Are horses getting sharper or are riding standards dropping?

PaddyMonty said:
As an old codger (started riding in 1964) I have to agree with too much food and too little work.
It would seem these days 30 minutes in the school is considered sufficient exercise for a horse. People look at me like I have horns growing out of my head when after schooling for an hour (mix of flat and jump) I would then take the horse staright out for a hack of between 1 and 2 hours.
These days a sponsored ride is 10km, 30 years ago that wasn't even a normal hack. 25miles was more normal for a sponsored ride. As kids we would set off at 8am on our ponies wth a pack lunch and generally get home just before dark.
We'd hack to shows (further than most hack these days), then do a couple of SJ classes and perhaps a showing class in the morning. Hit the gymkana all aftenoon then hack home again. Compare that to driven to show and 1 or two rounds of low SJ then driven home again.
So yes, horses generally just aren't worked anywhere near enough these days. You only have to look on this and other forums where people ask what they need to do to get their horses fit for a BE90 / 100 as if it is some huge test of stamina. All horses should be fit enough without extra work to do a low level ODE.
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I wish I had the time to do all of that with my horses! Unfortunately, when I'm out at work all day long (I work in sales so I'm out on the road 3-4 days out of 5, leaving the house early and not getting back til late, then will have admin work to do in the evenings such as quotes), have a house to keep, a BF to fit in, it isn't possible to find time for 1 hour of schooling and a 2 hour hack every day.

However... for the last couple of years, my previous horse only hunted and hacked, that was his job. He was a b**ger to load so I'd happily hack 3-6 miles to a meet, and home again afterwards. The weekends I wasn't hunting, I'd grab my OS map and go off for hours exploring. He was at his happiest in hard work and he'd do a 12 mile fun ride without raising a sweat. He existed on hay and a bit of Safe & Sound. The one I have now also needs a lot of work, and I do think that is probably where many people have problems, in winter at least. I've been struggling a little with him recently because I haven't been able to work him enough, and he gets wound up if he doesn't get out enough. I knew he was sharp when I bought him (and is partly the reason why I bought him), but if he isn't worked at least 5 days our of every 7, he gets so full of it that everything is a battle. I guess this is where horses start being labelled "difficult". In his case (and I would say in the case of a lot of "difficult" leisure horses), the mixture of less turnout (thanks to winter) and not even work equalled a pony with far too much energy. The last week and a half I've been able to get him worked every day, even if it's just half an hour, and he's back to his normal self.

So I think work, or lack of it, is at the crux of it for a lot of horses. Plus people fall in love with big, beautiful WBs that they can't ride one side of, because they look like Black Beauty.
 
The points above are all valid I think perhaps the change has come about because of breeding competition horses. At one time the leisure horses came from the scrubby ponies and farm horses being bred to a bit more blood so lots of tb and arab crosses. Now the leisure horses are highly bred competition horses that have failed to make the stringent grade for international competition.
Every one is trying to breed an olympic horse because of the huge sums of money involved so to get one million pound horse you will breed thousands of £3000 horses all with the brains and breeding to compete but maybe not quite the talent. People find them harder to ride because of their temperament they are bred quirky because the quirky ones are the talented ones.
I do thing the technical skills in riding are much better but the stickability is being lost.
Because of the increased traffic and risks of riding out too many highly bred horses are being kept cooped up never getting a good blast even loose in a field and never ridden to the maximum potential because they are bred to go to the top.
Having said all that it is nice to see horse/ponies whose conformation is vastly improved at one time the ponies and horses that were ridden by joe public were often undernourirshed very badly put together and usually quite unappealing That is a generalisation I know as there were some lovely ones too but they were expensive and out of the financial reach of many so the local dealer with a field full of ponies/horses didnt care too much about quality if they could be sat on without killing someone then they were family ponies
When I was young riding was the prerogative of the rich the only kids that rode were either from wealthy parents or farming families Horse ownership was very expensive in comparison
My first horse cost £140 that was when a four bed house cost £4000 by comparison to have the same value now the average pony would be £14,000 so as demonstrated this means that horses are at least 10 times cheaper than they were then
 
Years ago we didn't have transport, we rode everywhere, horses were out at grass 24/7 no rugs, bucket fed brans, oats and pony nuts winter only. We rode 10 miles to show and back. Monday was only day off.

Nowadays, we all mainly transport our horses to shows etc. Horses over fed and under worked .

