How did horses cope

:) There are lots of books by Hayes and his wife on that site, all fascinating. They travelled widely and rode everywhere they went. Mrs H was particularly formidable. I have a photo of her riding sidesaddle on a zebra somewhere...
 
OMG do I remember those horrible NZs!! They never seemed to fit the horse, were horribly heavy to lift off even a pony (you had to be built like a Russian Shotputter), at the end of the winter they had to be scrubbed down, wax had to be softened to rub into the rug ............. give me modern turnouts any day. The jute rugs were not much better, if you wanted your clipped horse to be really warm on frezing night, you had to add the extra blanket underneath and when it was all done it looked very smart but come the morning the under-rug would be trailing around the stable. I can still remember having to do an under-rug and jute in my PC 'C' Test!!

I don't ever remember our ponies in the 70s ever wearing rugs they always seemed to come in at night - in fact I never knew anyone who did not have a stable, 24/7 turnout was unheard of!! :eek:
 
rambling said:
They didn't play in the winter , season was about May to September.
They were roughed off for the winter.
Click to expand...

try reading my other posts before commenting- i KNOW they were roughed in winter and the summer season having worked in 2 polo jobs--why oh why did i post the original post?pointless-
 
Last edited:
rosiefronfelen said:
try reading my other posts before commenting- i KNOW they were roughed in winter and the summer season having worked in 2 polo jobs--why oh why did i post the original post?pointless-
Click to expand...

If you bothered to read the rest of the post - you'd see how interesting it was.
 
rosiefronfelen said:
what is it with you Amymay, what have i said to upset you? Your every post has gone against everything i write-
Click to expand...

No Rosie, that's not true. You are a very paranoid, and over sensative poster.


I think you should only post on here when you're in a happy place. And maybe that's not today.
 
This is a really interesting thread, just a shame about the bitchyness.

It's interesting to see how much horsemanship has changed in a relatively short space of time. Was it so commonplace to clip during the winter in the 60s?
 
Sadly i remember those days too. Them rugs where called jute rug i think and hessian smelt like a dead dog when wet the straight foods no course mixes then. oh the tucking in straw under the rug. and people are right not many horse had as many health problems as now teeth were not done nor backs. who remembers those string girths and one saddle fits all. I do think we spoil our horse and made them such wimps. Me included my cob just dieds if it windy and has no rug. Oh i forgot peat bedding thank god thats gone
 
amymay said:
No Rosie, that's not true. You are a very paranoid, and over sensative poster.


I think you should only post on here when you're in a happy place. And maybe that's not today.
Click to expand...

How rude can anyone be,how dare you criticise me as such, iwas having a good day til you wrote that-how can any post revert to this, it defeats me.?
 
Ok to keep the thread going... I forgot about New Zealand rugs lol, horrible things!
I agree, its a good thread. One thing I've noticed even in 20 years is standards seem to have slipped (in general, on a livery yard). My theory is that now horses are more accessible & less elitist, a lot of people bypass the 'old school' basic grounding and discipline that gets passed down. Yes some unwritten rules regarding horse management have one foot in the past and are a bit prehistoric, but some are valuable from a horse health & safety perspective and its alarming to see some youngsters not even aware of them.

A lot of the modern kit we have is unnecessary and simply exists because manufacturers recognise the huge multi billion pound market that is horse equipment, and owners need to have the best/latest/keep up with the Jones's.
 
I've not read all the replies, but I like the question.

It seems a bit crazy that my horses and dogs have such a vast wardrobe, consisting of all the latest technology in rugs and kit for different weather conditions, yet when my parents were my age, their horses had a home made blanket under rug, a nasty rancid old jute rug, and a new zealand, which was too heavy for me to lift. Only their clipped horses in work wore rugs. None of our ponies owned any rugs. They all look OK and perfectly healthy and happy in the old family photo albums. If you put a coat on a dog in the 1970s I think they might have questioned your sanity. :D

The last of our horses from the 'old era' died last year at the age of 34. He was a shire x TB, so although people say horses from the 70s had tough lives and didn't last as long as they do now, this is not strictly true in every case. It's funny though, my old boy never got use to mobile phones ringing. Bless him :)
 
rosiefronfelen said:
try reading my other posts before commenting- i KNOW they were roughed in winter and the summer season having worked in 2 polo jobs--why oh why did i post the original post?pointless-
Click to expand...

