A few questions about things in the UK

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GSD Woman

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I have some questions about some of the things I've read in H&H online. (I do wish I could get an online subscription without going to an Apple product.) It seems like feathers can be a big deal. Generally here in the mid-Atlantic part of the USA clean legged horses are preferred because of our tendency for wet springs and winters. Feathers just make a bigger mess and more likely to skin infections.
And some of the different designations for the horses. Riding club vs pony club vs affiliated. What would the difference be between suitability between pony club and riding club besides size? Is affiliated the next step up from riding club horses? We have schooling shows, local circuits and then the big league A circuit. Many of the horses on the A circuit cost in the five figures on up.
Thanks for reading my rambling after a horrid holiday shift at work.
 
Being retired south of the Mason-Dixon, and owning Walking Horses, my interest is curiousity:)

It goes without saying, my horses are retired trail horses and get their fetlock hair & back of hoof cut to a crew cut.

I always have an interest in learning about new topicals for things like this:)
 
1. Feathers actually protect the horse’s legs from mud and wet and less likely to get mud fever etc
2. Pony club is for children/young people into their early 20s. Riding Clubs are for adults. Riding clubs run their own competitions and championships. Affiliated is when you register with a national governing body to compete such as British Showjumping.
3. How long is a piece of string for the cost of horses over here but I believe we can buy significantly more for less than in the US
 
Here basically “affiliated” is equivalent to your your recognised shows. Anything else you would probably call a schooling show but we would call unaffiliated. However a lot of our schooling shows I’d say can be just as formal as affiliated for example most unaffiliated dressage is still run according to British Dressage rules. I’ve been to some very low key schooling shows with my sister who lives in Virginia that are much less formal.

Most individual riding clubs are affiliated to British Riding Clubs and run to their rules especially in Area, Regional and National Competitions.

Riding club types are usually a good allrounder that can have a go and do ok a most things without being outstanding in anything however they do range from mediocre to very good. Pony club is for children and young people and you’d be looking at a pony that is safe and again will have a go at most things.

I’d say you get more for your money than you would in the states here.
 
I’d say in the hot humid areas like Virginia along with the horrid tick population and threat of Lymes feathers wouldn’t be desirable. Here generally although it can be wet it’s usually a lot cooler. Personally I like feather to look at but not when I have to maintain it and neither of mine naturally have much.
 
I was taught by my very old school BHS instructor that birds have 'feathers' and horses have 'feather' and that you should never add the 's' when talking about a horse. Was anyone else taught that?

We get a lot of rain here (Wales) and of course we have a lot of Welshies and they certainly can have a bit of feather (not as much as a gypsy cob ;)) and it takes that rain that runs down the horse's leg away from the skin. You can part it to see it works. You just don't want the grass to be too long. I do see a lot of hairy Gypsy cobs too, people like them. :)
 
Not all types of horses grow feather of course (and yes feather - not feathers...). Horses which grow very heavy feather tend to be the cob types. You would not necessarily want a heavily feathered cob in a showjumping class for example - they are carrying a lot of weight. Natural feather does protect against wet and mud - but if you mess with it, thin it or trim it too much they can loose that. They do take a lot of maintaining to keep the horse comfortable though.

No size difference between riding club and pony club - unless specified in the show schedule. Some shows split on height pony / horse as well as on age of rider. Although you can be a pony club member up to 25 these classes tend to be teens and under in pony club classes and twenties upward in riding club. That class tends to look for all round suitability and will usually overlook the odd blemish. To get more serious you ride in working hunter pony or horse. Pony / club riding club is only a showing show. Not dressage, show jumping or eventing.

Affiliated costs more, you collect points, gain eligibility for larger more prestigious shows, can be selected for national and international teams. Classes can carry more prize money and should all be run to the relevant rule book. Unaffiliated is usually cheaper. Can be more relaxed. May or may not run to the affiliated rule book. But there are 4 major unaffiliated series which lead to large national finals.

I'm not sure what discipline your Grade A circuit is. But a Grade A show jumper or a grand prix dressage horse or a 4*/5* eventer still current and competing can cost well upward of 5 figures. But most horses doesn't chnage hands for anything like that amount!
 
Our competitions generally fall under 3 main categories:

Unaffiliated - local stuff open to anyone, its highly variable standards (from very novice ‘have a go for fun’ to pretty much equivalent to affiliated, just cheaper).

Affiliated (British Showjumping, British Dressage, British Eventing and we also have driving, vaulting, endurance, para and probably others!) - runs competitions to the disciplines national governing body rules for which you have to be a member. These classes generally start at quite a low level these days (80cm) and go all the way up to the upper levels

International - same as you would have in the US, run under FEI

Now Pony Club and Riding Club are pretty similar really - PC for children and young adults and RC for primarily adults (although there are some clubs with junior sections). Essentially they are local clubs that anyone can join and they arrange training, social stuff and competitions. The competitions they arrange can be regular unaffiliated (see above), but there is also an element of more serious competition run under PC / RC rules and where teams compete against each other and with national championships - these are pretty competitive and equivalent to affiliated standard up to 1.10m, these horses often also compete successfully in the equivalent affiliated comps too, so it’s not an either/or situation.

As for feathers - some people love them and some don’t, but they have their purpose if you have that type. Personally I’m a remove all excess hair type of gal, and I have no ambition to ever own a very hairy type - far too much mess & work!
 
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Feather are a part of breed standard for a number of our native breeds and are there for a good reason. These are ponies that have evolved over hundreds of years (millenia in many cases) to be all-round workhorses and live out on sparse uplands in a wet climate. The feather acts as a drain and protects the legs. (have a look at Fell Pony Society and Welsh Pony and Cob Society websites for example, to get a history of the breeds)

Many other breeds/types of horses here in UK have clean legs, again because of their heritage and use. The Suffolk Punch for example was bred for ploughing and farmwork, has clean legs because of the nature of the deep fertile soil of the area in which it originated.
 
Hey, OP - I’m not in the UK and I get my digital subscription through Zinio, which isn’t platform or device specific. Even works on an actual computer. Maybe you can in the US too.
 
Would be interested to read a similar thread summarising / comparing the US horse scene (and anywhere else) 😀
Whevever I go on holiday somewhere i fantasise about emigrating there and wonder what it’s like having horses in that country.
 
Reacher, in the US the horse scene is really varied. There is all of the Western riding stuff; barrel racing, roping ( a woman at work does team roping with her husband), trail classes and ranch classes. I'm probably missing some things. One of the county parks has a summer show series for Western events and mini horses. Some of the shows also have classes for hunt seat riders.
I know nothing about saddle seat. I've only seen pictures in books but it looks uncomfortable to sit so far back on the horse.
Then there is the dressage, combined training, foxhunting, show hunters, jumpers, etc. There are little shows for particular riding schools and their students, schooling shows, local circuits and the rated shows. The rated shows are how riders get to things like the Medal and Maclay classes.
I do think you can get a nice horse for less money in the UK. Irish horses over here go for about $20,000. Of course they have to be imported and that ups the price. One of my friends gets her horses off the track for free or very low cost and does most of her own training and ends up with lovely horses. She is a much better riding than I could ever be though.
And then there is endurance riding, which is a whole different subject.
 
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