Have you even been to that park? They are walking trails even though the one horse barn in the area happens to ride their horses down there. I agree...it is disgusting and smelly!

city slickers get a life ! why dont you scoop it up and put it in your flower bed, its free !

Ok....There are designated horse trails in Chagrin. IT DOES NOT INCLUDE ALL OF THEM!!!!!! The Riverwood loop is a horse trail along with the trial that goes across the old landfill. That should be enough. The horse patrol does have full access to the trails. BUT please clean up your messes. The guys that work there do not have the time to check the trails everyday(and clean up your mess).

Horse trails are for horses. Walking trails are designated for walkers... i.e.: no walkers on horse trails and no horses on walking trails. Also do you know how dangerous it is to mount and unmount a horse in the middle of the woods. I could see if my horse left piles on the driveway or drives up to the trails... I would always clean these areas up. And know where on those horse trails is there a sign saying pick up after your horse (or dog for that matter).

If you use the horse trails to walk then be aware of the steaming piles. I am also a runner and run the trails often. It's horse poop... and you're utilizing the horse trails. Get over it!! Feel free to comment again when you find horse poop on the paved walking/biking trail.

OMG I can't believe someone is belly aching about horse poop. GET A LIFE. I am a rider and had some idiot runner run right up on my horse on the horse trail.. Great way to get kicked.

I walk all of Chagrin Park all the time and there are not paved walking trails there, be sure you have the right park before you comment.

At least there are trails to walk on and enjoy. If you can't deal with horse do do, stay home. I used to be a horse owner. It's not exactly easy to dismount a horse in the middle of the woods and hold onto the horse and clean up the poop pile unfortunately. I'm currently a dog owner and I do pick up my dog's poop, but floors me how often I see dog poop within a few steps of a poop bag dispenser! I'm not so fond of horse poop on the trails either, but if I'm hiking on a bridle trail, it goes with the territory.

get off the horse trails and get a life.

This is why they are called "bridal trails" ....there are plenty of Metropark trails where someone can walk or run and not be on the same trail as the horses and their poo. I also agree that the larger problem are the runners that are rude and run up on your horse. This is very dangerous for all three parties involved. The horse community bring a lot of money into the Chagrin area and its very nice to have ONE place that they can be enjoyed.

Sure it's horse poop.......

a lot of horse owners feel that it's ok to clean out their trailers in the park also. the park is not a barn, it is where people go to eat and play. they are not poor uneducated people, just rude. they wouldn't do these things in their neigbors yard so what makes them feel this is ok in the park?

Pay attention, walk around it and worry about something more important.

Walker,

Equestians are usually very conscious about cleaning up after themselves. When a horse backs out of the trailer, sometimes they drag their feet, just like a kid..I know I have gotten there and realized I didn't have a shovel in the trailer to pick it up. I find it hard to believe anyone would "clean out their trailer" in the lot.

As a frequent walker at Chagrin River Metro Park, I'll state that having to avoid the horse poop is annoying; however, the large number of dog walkers who do not clean up after their dog is even more annoying. Every time you catch a dog walker walking away from a fresh deposit you can see the defiance in their eyes. (Yes, it is me giving you the stink eye for not cleaning up after your dog!) Come on folks, grab a bag and clean up after your animal.

Small children tend to step directly in fresh deposits, and what mother wants to clean shoes before you can put your child in the car.

If your horse drops a deposit, why not walk back over to the pile after you have safely secured it in the trailer and clean it up? Problem solved.

As an accountant, I have to wonder to what extent the horse community provides funding to the Chagrin River area?

"if your horse drops a deposit, why not walk back over to the pile after you have safely secured it in the trailer and clean it up? Problem solved."

I will ride 3 or 4 hours.. I would not have a clue where I rode and whose poop is mine. Again its POOP.

Also NW needs to change the "18 people want this fixed"..

