Who Gives A [Horse]Shit?: Horses in Prospect Park

Photo credit: dnainfo.com and Seabiscuit Anyone who’s ever done a few runs inside Prospect Park (which surprisingly includes me!!!) notices we share the park with horses. Virginia, a  FiPS reader and Park Slope runner, recently told us about her unfortunate run-ins with some Prospect Park horses:

I'm a regular jogger at the park, and I've noticed that it can be a huge problem for runners in terms of all the dust that get kicked around, not to mention the considerable amount of poop on the running trail.  I understand there is a separate trail in the park just for horse back riding, but I see quite a lot of them staying on the sides of the running trails for long stretches.  (Also, I did see someone completely lose control of a horse once, and it almost left the park on its own.  Several cyclists and runners had to stop to intervene, before the owner came running.  That was scary.)

She ultimately believes there are good reasons to keep the horses in the park, but feels there needs to be better regulation. I have not been running nor anywhere else remotely outdoorsy in Prospect Park in a long time--because, ultimately, I’m an indoor kid--but this doesn’t sound unreasonable. However, since we don’t have the budget to send someone on a real investigation, we’d like to hear what you think about the horse-issue in the comments. Are the horses getting in your way? Are they scaring you? Are you an equestrian who wants to ride a horse in an actual park? Do you not give a shit?

For what it’s worth, I’m down to keep the horses in the park but keep them out of the way of pedestrians (and joggers too, I guess).