What changes have you seen in the horse world since you started

Woolybear

Woolybear

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Hi,
I has a quick search to see if I'm not repeating a thread and I couldn't find one on this topic.

Fads, fashions as well as new technologies and research change the horse world all the time... some good, some not so good. How long have you been involved with horses and what changes have you seen in that time?

about 35 years and heres a couple off the top of my head to kick off;

Rug technology - when I first started out I had 4 rugs; a New Zealand (cotton waxed outer, wool inner, leather straps and used with a surcingle) a jute stable rug (jute outer, looked like hessian, wool liner, used with an anti cast roller) an anti-sweat? (cotton, string vest type thing) and a newmarket rug (wool, striped, rectangle to use under other rugs)... These days rugs are just awesome!!

Nosebands - When I was a kid you rarely saw drop, flash, grackle or any other nosebands other than cavesson and especially not on children's ponies. Now everyone seems to want to keep their horses (or ponies) mouths strapped firmly shut, when you look in bridle catalogues they pretty much all come with flash as standard. Not a good change I don't think :-(
 
Good - we recognise that explosive behaviour can be pain-based and what vets can achieve is astounding.

Equipment is very cheap.

Internet!

Bad - kids (mums) with unrealistic expectations about what animals do and therefore bit/nose band it up.

"Cereal" foods - or as someone on fb HHO said "microwave meals for equines".

"All the gear, no idea".
 
A flash as standard is one of my pet hates, I was recently looking for a good quality new bridle with a cavesson and it was pretty much impossible to find unless I went for a basic hunter style which I didn't really want, I am pleased with the Micklem I ended up getting, not my original choice but does what I wanted and the horse seems to like it.

Rugs are so much improved but I think it has become ridiculous that so many horses never go out in a field without something on, a few may require keeping dry for health reasons but not many really need a rug on in a summer shower that lasts 10 mins, most would be healthier if left out in the rain and not wrapped up so much just because there is a suitable rug available.

Haylage is one change I find very beneficial, it is much better for the airways, easier than soaking hay and I think reduces respiratory problems, certainly I have found far less coughing since I started using it for all mine.

Generally I keep mine pretty much as I always have, out as much as possible, they are worked as hard as they need to, have breaks to rest if required, are shod if they need it but most have only fronts on or are barefoot, I bed on straw unless they require shavings for some reason.
Feeding has changed but I keep it as simple as possible, ad lib forage and small feeds appropriate for workload.
 
The cost!!!!

Rugs are definitely better thank god. I remember trying to haul my ponies soaked through canvas turnout over string to try and dry it out for the next morning (another thing, my yard turned out all year round, it was unheard of to leave a horse stood in) No way I could do that now with my 6'9 beasts! so glad they are light and easier to manage.
 
Rubber matting. Not sure if good or bad. I don't use it as I would rather have a deep bed and if I did get rubber matting I would still want a deep bed.

Rugs have greatly improved as mentioned above.

The quality of lead ropes is dire. Twenty odd years ago the metal clips were metal. They now seem to be made of an alloy and break quite easily. Sorry bug bear of mine. My horse pulled back and instead of the baling twine snapping, the metal clasps broke.

Horse physio sand chiropractors are common place now.

Synthetic saddles/tack and finding a saddle that fits has now become a dark art!!!

Again feeding haylage instead of hay.

Feed Balancers.

Those are a couple of things that I noticed when I got back into horses after a twenty year break.
 
Rugs is the main change I've seen. Yes they are better now but OMG I will never forget my first time on a posh fussy livery yard. Individually, throughout the few hours I was there, I was approached by several anxious liveries. All wanting to know if I'd seen the weather forcast today.

I thought perhaps there was a particularly bad storm coming or something. No, they all apparently needed to know the weather conditions and temperature so they could choose a rug for their stabled horses tonight. They did this fussy thing twice daily. I couldn't believe it.

I'd grown up with canvas and jute rugs, possibly with an underblanket. Those rugs were either on or off, and once on the horses would be rugged until spring, nothing was rugged through summer. No fuss and horses didn't die from it! If they got cold and lost a little weight you upped the feed and only hard working stabled horses on minimal turnout were full clipped, trace and blanket clips being adequate for the workload of everything else.

Now people full clip for their own convenience of not having the coat shedding in spring or because they can't be bothered to brush mud off the longer hair. Everyone owns ten different weights of rugs and there's barely a horse in the field not wearing either fly or turnout rugs through summer.

