Pony Club OCD

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Following on from last nights thread on days gone by that became a tad serious a more light hearted look back. Does anyone have some OCD habits that were drummed into them at pony club and that although you are an adult stay with you?

Mine are;

Can't stand to see an untidy muck heap it has to be stepped and neat or it drives me mad. The only muck on the yard should be fresh out of horse or on heap

Beds must be neat and banked

I don't ride in heavy make up - lord knows why I'm sure it's now legal

I only wear stud earrings

Hair tied back and neat

Boots polished

Tack cleaned after every ride and numnah washed

Manage raked after each session.

My much younger groom thinks I'm a nut job:eek:

I must rebel at some stage some good habits but a lot of OCD too:D
 
Clean boots! I had a very old-school instructor when I was a kid and I got yelled at for turning up with slightly grubby boots one day. I still remember sobbing at the hosepipe as I was sscrubbing them clean before she would let me ride.
Never ridden in dirty boots to this day. Makes my skin crawl if I can head mud scratching on saddles from boots /leathers :o

I'm similarly obsessed with my horse's boots being clean, hate seeing grubby brushing boots being put back on :eek:
 
Oh god... My sister and I are awful for these!

No heavy make up.
No earrings.
Hairnet!
Plain, smart clothes for lessons.
If you wear a uniform, wear it well (tie/ stock done properly for example)
Shiny boots
Immaculate tack
No bling/ matchy matchy
Tweed until you're at BE Novice (or equivalent)
Beds neatly done with smart front and sides

We stable manage at camp with 2 others who are equally PC retentive and drive the oh-so-cool 13yo kids wild with our marking...
 
Can't stand to see an untidy muck heap it has to be stepped and neat or it drives me mad. The only muck on the yard should be fresh out of horse or on heap -I do this when I visit my mums yard

Beds must be neat and banked-and level at the top

I don't ride in heavy make up -same
I only wear stud earrings -I don't wear any jewellery

Hair tied back and neat-hair net

Boots polished

Tack cleaned after every ride and numnah washed

Manage raked after each session.

I'm glad I'm not the only one :D[/QUOTE]
 
Didn't PC as a child, but was taught to tack clean by an elderly Irish gentleman who ran a RS with military precision. I think it no co-incidence that my daughter regularly wins tack & turnout prizes even at camp where it can be proved to be all her own work. My 3 areas of exceptional pickiness are the seam where the leather of the boot meets the sole, and inside the underside of the stirrup rubbers, so it's not just a cursory wipe of the underside, and Brasso'd D rings.
 
Oh yessss...........and I can STILL do a straw plait (for use on a standing stall only, of course). God bless the PC and all who sail in her; best years of me life, mutter, mutter....
 
Dubsie said:
Didn't PC as a child, but was taught to tack clean by an elderly Irish gentleman who ran a RS with military precision. I think it no co-incidence that my daughter regularly wins tack & turnout prizes even at camp where it can be proved to be all her own work. My 3 areas of exceptional pickiness are the seam where the leather of the boot meets the sole, and inside the underside of the stirrup rubbers, so it's not just a cursory wipe of the underside, and Brasso'd D rings.
Click to expand...

I also rinse stirrup rubbers as sand and grit annoys me but didn't have the guts to say this on a public forum ... before you posted Dubsie :D
 
A couple that I remember and still use are

When you drop the prongs of a muck fork on to a straw bed the metal shouldnt hit the concrete

Making sure saddle soap/conditioner is poked out of bridle holes with a (metal) nail

Ones I remember from my showing days are:

trim the hair around the top of the hoof for a nice clean finish

strapping
 
WelshD said:
A couple that I remember and still use are

When you drop the prongs of a muck fork on to a straw bed the metal shouldnt hit the concrete
Yes!
Making sure saddle soap/conditioner is poked out of bridle holes with a (metal) nail
Yes

Ones I remember from my showing days are:

trim the hair around the top of the hoof for a nice clean finish

strapping
Click to expand...

they checked underside of boots and lifted feet to check picked out as well.

I don't polish every day riding boots but I always rinse and wash them before riding. New rider for our pony needs to be told to do this every week. Why would anyone get on with muddy boots ick.
 
Never went to pony club, but beds have to be neat with banks leveled at the front and along the top line, and then bed 'beaten' down with the snow shovel to level it.

Straps through the keepers. When tack cleaning, I have to get rid of the dirt out of every hole with a tooth pick or similar.
 
Another one! curb chains not twisted and should be properly fitted with a lip strap

Thats on the rare occassions you had anything other than a snaffle on your pony
 
FfionWinnie said:
Oh and all straps MUST be in the keepers, cannot stand them not to be and twisted reins :eek:

Matchy Matchy and bling is fine tho :o:D
Click to expand...

Straps in keeper yes that one too and the patting down bed with a shovel ...:D

I'm becoming more comfortable with matchy matchy and bling as it truly wasn't available until the past decade or so. Closest I've come so far is a purple grooming brush and pink saddle rack for my mare:D Ohh and she has a spotty pink and brown rug.
 
I never went to pony club due to mean mummy not letting me have a pony but I have OCD which I think I've just drummed into myself!

- Girth and numnah always taken off completely after every ride and placed on top of saddle
- All holes 'poked' through with something after cleaning and twisted up correctly (criss cross the throatlash across the front)
- All straps in keepers
- Lead rope all wound up when finished with
- Perfect neat bed with banks
- Wash and dry bit after riding

I could go on....
 
lottiepony said:
I never went to pony club due to mean mummy not letting me have a pony but I have OCD which I think I've just drummed into myself!