I think horses were as quirky, sharp but they worked alot harder . You didn't see so many field ornaments either, Families shared their horses.
 
Personally I think HHO has a bit of a 'better in the old days' rant a couple times a week... there is a terrible 'holier than thou' attitude, where anyone who keeps their horses in as old-fashioned a way as possible must be better. And just because it is different doesn't mean it it is worse - and assuming that any changes to our animals/management etc is the root cause of all evil is silly. I put all my garden ornaments away every year before the winter - however winter doesn't arrive because I have put my garden ornaments away.

Personally, I like rugs with fill for my clipped out TB in the Cairngorms better than a heavy, completely un-breathable NZ rug. I find branded, pre bagged feed super easy to use, and actually I can't feed my EPSM horse straights to suit his medical diet and give him enough energy, so I would be stuck without them! They are not all sugary, high energy devil-foods. I also have not noticed any more of a trend towards lack of turnout, a lot of horses I know around here live out year round, or get nights in in winter at a max.

I do agree that there are more adult novices these days than before, but surely the advances such as feed lines for big companies are a GODSEND to these people? Can you imagine if they just ended up feeding straight oats because they knew someone else did? At least the nutritionists can help choose a mainly suitable diet. Yes, many people over estimate the amount of work their horses are in, but with more DIY livery and people doing DIY whilst working full time, the average amount of riding has decreased, so people are thinking comparatively rather than realistically.

The rise of the internet makes it easier for all those novices asking questions to be seen and heard, therefore we see the lack of knowledge etc on the internet that we would have seen in PC in the old days, as that was where horsiness was learned. There will always be beginners with horses.

Specifically re: sharp horses? I think we hear more about them. Before, no one liked admitting that a horse was too sharp for them. Now we commend people for admitting when it isn't working. You can't have one without the other, unfortunately.
 
Perhaps people underestimate the amount of time a horse needs? It is not sufficient to spend a rushed hour a day, or sometimes not even that, and horses need working if they are to stay sane. So maybe all the rugging, overfeeding, pampering is compensation? Not good for horse or man. So maybe there are a lot of people who have horses who really shouldn't have?
 
I think there is a section of the horse owning public who like the idea of a horse, and like the idea of galloping far and wide, but don't actually do much riding because a) they don't have the time to look after the horse and ride it a lot as well, b) don't have suitable hacking/riding facilities c) had a fright and love their horse but decide not to ride it again.

A farmer friend opened a livery and commented to me that although all his liveries spent a lot of time looking after their horses, no-one seemed to go out riding. There is another yard of about 20 horses and only2 go out regularly on hacks, although there may be a couple more that get taken to shows or dressage.
 
I suspect it's a bit of everything already mentioned. At the risk of starting a "we lived in a paper bag in a hole in t'road" discussion, I learned to ride in the early 70s and the ponies were turned out without rugs all year round, worked every hour on a Saturday and got one feed of bran, with a few oats if they were lucky, on the Saturday but no other day. We thought nothing of hacking all morning to a PC rally, having a lesson and a play on the xc course, then hacking home again. The ponies were just expected to get on with it. During the school holidays we had 5 day courses and every horse was used at least 4 hours a day, with mounted games at the end of it.

The standard of teaching wasn't great at the RS I went to in those days, I am far more knowledgeable about what I am doing and why I am doing it now, but we got lots of hours in the saddle so I suspect our seats and balance were better developed. We rode the ponies bareback from the field to the stables (on the roads :eek: wouldn't be allowed today!), leading one or two others, and you really had to learn to balance or you got pulled off by one of the little ***** you were leading :D

It does worry me today when I see very small children tearing round a SJ course at a huge speed with no control other than steering. If the pony stops (which they often do) the child goes flying over its head into the jump. In my day we would have been red in the face and puffing from kicking the little %$£"! round at a trot! :D
 
I started riding at 4 (early 80's) - lessons at a local school where you were chucked on (no hat at the time) and got on with it. It taught you to stick but it was all kick and pull. I went to a couple of different schools as i grew up and the best (the one my mum paid for to appease my ranting for a pony) was one where i spent all day on a Saturday with a pony. You got the pony from the field, groomed, picked feet, plaited or whatever needed doing, then a school lesson or long hack (where each child had to take lead or leave the group etc). You were taught basic horse management and the ponies were often not easy.