Then there's bits. Most wore a loose ring or eggbutt snaffle, either single jointed or French link. Difficult ones had a kimblewick, pelham, cheltenham gag or maybe a Dr.Bristol. Nobody spent 70 pounds on a any gold plated, special shaped, fashionable brand named bits. And none of the horses died :biggrin3:

Hardly any horses were operated in for anything. Yes some did die, but it was probably for the best considering how many semi-healthy and partly lame money pit horses exist today.

Nervous or incompetent riders didn't generally wreck horses, they quickly gave up riding instead. Or rode something within their capabilities and had lessons to improve. It's very sad how so often the horse gets the blame for the riders inadequacies these days.

Whoops! This post is massive now.
 
Hats! When I was a kid they had a chinstrap, only came with a velvet covering and were about as much use as a chocolate fireguard.

Rugs - used to have heavy canvas NZs with a single belly strap that passed through the sides of the rug; jute rugs with big rollers and 'string vests' rather than coolers.

We now use boots instead of bandages. And overreach boots only came in the variety that pulled on :(

Jodhs didn't used to stretch and would cut your circulation off at the knees. I always used to end up with marks that looked like I was still wearing them after I'd taken them off!!!

Hoofpicks only came in bent metal with a plastic cover (if you were lucky).

And, luckily for me - little girls helping out all over the place, doing absolutely everything on the yard, learning loads and no H&S people in sight to stop us playing in the hay barn, climbing fences, gates or trees or riding bareback.

Oh, and last but not least - Hi-vis - it hadn't even been invented, let alone anyone arguing over whether to wear it or not!!

This is making me feel really old typing all of this, so I'm going to stop now before it gets too depressing.
 
After a 12 year break, Hunters had almost doubled in price 😯

The biggest negative change I've noticed, although this may be just because I'm older as I had my break for most of my 20s, is the people! There seems to be a real lack of complete basic knowledge and standard of care amongst a quite lot of people. I'd better not put examples in case someone knows me!

The positives:
Bling! 😁
Not having to ride in a builder's sandpit arena (although at the time this was a luxury)
Rugs with necks.
Not having to lift a heavy jute rug or using duvets underneath.
Overreach boots that actually fit a cob
Boots for wide calfs

I'm sure I should have far more postitives!
 
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comet! said:
The biggest negative change I've noticed, although this may be just because I'm older as I had my break for most of my 20s, is the people! There seems to be a real lack of complete basic knowledge and standard of care amongst a quite lot of people. I'd better not put examples in case someone knows me!
Click to expand...

OMG!!! I was only thinking that myself earlier today, it was the thread about mucking out rules on DIY yards that made it spring to mind. YOs wouldn't have to put rules like that in place if everyone had been brought up to muck out first thing! I was also gobsmacked over the past few months on the forum to learn that some people don't know why you should poo pick (or harrow if you have enough space to rotate grazing), or how to use a body brush (one person said they didn't know what one was they'd never used one). You can't get much more basic that that! I guess it's because nowadays unless you belong to the PC most people grow up without doing much stable/field management, which is a real shame.
 
I agree with others that the type of people owning horses has changed.
I grew up with them around me , but my parents could never have bought me one...I can remember my dad sitting me down and explaining to me why I could nt enter the wh smith win a pony competition. he told their were already four mouths to feed and there was no way that council street kids could afford horses....they were for rich people and farmers!
I did nt have much to do with them for 25 years then felt financially secure enough to buy my very own nutter. These days it seems everyone who wants one has one! Im not saying that's a bad thing........but waiting all that time for mine has made it all the more special for mel
Turnout rugs are brilliant, much better than the old new zealands, stable rugs are amazing.....much better than clarting on with under rugs and rollers.
There are so many feed options available now.......so much more research has been done.
Theres a huge recognition of the benefits of turnout...I used to work on a livery in the 80s and the horses just stood in all day only going out for exercise, I hated that.
And most amazing is sparkly hoof oil........not for me but I still love seeing the little lasses with their horses done up!
Oh and one more .......that really tacky (but I love it) multi coloured head collar that makes my day whenever I pick it up!
away from that
 
Good - The rise and rise of commercial competition centres - the ones near me have great facilities and there are shows and competitions all the year round.

Bad - the rise and rise of commercial competition centres seems to have knocked out a lot of the traditional annual shows, run by volunteers, that offer competitions on grass at lower entry fees, often in lovely traditional settings.
 
Good - the veterinary side of things is so much more advanced and most people explore pain avenues when they experience issues with their horses.
You can get some really nice saddle cloths/bandages etc out there now. Generally the welfare standards in riding schools has improved vastly. I remember the first riding school I went to had ponies tethered to trees all day wearing tack, separated (if the trees were too close together) by planks of wood with nails sticking out. Range of bedding is a lot better. More facilities about.