I'm just very slow at typing , I did read everything posted before I replied .

I had no intention of upsetting you so don't think I deserved such a bad humoured reply
 
Last edited:
gugglebum said:
Ok to keep the thread going... I forgot about New Zealand rugs lol, horrible things!
I agree, its a good thread. One thing I've noticed even in 20 years is standards seem to have slipped (in general, on a livery yard). My theory is that now horses are more accessible & less elitist, a lot of people bypass the 'old school' basic grounding and discipline that gets passed down. Yes some unwritten rules regarding horse management have one foot in the past and are a bit prehistoric, but some are valuable from a horse health & safety perspective and its alarming to see some youngsters not even aware of them.

A lot of the modern kit we have is unnecessary and simply exists because manufacturers recognise the huge multi billion pound market that is horse equipment, and owners need to have the best/latest/keep up with the Jones's.
Click to expand...

I DO so agree with everything you have said.
 
Indeed, how?

Our ponies lived out, were fed nuts, oats, sugar beet and bran (I still feed all that bar the bran), no supplements, yet they survived! There was no way you could have left a horse out in a canvass NZ, it would have been rubbed raw!

My aunt's pony was 1/2 arab 1/4 TB and 1/4 welsh yet lived out all her life and only started wearing a rug at the age of 25, so much for 'precious' arabs/TBs!

Mine still live out, and like A40's, they get trim over the winter and never had lami either. My boy is rugged but only 'cos I clip him!
 
Brandy said:
In answer to the actual question, I think the horses coped 'less well' than they do these days. It was pretty normal for them to lose condition over the winter, which doesn't happen as a matter of course these days. Fat horses were far less commen.

.
Click to expand...
Agree with the fat horses less common then, but sadly due to more modern facilities/luxseries (sp) for us all at hand now, more fat content in all foods, fat animals and people are now more common.... sad really.
Back then (early 80's is what I remember well) we fed oats, home chopped chaff, pony nuts and sugar beat. The hunters got boiled linseed oil in a bran mash after hunting. Never remember colic, or a horse that was poor. They had a haynet and all on straw bedding with NO banks. No alergies or stable vices in site and nothing ever got cast. Rubber matting - are you mad?? They were turned out in a mixed herd when not being worked, and no 'coltish' behaviour by any of the geldings and no 'bad manners' from in season mares. We had stiff dandy brushes with wooden handles, same with soft body brushes and a metal curry comb. Nothing was plastic. Metal water buckets - remember the handles clanking!! lol Top and bottom bolts - no kick bolts then either!?
Jute rugs with rollers and added blankets if cold, top door shut if weather blowing in, and cobbles = a devil to clean/sweep!!
Canvas rugs as said before, but they were always huge around the chest too, rubbed horses shoulders but never seemed to concern us?!?
I think we DO over pamper our horses, almost to the point where they don't realise they are horses anymore. BUT, on so many occassions, I think it really is a case of people/owners showing off what they have got, and what they can afford. THAT part of horse ownership is upper class, and in my eyes, that is sad because it often feels like a competition of whose got what/when/how and why! Horses DO cope with the essentials, they don't give a stuff about what is in their wardrobe - we do!
Covered in dead sheep = why?
5 point breast plates = what was wrong with the breast girth/hunting plate?
String girths = nothing wrong with them, they allowed the sweaty horse to breath
Does a horse have to be pulled and trimmed to an inch within his life?
Bits = WHY so many?
And thats just a few examples of how we have evolved in the last 25 odd years, plenty more I am sure.

Sorry, I've gone on a bit!
 
traceyann said:
. Oh i forgot peat bedding thank god thats gone
Click to expand...

