The Good Old Days.......But Would You Go Back

[Depp_by_Chocolate]

Reading the nostalgic thread brought back loads of good memories for me but things have changed so much over the years for horse ownership/riding has it changed for the better or if given the chance would you like to go back to the more simple way things were?

I know with the amount of traffic on the roads nowadays cantering on grass verges might not be an option and an up to date riding hat is probably a must for most. However, could we do without the mod cons of tack gagets for horses, a rug for every occasion, the numerous balancer/mixes on the market and just feed straights, stable boredom breakers, Supplements, physios, aromatherapists, EDTs, oster/bentley grooming kits and all the lotions and potions and every other convenience we now have our finger tips?

Or have times changed so much that we cannot do without the above in the modern world? And would we want to go back?

NB not saying any of the above is uncessesary, just wondering about peoples thoughts on the way we used to keep horses.

 

[Onyxia]

I think we all miss some things,but there is so much good for horse and rider/owner in the modern horse world I dont think I would want go back!

Modern hats are fab,wouldnt be without them for anything,but I do really miss attitudes from a few years back.
When I was learning,when you fell off you were told to check the horse-now everyone flaps around to cover their backs in case the ambulance chasers put a claim in for you

 

[rascal]

I think the horses bennifit from some of the changes, waterproof/breathable rugs for instance instead of the old heavy canvass ones that we not waterproof most of the time. Saddles tend to fit alot better now, and i love the synthetic ones!
Saying that i think horse owning was more fun 30yrs ago when we could safely canter along the grass verge, and if you asked someone in a car/lorry to stop they did, no ones got any patience anymore.
Sadly im just about old enough to be going to the feed shop and buying a bag of this, a bag of that,a bag of something else, it was a bit much just for one pony!

 

[Lolo]

I think I was very lucky, as was my sister, because Mum is very practical and just let us out on our own. Aged 11 and 9 we'd go off exploring with a basic idea of where we were going and a time to get home by- and then total freedom. We'd gallop round fields trying to vault on and off, swap ponies whilst cantering and stnad up in the saddles to reach the best blackberries. We fell off a lot, did lots of stupid things (including jumping a ditch with a branch over the top- you guessed it, I was knocked off backwards) but we learnt to leap to our fieet and leg it after the ponies because we would be in so much trouble if we lost them. Learnt a lot, and now we are both very good at falling off safely, getting back up quickly and have lots of good sense out and about.

 

[frazzled]

I do think some people don't know how to groom properly anymore. Why put in the elbow grease when a spray can do it for you.

 

[MotherOfChickens]

some things are great-especially modern fabrics, for horse and rider! for some reason, my mother was convinced that my lavenham jacket was windproof, waterproof and alot warmer than it actually was

what with that and the rubber boots I would spend the afternoon laying against the radiators to thaw out! and old fashioned NZs were horrid when wet.
attitudes to feed and weight, not so great-we expected our ponies (natives) to go into winter well covered and come out not so fat and that way we didnt need to be so paranoid about spring grass.

 

[rascal]

I used to sit backwards, bareback and canter my pony to the gate!!
Unfortunatly i was 18 when i bought my first pony and i missed all thethings Nosurrender so enjoyed. My mother would have had kittens and still keeps going on and on about horses are dangerous and i should sell them!

 

[Mabel98]

Although the new fabrics have made our lives much easier, horses used to manage fine with no neck covers/hoods, super thick rugs etc...... I think we probably over rug to make grooming easier!

I used to love taking a picnic on long rides with my friends, just used to disappear for the day and mum never worried.

 

[eggs]

This is one of the thoughts that keeps my brain exercised wheneverf I read the long threads on rugging, etc.

I agree with NoSurrend and Dutch-Viscount on the various things we got up to as kids with our ponies. One day my sister and I got lost whilst out on one of our mega hacks and to get home we ended up riding along the hard shoulder of the North Orbital which is now junctions 20 - 18 of the M25! Quite certain I would not try that now.

I agree that the new fabrics make rugs a lot more user friendly for the horse but I do question how much their lives have improved in other ways. A think a lot of the things that we purchase nowadays are more for our benefit than our horses. There is a reason whey companies have such large marketing budgets ...

