You will lighten your impact on the landscape if you train your horse to poop without stopping as he walks down the trail. Piles of manure – the big mounds formed when your horse stops to poop – take a long time to break down. But the tiny, scattered piles left when a horse poops while it’s walking will dry very quickly and blow away. So, if you want to leave clear – and objectionable – evidence of your passing, let your horse stop and leave a big, steaming pile of manure in the trail. Everyone who passes that spot for the next year (or longer) will see the evidence of your presence. If you want to have less of an impact on the land and on other trail users, keep your horse walking as he’s pooping, and in a couple of months there will be no evidence you were ever there.
Want to know about fun places to ride near you? Check out our equestrian trail guidebooks, available at www.NWHorseTrails.com. Happy Trails!
Kim McCarrel has been an avid trail rider for more years than she likes to admit, and has ridden the horse trails all over Oregon and SW Washington. Her books are must-haves for Pacific Northwest trail riders. They include “Riding Central Oregon Horse Trails,” “Riding Northwest Oregon Horse Trails,” “Riding Southern Oregon Horse Trails,” “Riding Southwest Washington Horse Trails,” and “Riding the Metolius-Windigo Trail.”