Things we used to do when we were younger...but would have the guts for it now

Toffee44

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I MEANT Things we used to do when we were younger...but wouldN'T have the guts for it now




I used to climb up the hay rounds in the barn jump off the top of them into a pile of straw.

I remember going out into a cropped field bareback, only a head collar and having a gallop race accross the middle.

"falling" off youngsters to see how they reacted.
 
Yep the barn jumping thing too...

Still do the headcollar thing....lol :p

OMG I did the falling off too pmsl!!!

And jumping facing backwards. Races facing backwards. And trying sidesaddle in a normal saddle.

Chase me Charlies.

Jumping out of my mates bedroom window onto the trampoline and over the hedge into the next feild!
 
Yep the barn jumping thing too...

Still do the headcollar thing....lol :p

OMG I did the falling off too pmsl!!!

And jumping facing backwards. Races facing backwards. And trying sidesaddle in a normal saddle.

Chase me Charlies.

Jumping out of my mates bedroom window onto the trampoline and over the hedge into the next feild!

OMG, the jumping out of the window sounds like so much fun but I really don't think I'd have the guts now!!

We also did all the usual... bareback and headcollars then head into the woods and find random logs to jump. Riding with legs over the front of the knee rolls (not very effective).

We used to love catching the horses from the field if they were lying down as we'd get on them and then they'd get up with us on - though I'd still do this one probably :)
 
Chase me charlies - and remember doing one bareback

Long grids with big fences with no stirrups or reins - the things they made you do at college!

And I would ride anyone's horse, no matter what it was like!
 
Same to the lying down one and legs forwards haha!!!

And making our 'own' XC course on the tracks out hacking! Much to the annoyance of evryone else probably thinking about it haha!

Yeah the trampoline one no WAY would I do it now lol!!!
 
And making ridiculous lines of bounce jumps! Our record was a line of 12 pmsl.

Poor ponies!!! Ended y
up very brombproof and very fit though!!!!
 
Haha lots of things, only ones I can remember off the top of my head are:

Races whilst facing backwards on the horse, riding out "side saddle".
Cantering on grass verges next to roads in only a head collar.

Me and my friend used to jump all the big round bales in the fields on our little 14hh ponies, and see who could jump them all the quickest!

Used to go up to the field, chase the ponies a bit and then try to vault on them.

Lots of bounces with no reins and stirrups.

My instructor also once blindfolded me to go over a jump (nearly 4ft!) as I was folding forward before he did and getting in his way. So blindfolded me to get a feel for his jump...can't believe I actually did it....though I did tell the instructor to NEVER do that to me again :)
 
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Going for 4-5 hour hacks to the beach in the summer, bareback with no hat on! It was quite a distance and we had to ride through a small town, through the traffic lights etc.
It was a long time ago and there wasn't so much traffic around. It never occured to us to take anything to drink and funnily enough we didn't die of dehydration!

Halcyon days, before the health and safety police descended!
 
Racing up the field bareback. Jumping stone walls bareback. Hunting - with a saddle.

Sadly, far too scaredy to do them now. Don't miss the bareback bits but would love to have the nerve to hunt again.
 
I used to get on my pony in the field without a headcollar or hat and urge him to have a trot or canter around the field.... we used to lay on the ground to and get the ponies to jump over us aswell as riding and jumping backward... and jumping silly heights bareback and with no reins we also used to play in the hay barn playing hide and seek getting into all the nooks and cranies...could easily of fallen on us and we,d got trapped ! i think childhood days with ponies are the best, we had so much fun and adventure !
 
I on lots of occassions jumped what was about 4ft barbed wire fence out hunting on my 14hh connie normally after galloping across the corn fields with my arms out as if I was flying!! haha!!

Would poo my pants even jumping that hight now!!
 
Going for 4-5 hour hacks to the beach in the summer, bareback with no hat on! It was quite a distance and we had to ride through a small town, through the traffic lights etc.
It was a long time ago and there wasn't so much traffic around. It never occured to us to take anything to drink and funnily enough we didn't die of dehydration!

Halcyon days, before the health and safety police descended!

hahaha i'd prob stil do that now!!!
 
We used to jump lots of fences and walls which definetly weren't meant to be jumped in a local country park and in municipal parks. I thought the flower bed at the side of the wall made it look like a Burghley fence :eek:
Settling off to a show 6 miles away by myself with only a vague idea where I was going, but sure I'd find it or someone who could show me.
Going through a MacDonalds drive through, my tb was spinning in circles the pony put his head through the window.
Never normally thought of taking drinks even when we were out for 5+ hours....
 
