Thread to reminisce about pre health and safety/designer riding wear days

longdog said:
I worked at a local riding school in the early 70's. We used to get groups of students from foreign language schools for rides. The girls would turn up in skirts & sandals(!!!!) & the boys in shorts & plimsolls - not a hat between them & we would just haul them on board & off we went!!! My blood runs cold when I think back. Never mind the rounding up of the ponies in the morning with just a few headcollars & ropes - bareback - again no hats - sigh, the younger generation just don't know they're born.......
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And this for me too! And half of them didn't speak English so we were taught French for "keep left, shorten your reins" etc by a livery who was a French teacher. Spent hacks bellowing "a gauche" as they wandered across the road.
 
dreamcometrue said:
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Cork hat with elastic - check
Whip with metal end - check
Cagoul (makes you sweat and isn't waterproof) - check
Rubber boots (needs an assistant to remove them) - check
Beige jods - check (and I know what you're thinking ;)

circa 1972 :D

Or even better

Before the word safety was even invented

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Loved this one and your comments made me laugh more than I have done in weeks, thank you :)
 
patterdale said:
No it pre-dated Pony in my Pocket! It wasn't any brand, I'm going to look it up!

Ps I had allll the My Beautiful Horses, probably past the age when I should have....! ;)
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I still have all mine...and most of the G1 my little ponies...and all the pony/puppy/kitty in my pockets...and I'm 22...and I honestly don't care, haha!
 
Had to come back as am enjoying this thread so much and forgot to change the email notification bit so have done it now so I don't miss any of your fab stories or pics!
 
Great thread and having read through all of it, no-one has yet mentioned the check padded jackets that absolutely everybody wore to hack out in the early/mid 90's...... was that after we all wore those Michelin man Puffas? Some of the Puffas were reversible I think, with dogs on one side and dots on the other?
 
jojo5 said:
no-one has yet mentioned the check padded jackets that absolutely everybody wore to hack out in the early/mid 90's...... was that after we all wore those Michelin man Puffas?
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Both after my time (last time round :)). I rode in a crimplene Harry Hall show jacket (navy). Beautiful fit but a really crackly man-made feel to it. And my hacking out/cold weather coat was something I can't remember the name of... green-coloured, waterproof and a two way zip. Big in the 70s. Anyone remember what they were called? :confused:



Edited to say I remember now they were called Husky jackets! :D
 
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De-lurking for the first time.

Patterdale I think the magazine was called Pony. They had a cartoon pony mascot called Rascal which was sort of fell shaped with huge hooves. Might of had a yellow pullout section with an editorial and some kind of horsecare advice? Some quite heavy storylines with people getting paralysed, rapping their SJers etc

My bedroom was covered in Horse and Pony posters.

The main thing I remember from the early 90s was the complete non health and safety of the RS where I helped out. Lead 4 or 5 ponies along a busy road to/from field. All the work done by kids with instructors occasionally checking the tack before people got on. No suggestion of washing hands at any time. Leading in lessons? Hand on the noseband - no gloves, hat or leadrope.

I did have a BP though
 
armchair_rider said:
De-lurking for the first time.

Patterdale I think the magazine was called Pony. They had a cartoon pony mascot called Rascal which was sort of fell shaped with huge hooves. Might of had a yellow pullout section with an editorial and some kind of horsecare advice? Some quite heavy storylines with people getting paralysed, rapping their SJers etc

My bedroom was covered in Horse and Pony posters.

The main thing I remember from the early 90s was the complete non health and safety of the RS where I helped out. Lead 4 or 5 ponies along a busy road to/from field. All the work done by kids with instructors occasionally checking the tack before people got on. No suggestion of washing hands at any time. Leading in lessons? Hand on the noseband - no gloves, hat or leadrope.

I did have a BP though
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Welcome to the forum! My days at a RS were about 20 years before yours but didn't sound that different. The place was largely staffed by unpaid schoolkids. We got up at the crack of dawn and worked all day in return for very occasional free lessons.

Certainly no-one ever mentioned hand washing! :o There were no body protectors in my day though... not that I ever heard of. :D
 
Just cos I had one doesn't mean I wore it :D

Which reminds me of hacking out with the instructor slopping along, slouching in his saddle with one hand on his reins. A habit I copied for a bit before deciding that it really wasn't very sensible.