- Girth and numnah always taken off completely after every ride and placed on top of saddle
- All holes 'poked' through with something after cleaning and twisted up correctly (criss cross the throatlash across the front)
- All straps in keepers
- Lead rope all wound up when finished with
- Perfect neat bed with banks
- Wash and dry bit after riding

I could go on....
Click to expand...

No restriction to just pc types here as we all have had a first instructor who drummed the habits into us all:eek:

I take off the girth too, as I'm cleaning it and I also wash and dry the bit as I wouldn't want a skanky bit put in my mouth either.

I did have a colour coded sponge system for various parts of horses but groom has put paid to that too ... thinks it's her mission to chill me out of my habits. When I asked her to hose out the wheelbarrow each time and stand it up to dry (I do this when I muck out and it's no problem as it stops the barn ponging of wee) she was quite upset and the new system lasted 2 days ... Think I need an ocd groom to keep me company.
 
Oh and one more thing - weeds, have to pull them up and find a hoof pick is good at getting any grass that grows in the cracks of the concrete :D
 
Shivvy - you bring back wonderful memories

Muck heap squared :)

Beds must be neat and banked, bang the pitchfork on the top to compact & level and then the prong test :)

Hair in a hairnet - kids I teach at pony club look at me like I'm nuts - I CANNOT bear seeing hair flying around, net or at least plait it. :)

Boots polished :)

Jodphur boots on kids on ponies - :eek:
why do they have to have long boots - they learn to ride much better in jodphur boots

Tack cleaned after every ride and numnah washed - I never use a numnah so at least I don't have that to do but tack is cleaned after every ride :)

Saddle soap in holes pushed through with a nail or matchstick :)

Hooves oiled before leaving the yard :)

Take pride in your appearence - it shows respect to your horse :D

When you muck out put the muck in the barrow so it doesn't leave a trail all the way to the muck heap. This drives me insane - can't people see that they make themselves even more work to do when they then have to sweep a heavily messed up yard. :eek:

Straps in keepers and runners :)

Bling in any form has me cringing :eek:

Spurs must align with the seam on the boot - most people wear them far too low.

Spurs on children on jodphur boots :eek:

Clean bridles 'dressed' throat latch crossed over the front and collecting the reins at the back - a whole row of bridles like this has me glowing :D

Girth off saddle completly and hung up :)

Stirrups run up the outside of the leathers so if dirty they don't mess up the leather. Then run them up correctly after cleaning. :)

Folding rugs in half before putting on horse :)

Tackroom dusted and cleaned and swept daily. :D

I find that many of the things I was taught at Pony Club and by my ex cavelry officer riding instructor actually save me time and money. :D
 
Tnavas said:
Shivvy - you bring back wonderful memories

Muck heap squared :)

Beds must be neat and banked, bang the pitchfork on the top to compact & level and then the prong test :)

Hair in a hairnet - kids I teach at pony club look at me like I'm nuts - I CANNOT bear seeing hair flying around, net or at least plait it. :)

Boots polished :)

Jodphur boots on kids on ponies - :eek:
why do they have to have long boots - they learn to ride much better in jodphur boots

Tack cleaned after every ride and numnah washed - I never use a numnah so at least I don't have that to do but tack is cleaned after every ride :)

Saddle soap in holes pushed through with a nail or matchstick :)

Hooves oiled before leaving the yard :)

Take pride in your appearence - it shows respect to your horse :D

When you muck out put the muck in the barrow so it doesn't leave a trail all the way to the muck heap. This drives me insane - can't people see that they make themselves even more work to do when they then have to sweep a heavily messed up yard. :eek:

Straps in keepers and runners :)

Bling in any form has me cringing :eek:

Spurs must align with the seam on the boot - most people wear them far too low.

Spurs on children on jodphur boots :eek:

Clean bridles 'dressed' throat latch crossed over the front and collecting the reins at the back - a whole row of bridles like this has me glowing :D

Girth off saddle completly and hung up :)

Stirrups run up the outside of the leathers so if dirty they don't mess up the leather. Then run them up correctly after cleaning. :)

Folding rugs in half before putting on horse :)

Tackroom dusted and cleaned and swept daily. :D

I find that many of the things I was taught at Pony Club and by my ex cavelry officer riding instructor actually save me time and money. :D
Click to expand...

Tnavas super post we bow down to your greatness, given me some ideas for where standards could be even higher :D
 
Oh, nothing irks me more than those awful rubber riding boots! They cost the same as cheap jodhpur boots (and then chaps added for XC/ hacking for littlies and gaiters or proper long boots for teens) but look horrendous. Agh!
 
I didnt go to pony club but my first instructor/YO/boss was very particular and the main one for me is straw on the yard. We used to have covers for the wheelbarrows so no straw escaped on route to the muck heap. On my current yard there is straw everywhere and whenever a gust of wind blows my heart still stops in anticipation of getting into trouble!
 
Hot2Trot - you've just brought back a memory of one yard I worked on

Clean straw in the bed - dirty in the wheel barrow - owner of yard would inspect our wheel barrows and if she saw too much clean straw she'd tip our barrow over and tell us to muck it out again!

No more than one dropping allowed in the bed at any one time - meant you hadn't checked the horse for some time

When the bell rang - you put down whatever you were doing, picked up a broom and everyone swept the yard.

No covers for wheel barrows but we were taught how to fill the barrow so that it didn't shed its load on the way to the muckheap

Wheelbarrows washed and stood up and tools put away - properly - hung up on their pegs

Oh! and the final one - always arriving to work early so you could get the best fork and broom. If you were late you'd get the worn down - left handers fork and the broom with only a few bristles left. :D
 
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