But as i was never allowed a pony it took until i got a job many years later for me to have my own horse. Im not sure i was fully prepared for ownership when i got my mare but i had a solid support network to help me (which i used a lot) and i still have her now. Whilst Ive now had horses for 13 or so years (I now have 3 at home - been with me for 12 months after a period of keeping horses in livery) i question my ability as a rider and owner all the time (it drives my OH nuts) - i dont have time to pamper my three (out 24/7) but their welfare and wellbeing comes very high on my list of priorities. If i dont have time to do something i have someone that comes and helps, when i had an issue with my younger mare (bolting etc), i again used my network and we are now doing well, but it took 4-5 months.

I think a lot of riders/owners succumb to the pressure of keeping up with others rather than focussing on doing what is right for them and within their ability and they end up over horsed and over whelmed. Then when things go wrong there too many quick fix options available eg supplements, tack, bits and training aids, which are easier and dont require people to admit they're over horsed or over whelmed and deal with the actual problem. I think its in part a reflection of society today, why fix it when you can just get rid/change it but its also a reflection of the fact that its difficult to admit you've made a mistake and work to or ask for help to sort something out.
 
Faracat said:
One attitude that I have met regularly recently, is that if the horse is not a push button ride in all circumstances, you sell it and get another one, rather than have lessons and improve your riding.

One of my friends is bringing her horse back into work and he is being slightly nappy (nothing dangerous) and she was telling me that she's lost count of how many times she's been told to 'get rid of it.' However she has gone down the route of checking the basics (saddle fit etc...) and has had lessons on another horse - as she's had a gap from riding while hers was off work - to get her back up to standard.
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Completely agree with you.....when we first got our exracer he was going great, had no problems then he started hollowing out, dropping muscle tone on one side and then started rearing.

nearly the whole yard told my sister to get rid, send him back etc but she ignored them, spoke to vet who said get saddle/back checked then let him know the result.......we found a new back lady who is also a cair saddle fitter who said straight away his saddle was too long, just because he was a 16:2 tb doesn't mean he needs a 17 1/2" saddle and my sister certainly doesn't. he has a very small rib cage so new saddle, back lady out once a week and a massage once a week for three weeks then every three weeks and he was sorted back to being the horse we knew and loved. now we just maintain him on twice yearly back and massage and that suits him.

I really feel for the RS these days as they have to be so H/S its stupid, if someone wants to learn to ride they really need to understand that a horse can think for its self and you are sat on a half tonne animal.
I learnt to ride on a very green 8 yr old and she made me a better rider in the fact she destroyed my confidence but I learnt to sit to spooks, bucks, spins and as she was very sharp I learnt to sit quietly and not put my leg on too much or we would be in full pelt gallop!!! I came off loads but got back on again.

RS these days don't prepare you for the outside horses so when novices who can walk, trot, canter come to get their own horse who has odd "quirks" they have no idea how to handle it because the RS horses were perfectly behaved.
 
I think it's a combination of a lot of things.

At the top end I agree with others, riding standards have vastly improved but at 'ordinary' level I think the standards have dropped and quite dramatically. I was taught (many many moons ago) at an RS and progressed up the pony ranks until I was deemed good enough to ride the sharp ponies - these were ones that would put in a dirty stop, would bronc on hacks, were tanks, were speed demons etc etc - we were expected to do the same with those as we did with the 'sane' ponies including jumping grids with no reins and/or no stirrups. We were taught half halts, soft outline, working from the leg and working from the seat as well as how to stay on and numerous tricks of dealing with difficult or sharp ponies/horses.

These days I am horrified by the lack of knowledge and ability of a lot of owners. I know that we all have to start somewhere but why do people who don't even know how to tack up or do rising trot think it is OK to buy a horse?

Then there is feed/work ratio. If mine don't work they don't get hard feed. I work full time so can't ride for the amount of hours that would be ideal but an average level of work for mine would be hacked for 1 - 11/2 hours per day Tuesday to Friday, ridden for 2-3 hours saturday and Sunday with Monday off. At the moment I'm bringing 2 youngsters on so am not achieving that with each horse, my bucket feeds currently consist of a handful of chop with a scattering of oats (and I mean a scattering) simply as a token gesture and not because they need the intake, they also get daily turn out.

I also think that breeding does play a part, so often horses are bred for ability and temperament comes second, while that may be OK for the professional riders when that type of breeding ends up at a lower level then for most people it would be a problem.
 
