Username wrote:timdownieuk wrote:A local part of the NCN 7 route that's much used by walkers, runners and cyclists has recently seen an increase in horse traffic, and the waste they leave behind.
Can horse riders legally use these cycle paths in Scotland? Obviously where the route uses public roads there's not a problem (legally) but the very things that make designated separate routes attractive to cyclists also attracts horse riders.
On the subject of waste being left behind, do horse riders get fined for horseshit? Dog owners get fined for not cleaning up after their dog, but dogs dont leave behind as big a mess, nor does dog mess typically pose a risk to 2 wheeled traffic on a busy road (motorcycles could slip on horseshit).
Riders don't get fined because:
Horseshit is not dangerous to humans like dog and cat filth
Horses are on roads by right, motor vehicles only under licence.
Horseshit is easy to avoid - far easier than the cattle crap we get on rural roads that can go right across the carriageway.
Also, I for one would rather clean horse crap off my tyres than dog or cat filth. Wouldn't you?
Motorcyclists and drivers don't have to take their emissions home, after all, and that kills a lot of people every year.
Having said all that, I don't think horses should be allowed on cycle paths unless they are tarmac. Horses wrecked a path close to here within months because the riders selfishly went faster than a walk on it when it was very wet. (I'd rather the council hadn't wasted money putting one of those crap clay surfaces down, they never last long and are dirty and messy for day 1.)