Memories of the old days,,, best memories b4 health and saftety

[Cowpony]

We used to ride the horses bareback on roads, leading two others. All in bridles and we wore hats, although the old barely-better-than-cardboard type. If there were more kids than horses when we were turning out we'd also double up on the bigger horses.

We used to be packed into the back of a moggie van to get up to the field. The record was 2 adults, 23 kids, 2 dogs, some saddles and numerous bridles. I fell out of the back of the van once when somebody didn't close the doors properly, got yelled at by the riding school owner, climbed back in and off we went!

 

[Nessa4]

I also think that ponies were less naughty back in the day. Surely this was because they were *used* - blatted about the countryside in various states of undress, used to kids doing round the world, scissors etc, expected to face all sorts of situations, objects and obstacles (who in those days had a full set of show jumps to practice with), and generally had fun with! Instead of hours of working in an arena, only going off site to shows, being hung about with gadgets and often having no fun!

 

[Nessa4]

I also think that ponies were less naughty back in the day. Surely this was because they were *used* - blatted about the countryside in various states of undress, used to kids doing round the world, scissors etc, expected to face all sorts of situations, objects and obstacles (who in those days had a full set of show jumps to practice with), and generally had fun with! Instead of hours of working in an arena, only going off site to shows, being hung about with gadgets and often having no fun! And being fed calmers at the first sign of a bit of character.

 

[Ladyinred]

I also think that ponies were less naughty back in the day. Surely this was because they were *used* - blatted about the countryside in various states of undress, used to kids doing round the world, scissors etc, expected to face all sorts of situations, objects and obstacles (who in those days had a full set of show jumps to practice with), and generally had fun with! Instead of hours of working in an arena, only going off site to shows, being hung about with gadgets and often having no fun! And being fed calmers at the first sign of a bit of character.

I agree. As a teen I used to go and feed and turn out ponies at a local livery in exchange for rides. Basically I had a different horse/pony to ride for each day of the week and two for each weekend day! I rode one who was known to be a 'handful' and yes, he was strong in every sense, strong minded, strong willed and bloomin strong if you tried to stop him, but he never behaved like some you see today.. none of them did. All were ridden every day, usually for a very minimum of an hour and many for two hours plus, and at weekends they would be out five/six hours on hacks or all day at a show. Every one of them was perfect in traffic, which was just as well as we used to cross the A127 Southend to London road for some of the hacking routes and ride along the A13 to get to some shows! Just one I rode would have a random spook, but I could count the times on the fingers of one hand.. the most memorable was the time we went for a long bareback hack with a friend on her posh mare. We stopped for a break (actually we were a tiny bit lost!)in a gateway with an open gate in front of us. Laddie had his head down munching grass and I laid along his back catching the sun; then posh horse farted, Laddie spooked and took off at a flat out gallop through the open gate.. the position I was in meant I didn't last very long at all before hitting the deck and laughing too much to go after him!

It was all so easy and there was none of the stressed out horses and riders you see today and I swear the sun used to shine more...

 

[Kat]

......

 

[Kat]

Embarrassingly, I recently fell off my current horse attempting to win a round the world race against a 13 year old. I'm 26... and apparently past it!

Same but I am 36!

 

[RaposadeGengibre]

Ye olde days....

One saddle fits all (and majority of bridles as well), hats non-existent, if too many kids turned up for a lesson, some going bareback due to shortage of saddles... Riding in a dress, trainers, barefoot (in a saddle - I did paid for that though...), 2 kids on 1 horse, hammering down a field or tarmac road... Horses never had rugs and in the winter they looked like bears (try to tighten the girth through all that hair!). Stains and dried muck (well solidified) stayed until spring time. They were stabled 24/7 most of the winter (even a horse wouldnt want to go out in cr@ppy weather) and on a first day out you had to have your sticky pants well polished and on. If the spring was late, the horses had to survive on straw which by that time has been...well... well passed the use by date.
Speaking about tarmac, I dont remember much lameness apart from physical damage to the hoof (stone, nail...) or leg (not from riding on the tarmac anyway) and lami was basically something from the other universe. But I suppose horses were workers back then, not pets.
Plenty of nasty horses (but not really dangerous) , everyone knew their tricks and if you missed "the sign" and had unfortunate separation with your mount, you fault, bring a cake next time.
We did learned how to ride a horse, how to tack up and drive 1-, 2- and 3-horse carriages (I probably wont tack a troika anymore), what to do in case of...
We was going to remote forestry stables through the woods and field track (if my mother knew it, she would have a fit even back then), where for exchange for mucking out and feeding we could have to take horses out in the woods (and sometimes we had to rely on horses to find the way back). No adult supervision, no tack... Found a couple of bits around shed and made our own bridles.

I dont think I would repeat it nowadays...

 

[mainpower]

In summer we used to ride in shorts and flip flops and go jumping the gorse bushes on the common. When we got bored of that we'd take in turns to lie on the ground while the others jumped their ponies over us.

 

[skint1]

Reading this thread is great fun, it sounds like such a blast, and makes me wish again I had a horsey upbringing, though I think I remember doing "round the world" during one of my infrequent lessons!