I haven't read all the replies so this has probably been said but I think it is a mixture of people buying continental warmbloods bred for competition not for low level amateurs just starting out, people being of the opionion that there should be a quick fix for everything hence the market for calmers and over estimating their horse power requirements as well as over feeding and under exercising. These are vast generalisation based on personal experience BUT I also think that some horse may in fact be mineral deficient and may respond well to a calmer in the right circumstances just because new technology is there doesn't mea it doesn't have it's place sometimes. I have also noticed a lot less hacking out and for much less time these days I used to think nothing of hacking most of the day and I think peoples lifestyles these days don't have time to do that much proper hacking to increase their horses exposure to the world.
 
I think Tarrsteps raised an excellent point about those of us who grew up having ponies as kids. We made plenty of mistakes and learned from them. No one thought we were idiot, rubbish riders because we were 'just kids'. By the time we became adults we were all pretty darned competent riders. We've forgotten that it took us 10 or 15 years to get to this stage. Compare that to a new adult rider, at say 30 years old, well if it took them the same length of time to get truly competent then they'd be in middle age. And no we probably wouldn't give them concessions because they are not kids.

I definitely think the riding skills were better back then. We learned on challenging ponies and we bounced from time to time! And then we promptly got back on, thinking nothing of it.

My ponies certainly worked hard when I think back to it. Hardly anyone I knew had boxes or trailers and a show was a whole day thing that we thought nothing of hacking an hour or two to get to and then competed in almost every class before trotting off back home again at the end of the day. Same with hunting! Ride to the hunt, hunt all day and then ride all the way home again.

My ponies were kept out 24/7 in the summer and in at night in the winter. I did have access to both indoor and outdoor arenas however, but the vast majority of my riding was hours and hours of hacking.

There were loads of shows where I grew up and I went to almost all of them. There was also a lot of weekly or twice weekly evening showjumping competitions. I went to them too. Hacked there in the pitch dark and hacked back again.

I also agree that technically the standards of teaching horseback riding may be better nowadays, but it's very different than the skills we were taught as youngsters. There was far more emphasis on balance and stickability when I was growing up. We rode bareback A LOT! (I still do) We jumped pretty decent sized jumps either bareback or without stirrups and reins. Full lessons were riding without stirrups or reins. Seat was very important and the reliance on stirrups and reins was not so great. There are still some times today whereby I take my feet out of my stirrups because I know I have far better balance without them for certain things, particularly jumping.

Horses and ponies were most definitely bred for competitions back then. Almost everyone I knew growing up competed, a lot! We all did. I don't remember any happy hackers. Many horses/ponies were incredibly sharp but they were the ones who taught us far more than any quiet well behaved one could have.

Feed wise; well it was bran and oats or some other naturals and loads of hay. I remember when Main Ring came out, oh boy that was exciting!

Rugs; each pony had one NZ and jute rug. We had Newmarket blankets for super chilly nights. Then Lavenham stable rugs came out and again there was as much excitement about them as there was Main Ring. And then even later x-surcingles came out for NZ rugs. Wow! reading back, we were very easily pleased lol!
 
Cortez said:
Perhaps people underestimate the amount of time a horse needs? It is not sufficient to spend a rushed hour a day, or sometimes not even that, and horses need working if they are to stay sane. So maybe all the rugging, overfeeding, pampering is compensation? Not good for horse or man. So maybe there are a lot of people who have horses who really shouldn't have?
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This, in a nutshell!
 
While I do agree with most of what has been said, I'm not convinced about the love for NZ rugs! Horrible, heavy, nasty things - one thing we have massively improved on is rugs. And while am totally in favour of a simple, forage based diet, mine get balancer in a mug of Kwikbeet and a magnesium lick because it does make a difference to hoof quality. Horses didn't evolve on UK type grazing and even cattle and sheep need mineral supplements.
 
Totally Agreed PADDYMONTY. I encourage my kids to ride all day whenever they can hours and hours. They houn around on their ponys (which they are too tall for) and the TBs across the field. Fittening work is done out hacking and we don't have a school so they jump in corner of a 14 acre field no safe enclosure. My girls often ride without saddles as they cant be bothered carrying them the 600m to the yard! On top of that they have lessons and compete. The horses don't get fed anything special a handful of chaff and some cubes. The horses are healthy and happy and successful and so are the kids. My eldest daughter especially isn't phased by any horse. Some of ours were a bit OTT when we had them but with regular work and confident riders they some calm down.
My kids are the same as I was 20-30 years ago. But we had a friend's daughter who was in the highest class in the BHS approved riding school visit. She couldn't cope with one of my TBs that my daughter has been riding since she was 9 (now 15) Our boy just took off across the field. She had never been taught what to do if when you ask the horse doesn't do as its told. Could only ride one type of horse. (much neater than my girls though and as she was carted across the cross country jumps screaming her position looked lovely)
 