I think the peat bedding was great, no dust so great for the horses lungs, one of the most highly absorbent bedding available it will absorb 10 times its weight at least. Very natural for the horse to lie on and cushions the bones and of course completely biodegradable on the muck heap.
I also would find it took half the time to muck out comared to a woodshavings bed.

The urine smell would never linger either due to the peats natural ability to counteract the amonia.

Fab bedding IMO ;)
 
To keep this thread going, definitely our horses are pampered far more now than in the 70s (mine included) I think mainly as rugs, bridles, saddles etc are far cheaper than they used to be, it us cheaper to buy a new pair of reins rather than repair them! A horse never saw a physio for their backs and "one saddle fits all" string girths were pretty much standard I could go on but don't want to sound like an old fart.
 
I had my first horse in the seventies.

Most horses i know of came in at night with jute rugs in winter or lived out without rugs. Always bedded down on straw. If wet we used to brush dry or thatch. Some were clipped but many were not. Rugs became more popular in the late seventies as far as I can remember. Most people didnt have transport unless they were wealthy. DIY livery yards were essentially in their infanthood. Lots of people rented fields with no stables. Most people had no arena.

People either hunted, show jumped or hacked. Pony Club was only really for the "haves"...Lots of things happened prior to the state schools breaking up for summer.;) Then nothing!;)

The horse world was still very elitist IMO but was definitely the time when things began to change and the more average person could own a horse. I guess people began to have disposable income again and hence things began to change.
 
One was a native, one was 3/4 Arab, 1/8 TB, 1/8 welsh. They were both out unrugged through the day and in at night and never came to any harm. Though spring was a nightmare with all that bloody hair!
We've got soft and have passed this on in our care of them. Our own fault!

I've still got one of my string girths from back then and its still in perfect condition.
 
pastie2 said:
Anticast rollers, they were a must have! Those leather pads that we used to bang them on the necks and rumps to build up muscle, oh and wisps. I do still strap my horse though.
Click to expand...

So do I!! and lookin at that book in the link of how to make a hay pad! that brings back memories....anyone remember making haynets??:eek:
 
gugglebum said:
A lot of the modern kit we have is unnecessary and simply exists because manufacturers recognise the huge multi billion pound market that is horse equipment, and owners need to have the best/latest/keep up with the Jones's.
Click to expand...

Absolutely agree!

Horses have this amazing thing called their own coat - which is waterproof!
 
Love this thread, thanks Rosie!

Starting riding in the mid fifties, I remember all that's been mentioned with very fond memories and I wouldn't change a thing; it's what's made me how I am today.
The best things to have changed (for me anyway) are turnout rugs, so much nicer for the horse and to handle than the canvas NZ with the fixed surcingles although Kingshead used to make a very good one which only had leg straps, so much better for the horse but I do think far too many horses wear rugs which are totally unnecessary. I still use anti sweat rugs though, they were great!

The sad thing for me is that many people now don't take the time or want to learn how to look after a horse properly before they decide to own one and then keep it inappropriately which leads to so much misery for the horses. We were so lucky to have the hands on training at our local riding stables and working our way up from yard sweeping and leading beginners to being allowed to actually help on lessons and hacks, to learn how to be responsible around and for the horses and how to do things properly from the ground up.
 
SJcrazee said:
So do I!! and lookin at that book in the link of how to make a hay pad! that brings back memories....anyone remember making haynets??:eek:
Click to expand...

Remember? i tried to teach my nephew how to make one a few months ago....he just asked if I needed to borrow some money to buy one:rolleyes:

I think I may be stuck in the 70's? :eek:
Well I was born then....;)

but I do like horses neatly turned out even for hacking.
Rugs-only for drying bathed horses, horses that are fit and clipped and in daily work.
Natives-live out and dont get pink million tog duvet rugs with stupid plastic buckles!!!:(
but I would like someone to tell my shetland that next winter we are going retro...and going back to the 70's and thus she will be treated as a 70's shetland. ie.no rugs,hard feed,supplements,farrier only every 8 weeks(not every 5 :rolleyes:) and no haylage for any of the rejects! they will have hay and be happy!!

rosie-I think horses could cope...its us weird humans that cant cope:o:)
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Top