I have a new pet peeve. It used to be bikers who whizzed by me from behind without so much as a simple “on your left” remark. But that takes second place to having to share the Centennial Trail in Arlington with piles of horse poop. Now, I am not anti-pets. I was raised with dogs, cats, birds and fish. And I have to admit, I have not spent much time around horses. However, I do have a fair amount of “horse sense.” And that horse sense tells me that sharing the trail with horseback riders, bikers, walkers, joggers, bladers, boarders, dog-owners and strollers should not entail having to sidestep piles of horse poop.
The Centennial Trail Coalition boldly asks the dog owners to please clean up after their pet. Why exclude horse owners? With the exception of crossing over the bridges, the committee designed the Centennial Trail with a wide shoulder of grass and clover on each side. I assumed that the horses would use this area to enjoy the trail. But if walking on the paved portion is what is best, then do as the dog owners do and please, pretty please, clean up after your pet.
Maybe the coalition could install a pole with a single tethering ring on the north and south ends of the bridges as well as places along the trail. That would provide the horse owner the chance to tie up their pet, shovel up the horse poop, and redeposit it off either side of the paved trail. Let’s all do our part to share the trail responsibly.
Judy Donoghue
Arlington
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