Signs you were a horsey kid in the 1960's/1970's

This thread is bringing back so many memories. I remember all the horses at the riding school I went to having coloured nylon string girths with a matching velvet browband. The horses were kept in stalls on a block.

I’ve recently bought second hand Pullein Thompson books including the hunting trilogy which made hunting sound so exciting. It took me another 30 years to actually go hunting and it was as thrilling as I’d imagined.
 
OOPS! you have just beaten me to it!Plaited string reins have been mentioned but I haven't noticed the string girths, all colours available! Saddle cloths that were just that, a one thickness of cotton cloth with tape around the edge. Prior to the velvet browband was the same thing with plastic covering it. I first rode in a bowler hat and jods with big wings. We used to take the RS ponies back up to their fields in a huge gang, bareback and leading at least two others. My first pony cost £45.00 and livery was 10/- a week. Loved every minute of it.
 
All of the above 😅

Did anyone else have a red plastic riding mac? It was the height of sophistication on a rainy day circa 1974 paired with baggy jods yellow knitted polo & gloves & velvet hat with the elastic cut off 🙈 Dry weather a skirted hacking jacket was the order of the day 🙃

Also anyone else learn to ride on the lead rein in an old fashioned hunting seat position 😆
 
I was thrilled with my blue nylon string girth and matching reins for my pony. The first nylon stable rugs, Lavenham and polywarm after jute ones.Yellow gloves, a half panel, flat as a pancake saddle and building jump courses from oil drums stands, and fillers, after dragging fir branches to make them look proper. No one knew where we were all day, we had no mobiles, and hacked for the whole day. Ponies were thatched before being turned out. We rode in all weathers, no matter what.
 
Sam_J said:
Don't know if this tips us over into the 80s but does anyone else remember those awful plastic chin cups that were the norm on hats for a while? And those hats (Jofa?) that had massive side pieces over the ears...

I loved the Pullein-Thompson books - still have a few of them.
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Yep I had one! Then progressed to the most stylish white skull cap ! (They only came in white originally) Pmsl
 
J&S said:
OOPS! you have just beaten me to it!Plaited string reins have been mentioned but I haven't noticed the string girths, all colours available! Saddle cloths that were just that, a one thickness of cotton cloth with tape around the edge. Prior to the velvet browband was the same thing with plastic covering it. I first rode in a bowler hat and jods with big wings. We used to take the RS ponies back up to their fields in a huge gang, bareback and leading at least two others. My first pony cost £45.00 and livery was 10/- a week. Loved every minute of it.
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I still bemoan the fact that you can't get a numnah with a towelling underside any more! I thought they were much better at wicking away sweat from the horse and washed much more easily than anything I can get now!
 
The smell of boiling barley. The mess linseed makes when it boils over. Covering the hot bran mash with a hessian sack to steam for half an hour. Saving for a year to buy my first witney blanket. When Lavenham rugs came out they were the height of luxury because they didn't need a blanket folded underneath and a roller to hold them on.

My first jodphur boots were the colour of conkers and had buckled straps rather than elastic panels. Mum bought them for me second hand out of the Exchange & Mart and I was so proud of them.

There was no 'health and safety'. We'd set off to the yard first thing in the morning, on our bikes, saddles over the handlebars and bridles over our shoulders. A few brushes and carrots in a bag on the rack over the back wheel. So long as we were home before dark no one at home worried. We'd have been 10 or 11 at most! We were so very, very fortunate.
 
The petrol crisis, journeys made by pony or pony and trap instead of car.
The show at White City, my first trip to a large show.
Riding without stirrups at Pony club rallies, which we hacked for miles to get to.
Our first pony bought by mother at Wrexham sales travelled on a goods train and then was hacked to stables over 7 miles away along the main roads, it never occurred to us she might not like traffic!
 
Baroque said:
We'd set off to the yard first thing in the morning, on our bikes, saddles over the handlebars and bridles over our shoulders. A few brushes and carrots in a bag on the rack over the back wheel. So long as we were home before dark no one at home worried. We'd have been 10 or 11 at most! We were so very, very fortunate.
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Ahhhh....happy days :)
 
I remember so many of the things listed above.
Here are a few of my memories.
Saving up to buy my pony by walking instead of catching the bus. I saved 2 1/2d a time.
Everyone being escorted down the main road by a police car when the ride I was on got caught in a snow storm.
Yellow polo neck that Mum hand knitted.
Building jumps in the garden and pretending to be at the Horse of the Year Show. My friend yelling “Wrong canter lead” as I skipped across the grass.
£1 old money for a set of shoes.
6/3d for an hours riding lesson.
£23 for my new saddle.
I have my first pony’s noseband and reins in the back of a cupboard.
Age... 69.916
 
Hacking 10 miles to farrier and paying 25 shillings for a full set (beat that😅😅)

Those were expensive shoes ours were 5 shillings a shilling per shoe plus one for fitting. Everyone came to my house for shoeing as we had a garage with a high roof so they didnt get wet, I made loaves of toast and gallons tea for everyone. Fill up the car for less than 50p or ten bob as it was then. riding lessons for 5 shillings an hour always rode in trousers and wellies as had no posh kit. Farrier made the shoes for the horse from a bar of iron in a coke furnace with a bellows. Horses died from tetanus, worked very hard for lots of hours you didnt see fat horses often skinny ones yes fat ones never. We fed oats and bran to my first horse every day soaked and boiled linseed and barley in a huge pan on the aga, treats were the bread from the local baker from the slicing machine. horses lived out in a bit of a field rarely had stables. The local dealer brought lorry loads of scrubby ponies and we broke them in and played games and cowboys on them. Everyone regardless of weght and size had a wee shotty on the shetlands and got piled into the ground for the fun of it. Shetlands were evil little shites that would bite you as you walked across the field and you could buy a pretty colour one for a fiver or less. If you paid a fiver you got a colt thrown in for free whether you wanted it or not
Great times but a bit un PC and certainly no H&S
 
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