Wow! some memories coming back now, haybarn fun, crawling through bales, jumping off etc. riding shetland up and down from village with no tack or hat, jumping round bales, jumping friends lying down (yes this happened a lot) chase me charlies, with no saddle sometimes no bridle!! very often being told to drop the reins when jumping, also did the side saddle thing, riding backwards, standing on ponies backs, getting on really naughty ponies etc all your usual RS stuff from 25 years ago!!!
Riding horse to school when off "sick" to see my mates at lunch, and cantering around the playing feild, only to be chased by irate teachers!!
This is a fun thread!!
:)
 
How about cowboys and indians bareback - always a favourite - as was trying to somersault off the pony and land on my feet (never managed it!)

Also thought it was a good idea to back my three year old in just a headcollar by climbing off a gate - luckily she was (and still is!) very sweet and just stood there looking at me as though I was mad :-)

Also used to ride the 3yo olds in from the field in a headcollar, fully rugged up, and jump from field to field as I was too lazy to open the gates.

Was very very lucky as parents not horsey and used to work for rides at local stables - always a fairly rare selection of wild and wonderfuls, but the most amazing opportunity to ride just about anything.... sadly no where near as brave any more and prefer to only ride my own! They may not always be totally safe, but at least I know them!!

Those were the days!! Also used to have a ride over the M-way bridges, and used to sit on the top of them waving - now I shake with fear in case the horses get scared by the traffic! Probably creating more of a problem now, I reckon.

Shame they can't bottle the bravery/ stupidity you had has a child :-)
 
I always used to do the headcollar & bareback thing until about 5 years ago when I got too close to the fence, horse spooked sideways and I fell off landing on a fence post. The bruise on my leg was pretty horrendous and I was winded for what seemed like ages. Never done it since... in fact I dont think Ive even ridden bareback at all since but then again I only have a high-withered TB x nowadays who's not exactly comfy bareback!
 
Ahh great post!

Jumping friends (!??)
Jumping XC jumps in the middle of a field of horses, no hat, head collar and lead rope, bareback.
Midnight steeplechases
Being led on a particular naughty pony into the middle of a field, let go and timing how long you could stay on for - HOW AWFUL!
Riding to the village shop, tying pony up outside then charging local children for rides!
Riding backwards, sideways, think i even attempted on my head
Vaulting
Two of you jumping on one pony

Such happy happy memories! I'm suprised I survived!
 
Used to sneak someone's garden really early in the morning with a pair of skissors and snip snip snip


:o:o

in the days when you needed a proper rose bud button hole that is, well it's not my fault my mum didn't have a rose garden! :D

How often do you see people with a real rose button hole these days?...never.
 
Just remembered. We used to spend all the time when we weren't riding trying to dump people in the muck heap or water trough, woundn't find that funny now....
 
When I was younger my mum made me keep horses near home so I could ride my bike. To hack we had to do 1 hour of road work...I mean – hacking UP a bypass, through an industrial estate, over an A road roundabout and down a slip road...how I am not dead I will never know.

Also used to pretend I was a jockey (on 14.2 rejected show pony) and ride out with my stirrups up and basically gallop everywhere – he loved it.

I got paid £2 to eat horse poo once....
 
Ahh great post!


Being led on a particular naughty pony into the middle of a field, let go and timing how long you could stay on for - HOW AWFUL!


LOL. Oh my days. This brings back some memories.

Mostly on tiny little welsh A's of all things. Remember one day landing in a thistle patch and had thistles coming out my hands for weeks! lmao
 
We used to harness a 12.2 borrowed pony up to our sledge & go for a blast round the snow covered ridge & furrow field. One aboard the pony & another on the sledge. I don't even hack in the snow now!

Jump the most enormous ditches & drains with nobody around & before the time of mobile phones. We never had a mishap, but I'm reluctant to even hop over a small one out hunting now.

The stupidist thing I ever did was made my own bitless bridle for a forward going pony out of a pair of reins attached to a drop noseband. All went well until we were homeward bound when pony bolted back to the village. I don't remember being too concerned at the time.

These things happen when you have non-horsey parents - wouldn't dream of letting my little boy do any of them!
 
Playing Knights & Ladies, where one rider pulls the other (supposedly a swooning damsel in distress) from the damsel's horse onto their own.

Riding down a 1 in 3 escarpment for a 10 shilling bet

Circuses - but we didn't have an arena, so we learnt to canter, standing on our ponies' backs, in a straight line. Usually the ponies took off, and we fell off.

Vaulting onto our ponies over their rumps

Never wearing a hat except for Pony Club and hunting

Cantering the horses in from the field, riding one bareback and leading three others

Racing each other through the woods on bendy tracks

Jumping someone's ha-ha (garden into field direction) during a hunt (we did have the owner's permission, and she gave us a lead)

It makes my knees knock to think about it now, but it WAS such fun.
NB Has anyone seen the wonderful group of horsemen/women called The Devil's Children, who perform at Gatcombe? Well, that was what my friends and I would have aspired to, except The Devil's Chiildren weren't even born then.
 
Forgot to mention jumping park benches on the village green. :)

It's a good job we didn't have Youtube in those days or it would all be on there & a good job no HHO either or we'd all be getting told off by head scarf wearing horsewomen!
 
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