 

[Firefly9410]

I remember lots of riding in the field. A schooling circle. Home made SJ and XC fences from whatever we could get our hands on. No arena. One day someone brought a cassette player to the field and we tried to do dressage to music, trying to get our horses to move in time to the beat like someone had seen at a big show or on tv. We hacked too, exploring for hours, following hoof prints, going through gaps in hedge and fence, finding out where not to ride by getting shouted at by a farmer and having to apologize. Nobody told anybody where they were going, it never crossed our minds, if we got lost either the ponies found their way back or we asked in any stable yard we came across for directions to our own. We hacked to shows and pony club rallies and hunts. We wore hats because it was a yard rule but they were often undone or taken off and held while we walked on a long rein because it was too hot. Our pockets contained a few pony nuts in case we fell off and had a difficult catcher, a piece of bale twine in case we had need to tie up and the emergency phone call 10p and of course phone boxes were everywhere then. Body protectors were uncomfortable things with a strap between the legs, that did not fit well, usually borrowed from a friend and worn for XC because pony club made us. Tack was simpler. The choice was a snaffle, a kimblewick, a pelham or a running gag. Sizes were half or full inches no fiddling about with special mouthpieces or quarter sizes and tbh if we had a 5" bit and a horse needing 5 1/2" or vice versa and the horse was going well anyway, we carried on as we were rather than worrying about buying the correct size. Everything was hairy in winter unless in full work and hunting. Rigs were canvas NZ or jute, no worrying about what weight rug to use it was either on or off. Most of all, we had fun.

 

[MotherOfChickens]

from the age of 13 onwards, parents would dump me at the farm first thing in the morning (during holidays obvs) and pick me up when it got dark. Farm consisted of an old barn and about 8 acres of grazing-no farmhouse, electric, phones (about 1 mile from local pub). I would hack out alone or with mates from nearby village for hours-not an adult in sight. Would jump log piles, ride on the old aerodrome tracks and (naughty) jump in and out of private pheasant woods.

When I was a WP and a very large RS/livery/comp yard in Herts we had 2-3 riding school or livery horses plus two grass-kept riding school ponies under our charge. Every morning we would get the ponies in, bareback, head collars and ropes only, ride and lead 3 or 4 over some wee xc jumps and the motorway bridge. Noone cared as long as we wore hats.

 

[Annagain]

Memories of riding my first pony bareheaded and barebacked, in just a headcollar, across a 40 acre field at a canter with cows hooning all around us!!! (if I did that now, I'd fall off LOL).

Also I have memories of doing a physical exercise on horseback called "Round the World". Basically you had to touch your toes with your hands, then lift your leg over the saddle and sit sideways, and then lift your leg over again and sit facing the horse's backside! and then round again and do it all again the opposite way. THEN you had to do it bareback! Novices did it whilst someone else held the horse's head; everyone else was expected to do it on the lunge rein. If they really wanted to challenge you then you'd have to do it in trot and canter as well!! Gosh........ H&S would have a seizure if they saw that now!!!

Anybody else remember doing "Round the World"???

They still do round the world now, my niece does it at the end of every lesson. She hasn't progressed to half scissors yet - sit sideways put front hand behind your back onto cantle and back hand around your front to the pommel, twist so you're facing the saddle and throw your back leg back over the saddle so you're sitting normally again.

Full scissors was swinging your legs back and up, crossing them mid air and twisting so you're then sitting backwards. I never managed this!

 

[TruthorDare]

The good old days
Hacking down an A road to get to a show, riding in the river, my pony so small it had to swim, trainers and shorts that day, jump wings made out of oil cans and shopping trolleys, riding on a buildind site and jumping everything you could, actually jumping a park bench with a lad lying on it cos he bet me I wouldn't, riding the ponies out to the field in a halter, one if you couldnt vault on quick enough would take off in canter with you lying over his back and do an emergency stop at the gate, being out from dawn till dusk, if you ran out of food pony nuts kept you going, getting on any horse without a second thought, and two ponies arriving from market in the back of a black cab, head to tail with their heads out of the widows, no idea if they were backed just got straight on them and rode round the yard. Thinking back I over the 10 yrs I had a pony in my youth I can not remember seeing a lame horse, apart from an occasonal abscess

 

[Noodles_3]

This thread has made me so nostalgic it's great remembering the memories as a child! It's also sad as I ways remember how fearless I was, I was always chucked on the naughty ponies whether I wanted to be or not but always had a ball, even if I fell off! I used to be made to go over high jumps, even if I'd not jumped that height before and just basically cling on! We would do all the exercises people have mentioned like Round the World and Scissors. Riding backwards etc! It was such fun back then. It also makes me sad to know I will never be that brave again as I struggle with nerves now and my position and 'technique' is VERY rusty!

 

[Deltaflyer]

If you are in Bucks I'll load up and drive over LOL

Oops, forgot to quote - this is aimed at dazednconfused.... **looks embarrassed**

 

[charlie_george]

Funny thing is, I remember doing all the riding bareback, round the worlds, scissor chops jumping no stirrups or reins, but my daughters just started pony club last year and they still do all this! Is just not so funny being a parent watching from the side! Any kids who fall off there are chucked straight back on with all the usual encouragement, don't think they've heard of health and safety yet, but if she learns to ride like the bigger and even smaller ones there, I'm not complaining!

 

[Clannad48]

Leading a string of horses/ponies down a main road, fresh from the sales, using an extended baler twine halter on each of them, linked together. Wearing plimsolls and without a hat or gloves.

 

[Dazed'n'confused]

If you are in Bucks I'll load up and drive over LOL

Oops, forgot to quote - this is aimed at dazednconfused.... **looks embarrassed**

Lol, you got too giddy didn't you!!
Boooooo, I'm in Yorkshire!! We could have had so much fun (carnage)!!

 

[Peregrine Falcon]

Jumping bareback with cups of water in hand at riding school.

Cantering on any available grass verge, normally bareback in headcollar and leadrope. Riding in shorts and flipflops.