I think the main reason for the lack of handwashing was the utter vileness of the loo. In fact I think taht when I did wash my hands it was under the yard tap.

On the subject of helping out... Small kids with full size stable tools, trying to get the full barrow on to the muck heap. Oh well at least the ponies never wore rugs so we didn't have to haul those around
 
snopuma said:
When haynets were only made of string like rope and they were brown.

buckets were black and occasionally yellow and that was it

most bits were nickel but the new fangled ones were stainless steel!

you had posh tack if your noseband had fancy stitching on it

stylo long rubber boots that the lining came out with your foot still attached and you had to feed it back in the boot.

a cagual (sp?) this was as waterproof as it got for me.

Mmm string gloves they were so nice when it rained!

string vest coolers, woolen day rugs, and those lovely new zealand rugs.

saddle racks only came in red.

wheelbarrows were metal and heavy

thank god for progress!
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Nosebands? :eek: Luxury! Were your parents posh or something? ;)

When 'nice' jodhpurs cost 19s 6d - them were the days

Ok, I'm joking - I'll get me coat :D
 
I adore my old riding instructor and I learnt more from her than just being able to ride. If you cried in her lesson, you were out or at least in the 'baby' i.e. beginners lesson. She shouted, was harsh and no sympathy....unless it was deserved. You didnt mess with her but I respected her and went with every word she said as she would never ever put her horses or us in any danger which was not needed for the lesson. On many occassion you got bits of tack taken away and had to earn them back, be it reins, saddle,...both!

I remember once, we were doing spreed jumps,...I fell,...not horses fault of course, always the rider not asking correctly (another great lesson - if you get the answer no, your asking the wrong question or asking the question wrong!) I, not to her knowledge, but not one to cry or moan in her lesson, had broken my foot,....she made me get back on and do the jump until she was happy with my instruction to the horse and posture. Later on I couldnt get my foot out my boot as it was so swollen,...and still have no movement in my big toe,...but its a lesson I will not forget. Never, ever give up. Because once you got it, thats it :)

Best teacher in any lesson I have ever had.

Jane,.....you're one of a kind!!! Shame health and safety and all that bull had to ruin your teaching for you. Thats how I learnt not to hurt myself on my own horses,....by hurting myself minimally (most the time) in good hands and supervision.
 
Body protectors that were like a rigid piece of plastic with padding and you tucked it in your knickers/jodhs because it came down as far as your bum!

I didn't have one of those because I didn't do 'proper' riding, only ambling about. But my friend had one and I WASN'T jealous!!

My first BP was a 'Ransome' which was just a garment with thin padding back and front and with a 'nappy strap' that went under your crotch and attached with velcro at your belly button.

And my loan pony and I did Family Pony classes at the local show which involved me crawling under her tummy and in between her back legs. Vaulting on her from behind. Turning round in the saddle and slipping off her bum. Cantering round the ring with my hands on my head etc. The prerequisite for winning the class was that your pony was 'half-dead'. Any sign of life and it wasn't suitable!!

Before I loaned the above pony, her owner and I used to ride the mare 'double' as we only had one pony between 2 of us. We both weighed 7 stone each, so her little 13.2hh New Forest carried 14 stone of child round the farm bareback. My friend would hold the reins and I'd have a separate set of 'reins' attached to a stirrup leather round the pony's neck to keep my balance

We used to canter and jump things like that.... occasionally fell off which was a tangle of arms and legs!

Once, we were riding in the snow and the ponys' hind legs slipped under her and she sat down, I fell off backwards and in her haste to get up, she slipped again and sat on me - ouchie!

I thought I'd broken both my legs! My friend managed to oik me back on board (solo) and led me the 2 miles home. By the time we got back I'd stopped crying and my legs were OK, so we went off for another ride in the other direction!!

Gymkhanas drew the crowds and you won prize money or prizes, and then you hacked home carrying it all ! Ah, those were the days!!
 
