinUS]

I don't know about other areas of the US, but what stands out is that it is really different here anyway.
I lived in Germany for the first twenty years of my live. We owned some land and a forest there. I remember taking a walk along the fields and through other people's forests until I got to ours.
One would think you could do that here, too, since there is so much open space. But it's quite different. every little bit seems to be owned by somebody and not accessible to the public.
So as for riding out in the fields, you can only do that if they are your own fields anyway. In that case you can leave as much poop behind as you please.
If it's not your field you ride in then you'll be in trouble anyway so it doesn't matter.
I know the cart horses in the city have to wear bags, but I am assuming it's the same in Europe isn't it?
As for poop in your own paddock. Maybe that depends on the zoning requirements. If your paddock is in an agricultural zone it would be fairly impossible to outlaw horse poop since farmers will spread manure anyway to fertilize thier fields, etc. Maybe it's different if you run a riding school in the city in a commercially zoned area? Haven't heard anything about that...

[kedwards]

Never heard of such a legislation, at least not nationally. The dog poop thing isn't a national law either, as far as I know. In my neighborhood, there is a pooper scooper ordinance for dogs. I don't know whether a horse owner riding in the town center would be subject to the same fine.

I imagine that what you heard was based on a local ordinance somewhere, and the story was broadened in the telling.