A Villa Rica man has asked Carroll County government and the equine community to do a better job of keeping horse droppings out of the regular camping areas and active recreation spots inside McIntosh Reserve Park. County Resident Scott Barrett said this complaint comes after numerous trips to the reserve with a boy scout troop.

“We typically take our cub scouts and boy scouts to the McIntosh Reserve a couple of times a year to do camp outs and we have kids of all ages with us, all the way from toddler age up into high school,” said Barrett. “One of the problems we have had that we have tried to address with the park staff numerous times, is having the horse riders ride riding their horses through the camp areas. They’re off the trails and in the camp areas.”

Barrett recounted one experience with young campers where he said horse-riders brought their animals into the camping area:

“We had some fresh droppings and later that night some of our kids feel into those fresh droppings. Dealing with the mad moms and the nasty kids was not a pleasant experience for any of us. On all the occasions where these folks would ride through our camp, we would literally beg them to go around, especially since the trail does not go through the camp area. They would all refuse and tell us how much right they had to ride through there.”

The county has recently posted new signage in the park indicating the location of the “horse camp area.” Barrett hopes the sign will keep horse-riders from entering into areas commonly used for recreation by non-horse riders.