An old vet once told me that the worst thing that happened to the horse world was the over proliferation of riding arenas resulting in so many horses spending their lives going round in circles.

Whilst as a kid I was not as technically competent as today's children I think I probably had a lot more fun with my pony and certainly learned to sit tight.

 

[Spot_the_Risk]

I didn't have a pony until I was 28, but I had riding holidays which would make H&S people have nervous breakdowns! Riding along the side of dual carriageways becuase you needed to cross, riding to the beach and stripping down to swimsuits, then swimming the horses, galloping as much as possible, and a grooming kit was a dandy brush and a hoof pick (actually mine hasn't extended much beyond this now)! Hi vis didn't exist, and most riding hats were velvet with a fixed peak and a bit of elastic under the chin!

Would I do any of those things again - probably not, would I turn the clock back to my youth and do them again - you bet!

 

[MotherOfChickens]

QR well, I dont have an arena, mine are kept out 24/7 and I dont like necks on rugs as all mine has a full mane. I do think the advent of arenas everywhere arent necessarily a good thing. I live in a village that has around 75 horses in the immediate area and we have fantastic hacking albeit with some road work, but I can count on one hand the people I see hacking regularly. cant actually work out what all the others do

 

[humblepie]

At the risk of sounding old and miserable, I think a lot of it is down to market forces generally regarding things like lotions and potions and money rather than time - a lot of the old for want of a better phrase nagsman's skills are being lost. So not saying go back, but you can get a horse looking as smart with basic kit, hard work and knowledge than you can with a bently or an oster brush and all the shiny lotions you can think of.

 

[Chico Mio]

I think I still live in the good old days - except for my hat and synthetic tack and FB's joint supplement

My horses have a rainsheet each - but don't often wear them, no other rugs and unclipped.
I feed basic straights.
I have a grooming kit that consists of Dandy brush, bodybrush, rubber, plastic and metal curry combs and a hoof pick. It gets a good work out daily.
The last time I bathed FB properly (with Fairy washing up liquid!) was probably last year, before his accident

We can hack for miles on the roads and never see a soul - often cantering along the verges - have no arena or even flat field to school in.
I don't call the vet for every minor bump, lump and scrape and subscribe to the clean, disinfect, keep clean and leave alone school of first aid.

 

[kendra2705]

All the horses that i loved and looked after when i worked at a riding school didnt seem to live as long as they do today , 17 was old so we must be doing something right in this day and age so for that reason i wouldnt go back . However i would go back for the fun we all had x

 

[Depp_by_Chocolate]

Interesting, especially about the schooling. I do remember when I was little arenas were only found at riding schools or posh yards. Basic livery yards didn't seem to have them but now most people only want to keep horses within access of an indoor/outdoor school. At my old yard some of the liveries there only saw the arena or show ground (these were kids ponies) few people went hacking and the hacking was good.

 

[Sugarplum Furry]

I do miss the good old days, like NoSurrender, out all day on pony, sandwiches in greaseproof paper stuffed in pocket, riding for miles, exploring, home after dark. Pony unrugged all year round, fed oats in winter, never a days illness.

I do like, also, the hats these days, and the nice rugs, and the comfy jods etc, but honestly I could throw out most of the stuff I've accumulated over the last 10 years and I'd never miss it.

Would I go back? Hmmmm....yes, I think I would. In a way I think I have. I've gone down the natural horsemanship route, not Parelli or even any particular method, just a lot more going with my instincts, going bitless, which is just the same as riding pony in a headcollar as a child, spending a lot of time just hanging out with my horses in the field, watching them and bonding with them...and playing with them, you discover so much about their character doing that. I feel I almost have too much knowledge, in a way. I wish I'd never read so much about horse nutrition, it gives me a headache, ditto supplements, bits, saddles and shoeing (although mine are barefoot now). I love the horse psychology I've learned, but strangely, having gone on courses and read a lot about it, and practised it with my own and other horses, I get a nagging feeling that I did actually know it all along from an early age.....it's just that cleverer people than me have marketed it.

So. I'm having a second childhood with my horses and loving it !!

 

[Chunkie]

I didn't read the original thread, but yes, I would give back everything I have now to go back 30 years and once again be able to hack my pony up the A5!

