Do you think riding will go back to 'traditonal' ?

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niagaraduval

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Years ago pink, baby blue and purple sparkley things for horses didn't exist. There was brown, dark green or black (from what I can remember). There were no springy stirrup irons or browbands with diamonds on.

At first, I loved this new take on horse 'fashion'. I own loads of pink things, have diamond browbands and sparkley whips.

However, I have noticed more and more than I am looking for traditional, I must admit I find equestrianism was much more classy before and also the way in which horses are looked after (Can't find a wool rug anywhere or metal buckets which lasted years etc.). A leather headcollar seems few and far between, did people just have more class ? an equine dentist didn't exist and all horses were shod.

I am upset to see I can't find wool rugs or proper leather brushing boots anymore, don't get me started on the bridles - they all seem to have grackle/flash nosebands !

Do you miss this style of horse wear/riding wear ? Do you think it will all go back to traditional tweed hacking jackets and jodhpur boots whatever the age? Do you find it sad that everything has to be about looks ?

Don't get me wrong, I have bought all of the above and my horse must go out matching or I don't fit in. I also find we spent lots more on our horses ? I remember when you had one set of stable bandages, one string rug, one wool and a newzealand rug and one numnah. I am ashamed to admit I own over 12 saddle cloths & matching bandages (all in different colours) for one horse !
 
I think Google may be a better friend to you than you know if you're after leather headcollars, wool rugs, leather brushing boots. I didn't have a problem finding any of the above!

I sincerely hope that tweed jackets for normal riding don't come back in - I like looking like a bag lady-a dry, warm one. Far too many memories of hacking home from hunting/rallies in the rain, with a sodden, heavy tweed on. Yuk

I think practicality is the reason behind most advances in horse and rider wear. Wool/jute/new zealand rugs are all horrible when wet/covered in wee/muddy, and I love being able to bung muddy boots in the washing machine, rather than waiting for leather ones to dry, then de-mudding them, washing them, drying them, then oiling. Life's too short to sit there poking mud out of the holes on leather straps with a needle!
 
Obviously.

Here is me, being extremely fashionable:

P1010135_zpsef9a3fd8.jpg


Because nothing screams cool like a ski jacket-hi viz and tacky saddle pad combo. Take that, tweed and jodhpur boots!
 
I am an old fashioned kinda gal and prefer the traditional stuff. I would not have anything pink or sparkley anywhere near my horses!

A lot of horse gear isn't what it used to be, leather is not so good, there's lots of cheap and nasty stuff about, eg, leather headcollars, it's hard to find them made of good quality leather with solid brass fittings (quite often these are coloured to look like brass as opposed to solid brass).

But there is traditional stuff still available if you have a good look around. Try Friday Fox for wool rugs, Jefferies and Fylde for leather work and I love finding old bits and pieces on Ebay or at car boot type tack sales :)
 
I have stuff from the completely traditional look to dressage bling , it's fun to swop and change .
One thing I hate though is pink , lilac etc mucking out stuff and buckets and Haynets wheel barrows the local merchant tried to sell me a pink wheel barrow not what you need to see at six am.
 
I have pink wheelbarrow and mucking out fork. I do however not have any bling on the pony except his pink leg bands. Brown only numnahs and girths. I had his bridle made for him with a cavesson noseband.

I hate to see coloured tack.

It would be a very boring world if we all liked the same thing and each to their own.
 
I'm traditional with my taste. Both my horses have leather headcollars. I'm so not a fan of the fabric ones, both for safety and the look of them. I can't stand coloured leather! My saddles and bridles are brown leather and I hunted high and low for plain nosebands as I hate using a flash and hate the look of the loop without the flash strap, god I sound fussy!

I like my horses to look smartly turned out.i always say there's no point paying a fortune for good quality horses and then dressing them in cheap clothes! I managed to find a beautiful wool excersise blanket and a lovely set of leather tendon boots ... They are out there if you are willing to shop somewhere slightly more obscure!

One thing I did buy ... I have a leather broadband for my mare with five little crystals in it. I really don't go in for bling but it's so subtle it actually looks really nice!
 
I like to keep things simple. My pony has a plain brown bridle, brown saddle, with brown numnah and girth. Plain stirrup irons and rubber sgrip reins for when he is feeling a little strong.

The only colorful things I own are bright yellow buckets (easier to find in the field) and hi viz for hacking.