Bad - All and sundry can buy horses now. They are so cheap and easy to come by, that the range of absolute idiots out there owning horses is vast. All you have to do is click on a FB site to see just how many out there don't know one end from the other. People don't seem to bother having lessons anymore. Kids flying around in ponies bitted and tacked up to the nines in three ring dutch gags, tendon boots, grakles, and of course the obligatory five point breastplate, with rider half naked in hot pants, no hat, pouting and wearing eyelashes that are so long they are poking the horse in the eyes....
Rugging. Massive bug bear of mine. People seem incapable of grasping the concept that horses are waterproof, and won't disintegrate if they get wet or even (dare I say it) *SHIVER. A sensible balanced approach to rugging..fine...but rushing out in temps of 10 degrees with two heavyweights to wrap a healthy young horse in is ludicrous.
 
Health and safety is the big one for me. When I was 10 we used to ride the riding school ponies bareback from the field to the stables, on the road and often leading two other ponies. Nowadays you're not even allowed to ride bareback in the school! Hi-viz wasn't known then, and as somebody else has already said, hats were pretty but didn't offer much protection. The ponies were either hacked to gymkhanas or put on a big cattle truck - tied to the sides, nose to tail:eek:!

Then there's clothing - we always rode in hacking jackets, for lessons, hacks or gymkhanas. I think a lot of people don't even own one now. And blue or black show jackets were only for top showjumpers. Jodhpurs came in only 2 colours - beige for everyday and canary for showing.

And we did all our riding on grass, no fancy surfaces in arenas. Dressage markers were some painted oil cans and jumps were made from old tyres and barrels.

Ah, happy days!

Oh and we got chilblains on our feet from the cold, and soaked through because our jackets weren't waterproof.
 
Jays, the rugs! in ye olden days it was a green canvas NZ and a jute stable rug, and if you were a bit posh a woollen 'show rug'.
Now it's a lightweight and a heavyweight turnout (with the neck pieces!), different weight quilted rugs, fly rug, cooler, cotton sheets, the list goes on!

Feed used to be full or half scoops of whatever you were feeding; oats, barley, bran, sugar beet, pony nuts. Now it's this muesli type stuff.

Hats used to be a velvet covered eggshell that [if you were safety conscious] had an elastic strap to go under your chin, and they only came in black.

OMG inflatable safety vest things! where were they 40 years ago?!?

(Did I say 40 years ago? I meant last week)

Breeds, nowdays everyone's horse is a breed by some stallion or other. Back in my day you had a bay gelding, and that was it!

The style and quality of synthetic saddles has improved immensely.
 
I used to hang out with a few riders and trainers from the european dressage scene some 20 years ago - they were very scathing about the Brits and their dressage - however, thanks to Carl, Charlotte and Laura, all thats changed for the better now!
 
Just thought of the most obvious difference and one most of us now use, electric fencing it is everywhere, the introduction of which means more individual turnout, most in tiny rectangles, it makes life easy in some ways but not sure it is in the best interests of most horses.
This also brought about the need to poo pick, something never done years ago as horses were generally turned out in bigger fields which were rotated, harrowed and rested.
 
I had my first pony 45 years ago (yep, I know, I qualify as a GOW :D )

We had a snaffle bridle, no noseband. A rope halter. A flat saddle with linen panels. A dandy brush, curry comb, hoofpick and bodybrush. That was it! He had a wooden shelter that my Father made and we fenced off an acre of the garden.

We quickly collected several more ponies, my Mother used to ride a 12.2 to the village school, leading another one and my brother and I would double up and ride home, bareback and with a halter, because we still only had one saddle and bridle. Can you imagine that for a start nowadays!

Things have changed enormously, most of it for the better, although some of the old 'horsemanship' has been lost along the way as the real horsemen and women of the era passed on - when horses were not just a luxury hobby item, and I do think that is a great loss in some ways. We were always told to let our ponies browse the hedgerows and to watch and learn what they chose to eat. You can't do that so much now - traffic, pollution etc, etc


Commonsense seems to be a commodity that can't be bought and to me, at least, seems sadly lacking. Everything seems to have got so much more technical with all this knowledge we have at our fingertips.


Coloured horses were strictly for the gypsies (and we had REAL Romanies back then with horse drawn wagons and all) now look at how popular they are.

