You think cylists are bad...Wait till you get these

[LoneWolf]

Do cat owners pick up cat shit?

 

I have done

 

my cat shames me sometimes...

 

 

 

Isn't the towpath at Hopwas a bridleway?

[rubblequeen]

Will the riders have to pick up the horse poo?

Horse poo is organic and as such shouldn't need picking up and would benefit any vegetation on land. However, not sure if it would be benificial to any plants etc in the canal.

[Captain Fizz]

A horse and rider at a trot or canter will cut up the ground far more than a slow walking horse.

[sassan]

I bought an absurdly loud siren at a car boot sale last year. I've never used it because it deafened me for half an hour when I first tried it... But now I'm glad I have it

[Polishicebreaker]

Very useful if your out on a cruise and fancy a horse burger. You'll need a freezer on board though , it'll last you a while!

[churchward]

Horse poo is organic and as such shouldn't need picking up and would benefit any vegetation on land. However, not sure if it would be benificial to any plants etc in the canal.

um I would say all poo is organic in one sense and in another all poo can only be organic if the diet of the animal (or person) is fully organic (ie only approved organic products) too.

[J R ALSOP]

I'm putting my engine on Ebay and buying a shire.

[Dottyshirl]

I was talking to OH the other day about if you had a horse drawn boat these days you would not get very far (tow path not continuous for horses). If we were in the 1970's and I had access to the towpath me and several friends and ponies would have relished galloping on the towpath, in the autumn/winter we would have obliviously caused a mud bath. I think horses should not have access today because the use of the towpath would be completely different and the two uses are incomparable. I see people using the towpath to long rein young horses, because it keeps them straight but that is all. But hunters using the towpath regularly would create an impassable muddy bog ... Sadly

[Angela C]

The tow paths where made for people and horses (towing boats).

Edited January 14, 2014 by Angela C

[Captain Fizz]

Yes, towing boats, not being ridden.

[nebulae]

I cant see many canal towpaths being suitable for horse riding.Most bridges on narrow canals would require the rider to dismount.I imagine that a lot of towpath tunnels,like the one at Stone,are only high enough for mules and donkeys.Cant see the horse riding community being very interested.

[Neil2]

I could see this issue was going to stirrup the emotions.

 

A bit of a lame attempt at humour, I admit.

[FadeToScarlet]

The horses used to tow boats were generally of a couple of particular breeds, I think, and couldn't generally be too large because of the heights of bridges, etc.

 

You wouldn't get very far with a Shire horse on most canals.

[Robbo]

A horse and rider at a trot or canter will cut up the ground far more than a slow walking horse.

What about a slow walking horse pulling a loaded narrow boat tho!

[FadeToScarlet]

What about a slow walking horse pulling a loaded narrow boat tho!

No more than a slow walking horse not pulling a boat- it's the stopping and starting that's hard, and which really churned up the paths, not the keeping going.

 

Unfortunately we no longer have access to vast quantities of ash and cinders from thousands of steam engines to spread on the towpaths to make a good, solid surface.

[Detling]

As a winter time rambler, I can assure you we avoid pathways/tracks used by horses as even a few horses a week results in 6 inches of mud and other soft brown stuff. There is no way even intermittent riding on some of the towpaths of the shroppie in the winter would leave them fit for any walker. In the summer when the ground is firmer things would be better, our local country park closes its routes to horses from late October till May.

[Robbo]

No more than a slow walking horse not pulling a boat- it's the stopping and starting that's hard, and which really churned up the paths, not the keeping going.

 

Unfortunately we no longer have access to vast quantities of ash and cinders from thousands of steam engines to spread on the towpaths to make a good, solid surface.

But if I'm pulling something I have to put more weight down, same with a horse. I'm in favour of then using the path again, as it's the only reason why the path exists in the first place.

No more than a slow walking horse not pulling a boat- it's the stopping and starting that's hard, and which really churned up the paths, not the keeping going.