Although I dress myself in Purple boots and a purple gillet. I am otherwise boring. x
 
I like the traditional look with a bit of modern help with boots etc. All my tack is leather and my leather headcollar was dragged out of the loft when I bought my new horse after an 18 year non-horse-owning gap. Think I'd be carted from here to next week without my grakle though! :)
 
Hmmm - at least you don't see coloured string girths with matching plaited reins any more... Although I did want a one of those velvet covered zigzag browbands when I was eight.
Growing up, I do remember pink saddlecloths (made out of blankets) and multi-coloured underblankets (although most were old army blankets so green or grey).
Very much a traditionalist here - the brightest we get is high-vis. Numnahs are black or dark green and tack is brown and unadorned. But I've turned my boy out today in his new "plum" mediumweight.
I don't really care what colour things are as long as they do the job. I recently bought a new shavings fork that was £9 cheaper than one in pink or purple simply because it was "baby blue". I'd be sacked by matchy matchy fans as I now have a pink broom, purple shovel and blue shavings fork and green straw fork. My haynets don't match either.
 
I hate all the pink and crystal stuff, but that said if my 80 year old Gran is around my cousin and I hack out in her old tweeds just to please her. Every time it makes me think it's worth all the bling stuff not to have to smell like a wet dog every time we ride.

I don't think tweed for hacking will ever return - it looks ridiculous with high viz.
 
I think there is an element of fashion, but I think it's also due to what is the most suitable/sellable product.

imo thats something that's the right (or best compromise) price, suitability and quality will sell.

I wouldn't use metal buckets, the rubber gorrila type are better imo. I wouldn't use wool (one horse sensitive, I'm allergic and can't stand the feel of it), I don't like blingy things, but have brightly coloured lunge lines/head collars etc as have them so that the horses couldn't care less about bright colours being dragged around them (I err towards blue mixes as have had problems with this colour in the past). I don't like attachments on bridles... but use a bitless, so not traditional there either.
I wouldn't touch a leather headcollar after my main horse sustained a nasty injury off a field safe leather one. I don't leave any on now, but if I did would be rubber rings not leather. But found a range of leather at all local tack shops.

I did have a clear out of a container full of leather tack recently though and couldn't part with all the beautiful soft leather bridles with no additions.

So simple answer, I think it's based on a lot more than fashion and peoples needs are changing all the time, so I think it may sway away from the glitzy fashion atm but is unlikely to completely revert back when new products are constantly being developed.

From a manufacturers point of view, why produce two bridles, one with removable flash attachment and one without, when you can produce one bridle for less which suits both needs?
 
I absolutely adore the look of a well turned out, proper traditional horse and rider. Especially a good hunter type or fine pony.

However, unless I'm doing something fancy, it's not for me.
I am either fully kitted out in red or hi-viz. If I was a dressage or even show jumping rider, I might try a little harder. But I hack out and go along quite busy roads and through awfully muddy fields "posh" is not something I can do!

He does have posh stuff, he's got a beautiful leather headcollar with a nameplate on it, a very expensive bridle, some posh boots and a gorgeous red travel set!

It's also my yard, it's very "rough and ready", if you want a pristine horse, it's not for you :P
 
I love traditional but to me that means excellent quality. I like good quality items for my horse however can't resist a bargain at the same time as I did go and get one of the Lidl numnahs :D Also keep an eye on ebay and tack sales etc as you can pick up some lovely quality items but have to resist the urge to buy too much!

I'm not a massive fan of the bright colours but can see why people have them in terms of knowing what is theirs etc. I love the colour blue so nearly everything of mine is matchy matchy but it's not really done on purpose!
 
I like more traditional stuff although do have black tack for dressage. It does seem to be very hard to find decent quality leather products now which is a shame and I am another cavesson noseband preference person. Currently trying to find a GP type saddle for polo which will be brown as it is more traditional.

I don't mind saddlepads in brighter colours for hacking etc if I'm buying whatever is available second hand in the right size but if buying new I would always try and get darker blues, greens or blacks. I do like the new fabrics for rugs though; Old style NZ rugs were good but my god were they heavy when muddy and wet and they took forever to dry out! And I far prefer rubber skips for feeding etc as less chance of injury so it's not all bad. When you look through old books/photos it is definitely true that people looked classier and equipment was made to last (sign of the times in our throwaway society I guess) and I can't stand pink/diamonte etc but each to their own! I might stretch to an Argentine coloured stitching on leather browband for polo at some point though...!
 
I'm a serious tradionalist - I've just paid £400 for a 25 year old saddle to be completely rebuilt underneath because the tree is some much better than any modern one I could afford. Mind you it is a Lauriche which would have cost the best part of £2k when it was new.
 
