Editor,

I’ve been following letters regarding horse poop on trails with interest. In response to the health hazards, I am much more concerned about what might be growing in my fridge than what I might be exposed to in managing mounds of horse dung on a daily basis — cleaning stalls, paddocks and transporting to our compost bins.

We have a large four-bin operation which creates fabulous compost loaded with red wigglers, which gardeners love. A greater interest is who is riding in Community Park? As those of us in the horse community have been discussing this issue amongst ourselves, we don’t know of anyone who rides there. Being somewhat familiar with South Whidbey, I suspect that it might be kids owning “backyard horses” close to the park. If I’m correct, they have very limited access to trails, and probably don’t have horse trailers, if they are even old enough to drive.

If we truly want Whidbey to be a place where parents can raise their kids in a safe environment, we might realize that this goal would include the presence of horses. The lessons learned as a young horse owner include compassion, responsibility, trust, and leadership as well as physical skills to name only a few. When we consider all the other temptations they are confronted with – drugs, alcohol, truancy, cyber bullying — I personally think sharing our parks with young people on horse back, and having to tolerate a few piles of horse poop is well worth it, considering the alternative.

CONNIE LLOYD

Greenbank