Ok, so the NZ and jute rugs were heavy and horrid and we had to do rollers/surcingles up tight to keep them on, but we didn't know any different then, did we - and we managed!

I think difficult horses were labelled as such far more easily then than they are now - a bucker/rearer/bolter/refuser was automatically a b@5t@rd to some people, who wouldn't have thought of having it's back/saddle fit/teeth checked as we would nowadays.

My first three horses never saw a saddler or a dentist, and as for 'flu/tetanus jabs - what jabs?! I don't think I knew anyone who actually had their horse insured either.

I never liked string girths, but we had leather or lampwick so that wasn't too bad, and like others, I used to go out all day (from 9 in the morning to 9 at night in the summer), and often hacked home in the dark at the end of a days hunting.

I never had an arena to ride in and don't now either, but at least I go somewhere for lessons, which, when I was a kid, was only for rich people! I had my first pony at 12 and was 31 when I had my first lesson. I like to do a bit of dressage now, but back in the day, dressage was only for people who were too scared to jump!

Attitudes have changed a lot, and the choice of tack, rider wear, food and other equipment is seemingly limitless, but yes, I would definitely go back.

 

[skewby]

QR

I like the modern kit you can get now. What I don't like is numpties being able to own horses and the disasters and often suffering that ensues. It's good it's more accessible to all, but I think things were perhaps better for horses when only people who understood horses, had horses. If that makes sense!

 

[flowerlady]

[ QUOTE ]
I didn't read the original thread, but yes, I would give back everything I have now to go back 30 years and once again be able to hack my pony up the A5!

Ok, so the NZ and jute rugs were heavy and horrid and we had to do rollers/surcingles up tight to keep them on, but we didn't know any different then, did we - and we managed!

I think difficult horses were labelled as such far more easily then than they are now - a bucker/rearer/bolter/refuser was automatically a b@5t@rd to some people, who wouldn't have thought of having it's back/saddle fit/teeth checked as we would nowadays.

My first three horses never saw a saddler or a dentist, and as for 'flu/tetanus jabs - what jabs?! I don't think I knew anyone who actually had their horse insured either.

I never liked string girths, but we had leather or lampwick so that wasn't too bad, and like others, I used to go out all day (from 9 in the morning to 9 at night in the summer), and often hacked home in the dark at the end of a days hunting.

I never had an arena to ride in and don't now either, but at least I go somewhere for lessons, which, when I was a kid, was only for rich people! I had my first pony at 12 and was 31 when I had my first lesson. I like to do a bit of dressage now, but back in the day, dressage was only for people who were too scared to jump!

Attitudes have changed a lot, and the choice of tack, rider wear, food and other equipment is seemingly limitless, but yes, I would definitely go back.

[/ QUOTE ]

PMSL I remember those string girths. I worked at the local riding school at weekends because that was the only time they rode no arena's just fields to learn in and woods ride round. When I got my own and rode to the local shows you hardly ever saw a trailer as people couldn't afford them they just rode to the shows and you had to ride against the traffic. Ponies and horses were never so highly strung to say they were fed on straights. Not many suffered from laminitis like they do today. You didn't have to wear a hat (although I do agree we should now). But it was lovely to gallop through the fields and have the wind blowing through your hair instead of sweating under your hat. People didn't seem to lie about their horse to sell it if they said it was quiet it would be quiet if they said it was excellent in traffic you could beleive them. Not now. Would I go back in a blink to most of the things but our horses now live longer than they used to.

 

[Cop-Pop]

I wouldn't really want to go back tbh. I love having a rug for every occasion

and as for the rest - I'll only buy a lotion/potion if one of my horses needs it and I would like to thank whoever invented balancers, they've been a godsend for the pony. My horse doesn't hack so no worries there

but even when I was younger we were boxed to a private estate where we hacked on their land with no roads anyway.

 

[Brummyrat]

My friend and i were only talking about this last week, I wouldnt go back either although it was basic and sometimes easier, jute rug for night time, one of mums old blankets if it was cold, two if it was really cold! Everyone had lovely deep straw beds and we all fed hay, dry, in huge nets but the hay was always nice and there were no coughs, my old pony used to have one clip each winter and that would do... Im about to do mine for the 5th time!!! We didnt have saddlers, dentists etc either, OMG i feel awful now :-(