ClobellsandBaubles said:
I have also noticed a lot less hacking out and for much less time these days I used to think nothing of hacking most of the day and I think peoples lifestyles these days don't have time to do that much proper hacking to increase their horses exposure to the world.
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This is something me and my friend often comment on. Hardly anyone on our yard hacks. No one goes out on the road or rides for more than an hour at any one time. We have the Wirral Way near us which is a bridleway with a proper surface and we always comment that we dont see other riders on it
 
Nudibranch said:
While I do agree with most of what has been said, I'm not convinced about the love for NZ rugs! Horrible, heavy, nasty things - one thing we have massively improved on is rugs. And while am totally in favour of a simple, forage based diet, mine get balancer in a mug of Kwikbeet and a magnesium lick because it does make a difference to hoof quality. Horses didn't evolve on UK type grazing and even cattle and sheep need mineral supplements.
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THIS. I like our modern improvements... and just because we know more about the science behind feeding and that horses don't get an optimum diet from just grass/hay, doesn't mean balancers are overpriced evil sugar feeds.
 
I do wonder what effect modern farming has actually had on the grass in this country. With all that fertiliser and weed killer around I wouldn't be surprised if the composition and nutrition of the average field had changed.
 
Haven't read all the replies so sorry if I'm repeating anything! I think feed is an issue, as is riding standards but I also think that people are after instant results far more these days than before, so once somebody has fed their horse up and struggled with it, rather than looking at the bigger picture and working at it they automatically reach for the wonder drug (figuratively speaking) to calm them down.

It's like people getting gastric bands rather than eating less and moving more. Incidentally I know someone who has done both - overfeeding her horse and reaching for the calmer AND getting a gastric band for herself and her teenage daughter :eek:
 
This is a very interesting thread and, as someone who’s come back to the horse world after a fifteen year gap, I have noticed quite a difference. I was lucky enough to be one of the youngsters who could charge about bareback with a headcollar pretending to be Indians. We used to put our stirrups up as high as possible and pretend to be jockeys. We’d go out for hours, and anything vaguely jumpable was jumped.

The horses I knew all had jobs, mainly hunting and team chasing and, as well as being fun (mostly!) the main purpose of riding them was to keep them exercised. If a horse was playing up, it usually just meant it needed getting out on exercise.

Once I got a ‘proper’ job, I didn’t have time for horses and had to give them up. Somehow, I found my way back and now ride out for people while I wait to get enough money behind me to keep my own.

Recently, I was just heading off for a ride around the fields and someone was amazed I was going as it was raining. But the horse needed riding, it wasn’t going to stop raining, and that’s what rain sheets and waterproofs are for!

Another time I came back from a ride on a breezy day (not so windy as to be dangerous) and I overheard someone saying they haven’t exercised as it was far too windy.

Of course, I respect everyone’s decision to ride/not ride, but do think many horses who are in work could do with more work. Easier said than done, of course. And I am grateful that I started when I was young. Maybe novice adults should get to do the gymkhana type games at riding school, and have some fun (if they don’t already?) Not that learning to ride isn’t fun, but hope you know what I mean.

Think this is a long enough reply already without mentioning rugs, but whilst I agree there is too much over-rugging, I think if a lightweight rug had existed for ponies when I was little, we’d have had it as it was a pain in winter trying to dry off the saddle patch on a furry Welshie!
 
I think ppl have got the wrong horses. As in, they think they want a nice 4,5 or 6 year old ex racer or a 16-17hh hunter type, because they're real horses. When what they really need is a nice 14-15hh mature cob or cross breed.
 
sport horse said:
I came into horses in the 1960's as a teenager. I rode for 6 years at a Riding School before having my own horse. This horse was kept at part livery at the riding school (DIY did not exist in those days) It was turned out every day, brought in late pm it was fed hay and a few oats. The horses all looked well and we were all supervised by the owner of the yard. It might have been my horse but the yard owner was very much in control of us all and over 100 horses. She knew her job and noone would have dared to tell her to mind her own business, it is my horse.