If any one cares to know There is a designated 1/4 mile horse loop in the park. This means it is for horses. This has been established by the park services. if you look on the trail post there is a horse there. I do Clean up after my horses. and will continue to do so. Just like in life all people dont adhear to the rulls.

i walk all the trails through there including the horse trails.... how hard is it to walk around poop? it might be 1 or 2 extra steps... i look at it as i am on HORSE trails.... horse poop will happen. If someone doesn't like those extra 2 steps... then do not walk on the horse trail. problem solved and give me a break

DEPENDS....Big Ones

The only people I have ever seen on horseback in this park are the park rangers. I believe they should be subject to the same rules as a dog owner. If not, keep them off the trails.

oh for crying out loud. Horse poop is nothing more than digested grass.

Should someone be out there scooping up the bunny poop, squirrel poop, and deer poop so you and Fluffy don't have to step in it or view it?

Sheesh.

PS, there most definitely IS a paved trail in the chagrin park.

Somebody needs to get out of the house a little more often <<>>

The only paved path at the Chagrin River Park (Lake Metroparks) in Eastlake that I'm familiar with is a trail goes from the parking lot up to Reeves Road. Now in North Chagrin Reservations (Cleveland Metroparks) in Willoughby they have miles of paved paths....I do agree that it would be nice on non-bridle trails if horse owners cleaned up after their horses, but since I'm not a horse owner I don't know how easy that is. If I'm walking on a bridle trail, well then I need to watch out because I am on trails designated for horses.

Oh my God....The total ignorance of people never ceases to amaze me...if the horses on on a paved trail you can complain...otherwise stay off the trails that are horse designated. I would never walk a horse trail for the safety of everyone involved, be it rider, horse or walker.

YOU ALL NEED TO GROW UP.... COMPLAINING ABOUT HORSE POOP.... GET A LIFE... NOTHING BETTER TO DO THAN COMPLAIN...WHAT A WORLD..YOUR THE ONE'S THAT ARE DISGUSTING

NEXT THING YOULL HEAR IS SOMEONE COMPLAINING ABOUT DEER POOP.. HOW DO WE GET RID OF ALL THE DEER?... MY CHILD STEPPED IN DEER POOP THE OTHER DAY. I WANT THEM ALL REMOVED FROM MY NEIGHBORHOOD!!!... GET A LIFE

Greg, you are telling everyone they have nothing better to do then complain yet you are complaining about the complainers? Ironic isn't it? These people are commenting on an issue that in their eyes is important. Just because they all don't live in your world doesn't mean these people can't complain, regardless if the complaint is juvenile. I think you are the one that needs to grow up and let others live their lives they way they choose.

Seriously folks... a bit of horse crap is no big deal....

Gee Greg, there is a big difference between a sprited debate between educated adults and an all CAPS rant. If you have any desire to become a critical thinker capable of effective literary argument, Lakeland still has open enrollment for fall 2010.

FYI, the Riverwood Loop Trail is 1.6 miles the Horse Loop Trail is 1.1 miles. The two trails intersect; thus the Horse trail must be shared with the pedestrian trail.

Oddly, I rarely see horses at the park; yet often see the poop left behind. If a dog owner can be responsible for their pet's poop, why can't a horse owner?

Or do equestrians feel a sense of entitlement?

like i said....

WE ALSO WALK IN THE CHAGRIN RIVER PARK AND INDEED THE TRaILS ARE GRAVEL FOR THE MOST PART. WE WERE TALKING ABOUT THIS VERY SUBJECT LAST WEEK. WE ARE TO CLEAN UP AFTER OUR DOGS; WHY NOT HORSES?

Was there just last night and there was about a 5 ft section of horse piles and they were NOT on the horse loop. Right in the middle of the trail, smelling and covered with flies. I clean up after my dogs, no reason riders can't go back and clean up after their horses. Rangers shouldn't be expected to do it.

City people amaze me. ITS POOP for gosh sakes. BTW, in the country we dont walk behind our dog either..its POOP. I bet your the same people complaining about everything else in life. Get a life.

