Should riders pick up after their horses, yay or neigh? | Animals

Adrian Chiles traces the recent history of dog owners picking up their dog’s poo, starting from New York (I’ve been thinking a lot about dog poo, 14 January). Certainly in this country it is now possible to go for a walk in the countryside or in towns without having to watch your step.However, quite often a footpath or bridleway is made impassable due to large dumps of horse manure. Dog owners have taken on their duty to clear up after their pets, always armed with dog-poo bags. Why are horse owners and riders allowed to make much larger, smellier and long-lasting heaps of horse excrement? I can imagine that it would be inconvenient for a horse rider to dismount so as to clear up the poo, but I don’t see why the riding stables should not have this duty. I look forward to the day when walkers can enjoy the environment free of dog and horse-made hazards.Ros WardDurham Adrian Chiles is right about the “seismic cultural shift” in dog-poo etiquette, but as a Dutchman housesitting across rural England, I’ve noticed that the revolution stopped at the stirrups.​Recently, while I was performing the civic duty of scooping a modest deposit from the dog I was looking after, a rider trotted past. Her horse promptly left a steaming mountain of manure directly in the centre of the track. With a polite nod, she moved on, leaving me – bag in hand – contemplating the Great British poo divide.​It seems that if your beast has paws, you’re a social pariah for a missed scoop. If it has hooves, the carefree “leave-it-where-it-lands” era of the 1950s lives on. Until I see an equestrian dismount with a shovel, I’ll assume the status of the “doo” depends entirely on the owner’s place in the class system.Jan VeenstraTerherne, the Netherlands Have an opinion on anything you’ve read in the Guardian today? Please email us your letter and it will be considered for publication in our letters section.