I just don't believe it!!!

[smudge]

I am going to write a letter to the parish mag - stand by

[susih]

We got a complaint from an energetic member of the public after going hacking round the local bridlepaths. The said lady had allegedly sprained an ankle after tripping over a hoof print.

She was mighty annoyed.

Right.

[smudge]

Susih!! OMG!

Right, here we go - letter for Parish Council:

Dear Parish Council,

How saddened I was to read of the complaints regarding fouling of horses in the village. I am old enough to remember the times when horse manure (which is, lets face it, only usually to be found in the road for a few minutes before being flattened to oblivion) was a valuable commodity to local gardeners who would scoop it up sharpish to use on their flower beds. Now it seems even horse riders are to be complained about - despite the occurance of this being extremely low in comparison to other environmentally unfriendly issues such as car and bus fumes, dog fouling, mini-vandals and normal litter (cigarette ends and bubble gum).

I wonder if the complainants understand just how difficult it is to keep and enjoy horses in this village? The very gentle sport of hacking is severely limited by a lack of bridlepaths - forcing us onto the road. The bridlepaths available are not always usable - one is blocked by loose horses (and dangerous to ride through) and the only other places to ride off-road are banned to horseriders regardless....although the thought of riding along the railway line and falling off into a pile of dog poo puts me off anyway (have you seen the dog fouling on there recently?).

So, if we are not being raced past by cars, jumped out at by dogs (or worse, chased!) we are being complained about for the organic, ordourless, road dwelling pile of manure our horses might be forced to leave behind. Unfortunately, there is a shortage of available and convenient mounting blocks throughout the village so even if I were to stop in the middle of the road, dismount, and scoop the poo into a black bin bag, I wouldn't be able to get back on again....

...unless the Parish Council would see fit to install pooper scooper bins enclosed within a handy mounting block throughout the village? I would most definitely promise to use them

In summary, I would like to ask for a little more patience, understanding and consideration to those of us who own horses and ride. In a world where everything is done as fast as possible it would be tragic to drive one of the oldest forms of transport out of the village for the sake of a pile of poo.

[tammy68]

Smudge,

How very eloquent you are ...I hope you've sent it as it will back up and add to what I've emailed in a letter to them. I haven't heard anything back yet though!

Thanks for yesterday...I enjoyed it! (That'll get them wondering!!! )