Soiled Park Brat!!!!!!!

would you believe that i am a "hillbilly" and i know a little about horse poop actually just went to a near horse farm here and got it for my flowers. yep know how to use it. however, if my friend has to pick up her dog poop and she does---what would it be like if no one cleaned up after their animals. the park is used by many. i use a walker and i enjoy it very much. no objection to the horses, love them too, but, everything has a place.

Okay... It seems like this is one of those issues in which we will never be able to adequately satisfy everybody who has an opinion on it. Like most things on the Internet, it is easier said than done.

The argument is this: There is poop on the ground where people walk.

Forget where the poop is, where it is supposed to be, that people can walk around it--forget all that. The core, root issue is that there is poop where people walk. And that is the entire issue at hand.

Lets break down all the suggested solutions that people have come up with.

#1 -- "Don't walk where there is poop." and "Walk around the poop you see."

These are the most obvious solutions, and yet the most difficult ones to actually do. Why is that? Plain and simply, there is no way that all poop will be removed from where people walk. Never. Not even if you had people who rode on horses with shovels and they were sworn to remove all poops from the trail--you wouldn't be able to get it all, and there would still be poop on the trail and then you'd get people complaining some more. And where would you put it? Just throw it slightly off the trail? Then the dog owners would complain that "We have to put it in the garbage! Horse owners should do the same!" because whats fair is fair, right? Well...

#2 -- "Horse riders should clean up after the animals, same as dog owners have to do."

Guess what, a single horse poop is easily 5-6 TIMES as large as a dogs and they go a LOT more than a dog, because of the way the digestion tract works in horses and other large animals. Way too technical (and a little upsetting to some) to go into here. There is no way they are ever going to carry around 10-20lbs of horse poop over the course of the 3-4 hours they are out riding around. I don't even know of a bag that would hold that much, where you would put it on the horse, and to be honest (as well as to inject my personal feelings on the whole issue) I would rather have people toss poops off to the side of the trail--dog owners included--because all the plastic bags that get tossed with the poop is actually worse than the poop itself but I am getting off the point here...

#3 -- "Go back and clean it up after you are all done riding."

That sounds great, but when you realize that the riders can sometimes get 20 miles of riding in over the course of a day... It seems quite impossible to actually do. Not only would you not be able to physically walk the length of the ride, but you wouldn't even remember where your horse decided to let it go so you might clean up three of them and figure that was all of them but the other two you miss would still be there.

#4 -- "There is poop in the parking area." or "There is poop where the horses are not allowed."

This is an honest question, but it will come off as very flippant: How are the horse owners supposed to get to where they need to go? Fly them in with Helicopters?

In all seriousness, YES they should clean up in the parking lots and if they are on trails that are not designated for horses to go then they should be fined or something. But this is not an issue that we don't already have laws for and again, not something that is at the core root of the issue here which is poop on the ground.

So, we cannot satisfy anybody with any resolution here. The best you can hope for is that the amount of people seeing this issue sees how the poop makes others feel and to TRY and clean as much as they can, within reason. I don't think that anybody going into a outdoor area is expecting it to be clean... At least you shouldn't. I mean, the GROUND is more likely dirtier than the poop ever will be. There is bacteria that can only live at the temp inside the animal, and it quickly dies once it is exposed to the temps outside--whereas the bacteria in the ground can and does survive scorching temps and freezing temps, and can cause serious harm if it gets inside you.

Since the argument for both sides is not something that can ever be resolved (there is never going to be a time where there is no poop on the trails. Ever.) then this issue is unresolvable and I recommend that we all just stop bothering with it.

Note to all. The park rangers that ride the same trails don't go back and clean up after their horses. There is no law in Ohio stating a clean up in a must. The rangers use horses to patrol the park....in all the trails. Don't just assume its just people coming to the park.

Ive been to many state Parks that have designated horse trails...IT IS NOT a requirement of the park to clean up horse trails of horse poop. These trails are designated to horse riders for a reason. It is sad to me that the horse gets so much flack...if it weren't for the horse we would have not ever settled this country. They should get respect.