There were no toilets available, let alone handwashing facilities. we used to "go" round the back of the stable. There was no proper running water at the yard I was at first - there was a shallow well though. If you were desperate for a "no.2" you could either do that round the back of the stables, or you could ask at the farmhouse (we usually did the former).

It was £1.50 a week grass keep and £2 if you wanted a stable as well.

We used to shorten up our stirrups as far as we could and pretend we were jockeys on our 12.2s, and taught ourselves to curl up in a ball and bail off as we cantered round the fields - something which has held me in good stead in later years!

It never rained, no - especially in 1976 when everything was yellow and parched till September when it suddenly rained massive rain drops and we had to go back to school.

I remember riding to a pub a few miles away when we were about 13 and my friend (who was a year older, but looked the same age as me) got served with 2 half pints of shandy which we bravely drank in the car park before riding about 5 miles home.
 
I used to help out at a riding school that used to make it's own chaff for the feeds using this really antiquated machine.

Someone would split apart a slice of hay and feed it into a chute which had little teeth at the end that would grip it up. It then came out the other end to another person turning a big wheel with 2 blades on it, which could only be described as scythes! We were about 13 years old operating this but sometimes they would get the younger kids to do it. Oh such fun. Imagine letting small children operate that kind of machinery nowadays! This wasn't even that long ago.

They would also roll their own barley in a similary old machine. Sometimes the wheels would get stuck. I remember the yard owner telling me to just put my hand in and push them round to start them again. Erm....no!
 
Its called a chaff cutter and I have one and use it. No need for a gym workout with weights after cutting chaff my dears.
 
Horsesforever1 said:
Its called a chaff cutter and I have one and use it. No need for a gym workout with weights after cutting chaff my dears.
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We used to hate it when they'd give us four old feed bags and tell us to fill them! We'd think we were done then the owner would come, flatten the chaff down so each bag was only half full then tell us to do more. Oh the stuff we would do for a free ride!
 
Definitely not Your Pony - it wasn't cartoons as such, it was like proper works of art and the horses were very realistic!

Annoying me SOOOO much now!

A lot in it was western etc so maybe it was an American one? I bought in in England though each time!
 
Smelly wax jackets (or maybe it was just mine that was smelly :o)
Skull caps with chin cups
Rubber Boots

Jute Rugs and Anti Cast rollers
Heavy green New Zealand rugs
Standing martingales
String/Webbing/nylon girths

Kocholine
Stockholme Tar
Loose Ring hollow mouth snaffles

Bran
Oats
Flaked Maize
Flaked Barley

Round the world
Backwards Roll off
Scissors
Half Scissors

Being made to run round arena when you fell off
Knees on saddle
Gymkana flag behind your elbows to make you keep your shoulders back
Jumping grids without reins or stirrups

My Horsey Pin Ups were
Milton
Downlands Cancara
Shantih from the Jinny Series
 
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Anyone remember the Charlie Canter club?! x I was a big fan and was soo pleased when my mum got me a stuffed Charlie canter toy! x

I also remember string girths and making jumps out of anything! x Used to cross over the main road at 6 years old to get 3 ponies in in the dark with no hi-viz or lights on the road! Sometimes had a torch if the batteries worked!! x

Might go bareback riding tonight and see what jumps i can create!! x
 
Wagtail said:
No, we differentiate between tobiano, overo, sabino, etc instead of just skewbald or piebald. We have realised that dun and buckskin are not the same thing and that the Americans therefore had it right. We now have all kinds of other colours such as buckskin tobiano, perlino, cremello, smokey black, frame overo, the list is endless.

Even the plain old bay is now light bay, bright bay, blood bay, dark bay, mahoghany bay, wild bay etc
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Can we have ebony bay? My girl is very nearly black in winter and ebony coloured in summer. If she were a pair of tights she'd be 'barely black'
What colour is blood bay?
 
I got back into riding 4 years ago after a 13 year break.
When buying my first riding hat I asked the shop owner what had happened to the chin cups and drawstrings in hats?
 
Stable rubbers - I've still got mine

String girths in different coloured nylon (no doubt to match the horrid plaited nylon reins) - I'm sure they contributed to many ponies blowing out when you girthed up - I bet they pinched like mad!
 
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