It's official...I'm a Grumpy Old Woman

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POLLDARK

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I think I have turned into a grumpy old woman, seeing things & thinking 'It was different when I was a girl'. What has set me off ? Something so simple ! I saw 3 girls out on their ponies this afternoon & I swear none of the ponies had seen a brush in a muddy month, wouldn't have happened when I was a girl. You didn't let your pony down by turning out a tatty mess, I KNOW it doesn't matter to the ponies but it grated for the look of the thing. I'm getting old & grumpy. Anyone else being afflicted like this or is it just me noticing things like that ?:o:o
 
if they were 24-7 out in a field its pretty hard to get them clean and sparkly in winter but having said that I do know a few kids who think that their grooming kit (which is usually spotless :rolleyes:) is just for keeping their plait bands in or showing their mates.
 
POLLDARK said:
I think I have turned into a grumpy old woman, seeing things & thinking 'It was different when I was a girl'. What has set me off ? Something so simple ! I saw 3 girls out on their ponies this afternoon & I swear none of the ponies had seen a brush in a muddy month, wouldn't have happened when I was a girl. You didn't let your pony down by turning out a tatty mess, I KNOW it doesn't matter to the ponies but it grated for the look of the thing. I'm getting old & grumpy. Anyone else being afflicted like this or is it just me noticing things like that ?:o:o
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I notice these things too! I also have endless "discussions" about what bits of my horse I should be brushing or otherwise for winter as I'm in danger of brushing all the oils out of my mare's coat and making her cold (daughter's advice).

Actually daughter (an avid member of this forum who "stalks" and vets every post I make on here (often in trouble with her later for talking rubbish!) talks a lot of sense mostly.....which in turn makes me even grumpier because she's right and I'm wrong and what happened to all those years of experience?

Back in "the day" we had one choice of rug (a green New Zealand one), unless you had a TB which was clipped they weren't rugged at all, I'd never heard of mud fever or the likes and the horses, if ridden on the road, always had shoes on. We only ever (from a large number of ponies and horses) had one suffer from laminitis (a little Welsh mountain pony) and one from Sweet Itch (a New Forest) we didn't know anything about preventative diet or fly rugs. Never heard of a weight tape! Really, looking back we didn't know much at all.

We did enjoy our horses though!
 
OMG, I still call them New Zealands - how old does that make me :eek: And in my day, i used to use an old blanket folded back to the surcingle as an under rug..
 
I've just seen a mug in the local tack shop with the words 'GRUMPY OLD WOMAN'
I too can't go out riding unless my horse is clean, and she's very light grey so it's quite a challenge! I can't be doing with all this talk about lightweight, 200 fill, combo.... To me they are NZ rugs and they are either thick or thin!!
As for kissing spines, is that the new way for vets practices to extort money from the insurance companies? It seems that every other horse has it.
And witney striped blankets should be made of pure wool, fleece just looks so wrong ;-)
 
I've done the blanket folded back thing under the rug too;) I've also still got in very good nick one of the original NZ rugs - in fact I got it out earlier this year and used it - much to the amusement of my daughter. Not so the following day when we went to check the horses again and mine was literally snug as a bug in a rug lol. Back in the day they were the rolls royce of rugs I seem to remember!

Never thought a thing about my mare being slightly sensitive over the girth being done up other than perhaps it tied in with her cycle. Now I find myself wondering if she should have been scoped for ulcers!

Body protectors didn't exist as far as I can remember until my own kids started to learn to ride. Having said that and having just had a nasty fall that wasn't a good thing - the body protector I was wearing this time definitely saved me from nasty bruising etc. at best.

If I had taken the mobile phone out with me it would have been like taking along a house brick! Used to ride miles on and off road and not think a thing about it. High viz was something only street cleaners and dustbin men wore.
 
:o it is my pet hate when i see people riding out caked in dried mud .. its just lazy imo .. my friend drives me nuts .. a quick brush on face and saddle area ...arrgh .. lol!! imo the least you should do is brush off dried mud and brush mane and tail out! .. but each to their own! ...as my mate keeps telling me!!! :p
 
Well you would prob have glared at me to night. Riding idiot pony( who is white) full of wet mud that I was not going to stand around and wait to dry so I could brush it off. All the important bits were mud free. :D
 