 

Unfortunately we no longer have access to vast quantities of ash and cinders from thousands of steam engines to spread on the towpaths to make a good, solid surface.

But if I'm pulling something I have to put more weight down, same with a horse. I'm in favour of then using the path again, as it's the only reason why the path exists in the first place.

[Zayna]

I ride horses. I can't think of anything more dangerous than riding along a towpath. There may be a few that are wide enough and safe enough somewhere, but let a bunch of horses and riders loose on the towpaths and I'll guarantee you that a percentage will end up in the cut or have their heads knocked off by a bridge. I kid you not. And what about horses tripping up over mooring ropes? I would not take my horse on a towpath, there are just too many hazards. Deep water being just one of them.

[dor]

A few years ago I tried cycling along a disused railway track on the Wirral. The track had been divided into a "walkway", which was surfaced with compacted gravel, and a "rideway" for horses and bikes. Even in the summer it was totally impractical to try and ride a bike on the rideway as it was so churned up.

 

I also saw someone take a horse down onto the towpath near Marbury and proceed to canter along it. Again it was summer, and the towpath, though not surfaced, was smooth and readily walkable. After the horse had cantered down and back just once it looked like a ploughed field. Towpaths are often damp and so soft, even in dry weather. Whilst they can take foot traffic without damage, coping with horse riding is something else. It will be a big mistake if C&RT allow horse rising on the towpaths generally.

[Dyertribe]

Horse poo is organic and as such shouldn't need picking up and would benefit any vegetation on land. However, not sure if it would be benificial to any plants etc in the canal.

 

Errrrrrr surely ALL poo is organic?

[Kwacker]

Anglers .... teenage girls cantering on horses on the towpath .... naaaah!

Edited January 14, 2014 by Kwacker

[Janet S]

The last time I rode a horse on the towpath (Caledonian Canal), the beast spooked and chucked me in the canal right in front of HRH Prince Charles as he came through on one of his Navy boats...my steed freaked out at a water pipe crossing the towpath...

 

...I won't be doing that again! Bike maybe, but horses? Nope...not for me....

 

Janet

[Chop!]

A horse and rider at a trot or canter will cut up the ground far more than a slow walking horse.

Oh. come on, canter on a towpath? What a complete load of nimby bollocks, Dog crap, dog crap bags, uncontrolled dogs etc. are the bane of towpaths, cycle paths and footpaths. Horse crap is good manure, doesn't carry the nasties that can blind a child. 'Towpath' a path meant for horses to tow boats. not a dog toilet!

The horses used to tow boats were generally of a couple of particular breeds, I think, and couldn't generally be too large because of the heights of bridges, etc.

 

You wouldn't get very far with a Shire horse on most canals.

Oh really?

I ride horses. I can't think of anything more dangerous than riding along a towpath. There may be a few that are wide enough and safe enough somewhere, but let a bunch of horses and riders loose on the towpaths and I'll guarantee you that a percentage will end up in the cut or have their heads knocked off by a bridge. I kid you not. And what about horses tripping up over mooring ropes? I would not take my horse on a towpath, there are just too many hazards. Deep water being just one of them.

Bloody hell Zayna, I can't believe you've joined in with this sensationalist nonsense, are you honestly telling me that a horse is more likely to spook on a quiet towpath than it would on a road? Sorry, I don't get it.

Errrrrrr surely ALL poo is organic?

But dog 'poo' has horrible little critters in it that can and do blind children, never heard of any such thing with horse manure

[Bettie Boo]

I bought an absurdly loud siren at a car boot sale last year. I've never used it because it deafened me for half an hour when I first tried it... But now I'm glad I have it

please say the above was meant to be funny or tongue in cheek, and you wouldn't actually contemplating using it in the vicinity of a horse and it's rider?

[Paul G2]

 

 

Think about it.....

 

You're asking a lot...