I can only see it as a good thing, why should equestrianism be so traditionalist and snobby? People whispering about your latest numnah because it doesn't fit in with what they like or think is 'appropriate?'. Sure, for showing and hunting and to a point other competing there will always be a uniform and I think it is a nice thing that tradition is upheld, but I would think it pretty stupid if someone should have won a class but didn't because their jacket was the wrong colour tweed. I like brown tack, and I actually wish there was more proper brown available rather than Havana, but I also have a sparkly browband because I think it looks cute on my horse and we do have matchy matchy but its all navy, hardly wild!

I wouldn't care if someone turned up in pink patent Katie price gear, it might make me think they were a certain type of person, but in a way I would admire them for expressing themselves in the way they want to, without being bothered what the snobs think of them.

In everyday fashion I like to see changes and trends, I have always favoured a classic sort of look with nice dresses and flattering fit (realistically I mean jodhpurs and hoodie haha), but I don't begrudge young skinny folk wearing neon hotpants and chainmail if they want to!

It is annoying that the more traditional stuff can be swamped by sparkly pink stuff, but then I wonder if someone who buys a 100 pounds plus bridle every few years is going to need as much shop space as someone who wants cheap, colourful under 20 quid and buy again in a month stuff? They're both useful types of customer in the tack shop!
 
I love traditional , nice quality leather is really hard to find now imo, my horses have no blingy bits and pieces, coloured tack is a no no for me.
I do have a bling saddle cover though! And I do match my buckets, grooming kit in the same colour if i can etc I do that home as well!
But each to their own :)
Each to their own :)
 
pansymouse said:
I'm a serious tradionalist - I've just paid £400 for a 25 year old saddle to be completely rebuilt underneath because the tree is some much better than any modern one I could afford. Mind you it is a Lauriche which would have cost the best part of £2k when it was new.
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Woman after my own heart! I have a Lauriche dressage saddle of a similar age, and I prize it above rubies (or diamante) I could do with it being an inch longer in the seat, but I would rather reduce size of bottom than change it for another, less fabulous saddle!
 
I prefer traditional styling and quality - I hate bling and pink/baby blue or whatever colours on horses.

I do have black tack though - I hate to see stirrup leathers that don't match the saddle so this was my concession to 'coloured' tack. I won't buy cheap tack though and like to see good quality leather and workmanship.

I also love my stinky wax jacket - kept me warm and dry for years on end and I quite like the smell of a freshly waxed jacket. :o Modern expensive ones seem to leak after a few washes, get dirty more easily and need expensive reproofing all the time.

For rugs I much prefer new materials, and I find a fleece warm, wicking and easy to wash, unlike old wool blankets.

Stable/grooming equipment I don't mind in bonny colours, easier to spot when you've dropped a brush in the shavings. :)
 
This thread made me smile as my mum declared the other day (after I bought a pink bucket) that the colour pink is solely responsible for the decline in horsemanship?!?!?!?!
I do have to say that tack wise as I show I love the traditional hunter turnout but I love all the colourful buckets, rugs etc as when I was a little girl bottle green was as exotic as it got.
 
Auslander said:
I think Google may be a better friend to you than you know if you're after leather headcollars, wool rugs, leather brushing boots. I didn't have a problem finding any of the above!
...
I think practicality is the reason behind most advances in horse and rider wear.
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Agreed on all counts! I have good leather headcollars, knee boots and the odd wool rug all of which have been bought in the last few years. If you're prepared to pay, there are always good quality items out there.

That said, whist I love leather headcollars for travelling, competing etc, I'm not prepared to pay for them, or clean them for daily use. Same for boots, rugs etc - it is so much easier to whack a pair of cheap neoprene boots on if you're hacking and scrub them down after than to mess about with expensive leather ones you don't want to wreck and have to clean properly after. Plus all the technological advantages - air cooled event boots, thermal wicking properties of rugs etc.

I like a bit of matchy matchy it has to be said. I'm not a fan of pink on horses or coloured saddles and the only coloured bridles I like are zilco endurance ones (and only if you're trecing/ endurancing). The thing is, I might not like it styistically, but I also accept it's not to blame for any decline in horse welfare in he country! I think that is a bit of a stretch...
 
... but tweed and boots was 'fashion' then. We have more available, and different tastes now (availability, not personal taste obviously!) but it's really no different. While it would be nice if some 'traditional' items were still available, I think it's about time horse fashions got a kick up the bum. It's only fairly recently that you've been able to get decorative patterns on rugs, and love or hate 'em (I don't like them!) you'd be pretty shocked to be so limited in choice in pretty much any other area of consumerism - particularly relating to pets!
 
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