Sorry, I am a Grumpy Old Woman, but have to disagree with this. If the ponies were muddy, then it's more than likely that they live out. My girls are out 24/7 and we have had loads of rain in the past six weeks. They are wearing LW rugs but their legs from the stifle down are muddy, tails are disgusting and heads and manes often clogged with mud. I brush off the dry mud and make sure that both bridle and saddle area are clean, but I don't touch the legs (which are coated in pig oil and sulphur) as I don't want to rub the damp mud into the skin.
I like immaculately turned out horses too, but with the best will in the world this is nigh on impossible at this time of year. Most important to me is that my horses are ridden and are healthy and happy. Clean is a bonus :D
If I saw kids out on slightly scruffy ponies I think I would be more pleased to see kids out enjoying the great outdoors, rather than gawping at the TV or zapping aliens on a games console, than being ticked off that their ponies were a bit mucky.
PS Do you remember the NZ rugs that had loads of buckles all over the body of the rug? The straps were made of leather and went very stiff after the rain. They were a bugger to adjust!
 
debsg said:
PS Do you remember the NZ rugs that had loads of buckles all over the body of the rug? The straps were made of leather and went very stiff after the rain. They were a bugger to adjust!
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YES! That's the sort I still have one of! Is this the oldest rug still occasionally in use? It must be 30+ years old (but has been put away for a great many of those years).

I agree with the sentiments re rather kids out on a mucky pony than sat in front of the pc or tv btw.
 
Oh God, don't get me started. It's a miracle any horse or rider survived in the bad old days. The paraphernalia involved in getting on a horse these days, the boots, the rugs, the specialised feed, blah, blah. And for the rider. You can't just sling on any old tee-shirt, it has to be a dedicated equine brand, five times more expensive than anything else you would buy.
 
oh god, the leather straps ! And as for reproofing the damned things - that spray wax you could get :eek: The rug went stiff as a board, and i just hoped my horse would roll and loosen it up a bit.

And the craze for woof boots and god knows what.
 
I used to wear Derrie boots to muck the stables out etc. in winter....and to go on the back of my boyfriends motorbike - which mum and dad never knew about and who went on to become my first husband. Happy days :rolleyes:

Oh and phonecall not 10 minutes ago: "What's this about me stalking you mum? I don't stalk you.....I don't even usually read your posts...." yeah right. LOL!
 
I'm grumpy too most of the time & I couldn't give a flying fig about anyone else's opinion unless its a good valid point. I've got to an age where I please myself. If horse is muddy & I haven't got time to groom we go out muddy, so what? As you can tell from this post I'm well grumpy!!
 
Well I'm glad I'm not alone. That famous phrase 'when I was a girl' the horses lived out BUT you cleaned them up before riding, you made an effort, you may not have removed everything but the mane & tail didn't look as though they belonged to rats even if you had to dunk said lower tail in a bucket ! People had a pride in the appearance of their horses & the grooming was part of bonding & horsemanship, as well as a health check. When these youngsters were out it was a sunny afternoon & I am SURE time could have been found to dig out a dandy brush at least & it is much easier to keep a pony clean these days with all the sprays etc... How's that for a grump, I am surely getting old. The thought occurs, do they still call them Dandy brushes now ?
However the sun is shining here & I am going to brush off a boy & go for a hack, enjoy your day everyone.:):)
Rememberance Sunday, be glad to be alive.
 
I won't let my boys off the yard unless they are thoroughly brushed - yes I'm old school too ;) I was brought up to think they are representing the yard and yourself so should be presentable. My grey may have stains on him from the field in winter because I don't like the idea of washing bits of him in the cold, but there'll be no mud or dirt in sight!!! :)
 
Although I am keen on good turnout, at this time of year if they come in with wet mud on, I'm not prepared to either hose it off, or spend 4hrs waiting for it to dry. Likewise if we are busy, & have only an hours daylight, we'll ride after doing under tack, then groom in the stables once dark.
 
Can I be one? (I'm grumpy and old too). For the first time in many years I have two out this winter (the other two are in), and I can't bear to let them just be smothered in mud, so they come in every day for a quick spruce up. The two "in" boys are always groomed before and after riding. I've done this for over 40 years, which is undoubtedly why I've got some gnarly hands and muscles in surprising places!
 
When I moved yards recently, my friend and I scrubbed the poor horse to remove stable stains so as not to give a bad impression as we arrived :o

To be fair to the youngsters, as I brought in my covered in mud horse yesterday, they were grooming a pony and I joked that they could do mine. The eldest said she would jump at the opportunity and loves grooming and I soon had three industrious children brushing and a clean horse ten minutes later!
 
I am turning into my mother, I often say "in my day" what does that mean, Im still here its still my day ? Becoming a grumpy old woman has its benefits, I dont feel I have to be dressed up to go out of the house if Im not going to the yard, and I can swear at inconsiderate motorists that cut me up.
 
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