I think nowadays people keep their horse at DIY when they have very limited experience. They read a book, or go to a talk and think they know it all. They approach feed companies for feeding advice but these companies can only advise if the facts they are given are correct. A horse that hacks for 20 minutes to half an hour is not in hard work and if fed as if it were in hard work, it will blow its brains/make it sharp or give it laminitis. A horse doing light to medium work with a novice or nervous rider, should live on hay and grass. It does not need mix, supplements etc.

A native pony does not need rugs! It has a perfect fitting and totally waterproof coat given to it by God.

Need I go on? If people spent as much time riding as they do buying feedstuffs, discussing how to muck out every type of bedding and how many rugs to put on then perhaps there would be less sharp horses.

Oh and while I am on my very high horse how many people keep on having lessons once they have their horse? Obviously not too many which is why we have affiliated walk and trot dressage tests and affiliated jumping at 70cm!

Now I am going away to hide while everyone else gets on their high horses!!!!!
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I will come and hide with you!!! Agree with every word.
 
During a jumping clinic last week, the trainer said that she thought there were a lot more badly behaved horses around than there ever used to be and she thought Parelli was partly to blame for it.

( dont shoot me, I'm only the messenger)
 
I agree entirely with your post Spilletta!

Before Ned went lame, I used to hack out whenever and wherever I wanted. I didn't care if it was raining and I often got odd looks as I came back to the yard drenched, but with a smile on my face!
At the moment, I am a fair-weather rider, purely because he's coming back into work and I don't want to over do it, so I just go out when it's nice enough. That'll change when he gets fit though haha!

I love jumping things, even if I'm not supposed to. I jumped a ditch the other day and then a wooden railing a few weeks back! I like doing things like that, within reason (not destroying property and not hurting anyone!)
 
Spilletta said:
This is a very interesting thread and, as someone who’s come back to the horse world after a fifteen year gap, I have noticed quite a difference. I was lucky enough to be one of the youngsters who could charge about bareback with a headcollar pretending to be Indians. We used to put our stirrups up as high as possible and pretend to be jockeys. We’d go out for hours, and anything vaguely jumpable was jumped.

The horses I knew all had jobs, mainly hunting and team chasing and, as well as being fun (mostly!) the main purpose of riding them was to keep them exercised. If a horse was playing up, it usually just meant it needed getting out on exercise.

Recently, I was just heading off for a ride around the fields and someone was amazed I was going as it was raining. But the horse needed riding, it wasn’t going to stop raining, and that’s what rain sheets and waterproofs are for!

Another time I came back from a ride on a breezy day (not so windy as to be dangerous) and I overheard someone saying they haven’t exercised as it was far too windy.
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Ditto this. I ride client's horses unless it is torrential rain. I ride in wind, showers, cold and sun. I allow my daughter to ride bareback, do grid work with her without stirrups or reins and don't tell her to stop if her horse starts to misbehave but to ride through it.

I know clients who (despite my advice) overfeed their horses, keep them in if the gateway is a bit muddy and won't exercise their horses between my visits if the weather is not entirely favourable. Then they worry about riding the horse themselves if it puts in an excitable, 'I can't contain myself' buck.

I agree that there is (thanks to www) too much information in many ways, too many choices and too much treating horses like softer house-kept pets.
 
Over-fed, under worked. Over rugged, over clipped and spending too much time in the stable would be my humble opinion.
They were designed to be outside and moving about hunting for food.
Not what most horses these days do!
 
Spilletta said:
This is a very interesting thread and, as someone who’s come back to the horse world after a fifteen year gap, I have noticed quite a difference. I was lucky enough to be one of the youngsters who could charge about bareback with a headcollar pretending to be Indians. We used to put our stirrups up as high as possible and pretend to be jockeys. We’d go out for hours, and anything vaguely jumpable was jumped.

The horses I knew all had jobs, mainly hunting and team chasing and, as well as being fun (mostly!) the main purpose of riding them was to keep them exercised. If a horse was playing up, it usually just meant it needed getting out on exercise.
!
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So agree with this. The incredibly naughty and dangerous things we did as children on our ponies. I may not now be the most elegant rider, but I have a sticky bum and an awareness of my surroundings at all times, something a lot of 'newbies' don't seem to get. I also think a lot of highly bred ponies and horses nowadays are to osharp for people who just want to have fiun, but they are so pretty and elevated that people want one. Look at the Welsh 'A', pumped full of arab blood and nothing like the little ponies we rode many years ago.
 
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