So much of what has been said before is so true. Oh the clothing! String gloves. batwing jodhpurs, riding in sensible lace up school shoes, velvet caps that you cu the useless elastic off, sweat rash inducing chincups (I got a leather one -nahnah nah nahnah) I used to wear hacking and jodhs for lessons, even just for hacking out sometimes, nobody thought anything of it.
 
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3OldPonies said:
OMG!!! I was only thinking that myself earlier today, it was the thread about mucking out rules on DIY yards that made it spring to mind. YOs wouldn't have to put rules like that in place if everyone had been brought up to muck out first thing! I was also gobsmacked over the past few months on the forum to learn that some people don't know why you should poo pick (or harrow if you have enough space to rotate grazing), or how to use a body brush (one person said they didn't know what one was they'd never used one). You can't get much more basic that that! I guess it's because nowadays unless you belong to the PC most people grow up without doing much stable/field management, which is a real shame.
Click to expand...

It's funny, I was speaking to a friend about it only last weekend.

I was previously at a yard where people didn't pick feet out - I was the odd one out for doing it!

I got back into horses in 2011 at 32, and it just seems so different. I'm polite enough that I just listen to other people's expertise ☺️ I'm sure I probably make mistakes still, but my horse doesn't go without anything and I try my absolute best for him.

Although I'm not completely ancient 😳 I think I am of the age where there wasn't internet and so I was a saddo when growing up and engrossed in horsey books. I was lucky in that I had a relative that bred Exmoors (really not ponies for kids!) so I got to spend a lot of time around them and mucking out, doing feeds and learning why they were fed what they had. I got my own horse at 12 after I saved up to buy her with paper round money. I really think, although not in all cases, that there is something missing now. Maybe horses are cheaper, or people just have more disposable income. My first horse in 1988/89 only cost about £500 less than my current horse who I bought two years ago which seems crazy.
 
Biggest changes?

Apart from aforesaid rugs from canvas NZ's & Jutes (as mentioned above) are Plastic electric fence posts which are SO much better than the metal ones we had in the late 60's/early 70's with the thin orange 'wire' (like baler twine).
My pony 'sat' on one then & speared his backside requiring stitches back in 1973, luckily a small animal vet sewed him up with minute stitches & it never scarred.

Feeds - moving from straights and the chop machine to mixed feeds & having feed anaylists, nutritionists and balancers

Old days riding 12.2's to pony club at aged 14+, these days a 14yr old is much much taller & requires a 15hh+ (much of the time).

Hats - from elastic that mum sewed on, to harness over the hat, to nowadays with full harness fixed.

Fold up hoof pick we carried in our pockets out hunting - where can you get one now? (anyone??)

Jodhs - non-stretchy hard things that had to be scrubbed & took ages to dry to current ones with lots of lycra (unforgiving on us oldies!)

The beige or white mackintosh (so smart!) to ride in with its leg straps, now long gone aaalso the later event of husky/beaver jackets - now you can get lovely jackets that dry so quickly & are a good range of colours - including MUD colour :biggrin3:

Biggest 'non' change is the DIY livery cost - round here is was £25pw in the early 80's for paddock (own or shared) and a stable - its STILL the same round here 35 years later!
Ooooh, lots more, and am NOT going to comment on the level of horsemanship knowledge displayed by some owners these days <wince>
 
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3OldPonies said:
OMG!!! I was only thinking that myself earlier today, it was the thread about mucking out rules on DIY yards that made it spring to mind. YOs wouldn't have to put rules like that in place if everyone had been brought up to muck out first thing! I was also gobsmacked over the past few months on the forum to learn that some people don't know why you should poo pick (or harrow if you have enough space to rotate grazing), or how to use a body brush (one person said they didn't know what one was they'd never used one). You can't get much more basic that that! I guess it's because nowadays unless you belong to the PC most people grow up without doing much stable/field management, which is a real shame.
Click to expand...

I'm probably older than you....I remember why you mustn't poo pick....but that was before land prices went through the roof and strip grazing became the norm xx
 
A lot of people have already listed some of my "memories"........

I think the biggest change has GOT to be the dreaded "health and safety". Back in the 70's you could just turn up at a riding school and/or friend's parents' yard and just get on with helping out without any issues of whether you were attired in the obligatory "hat, gloves & suitable footwear" of a BHS training yard nowadays for example (not that I'm criticising that, far from it in fact), its just the do-ability of being around horses has changed so much and everything is all about correctness and having to be "compliant". I really feel sorry for anyone running a riding school or PC event, it must be a total nightmare - in my pony club days if you were daft enough to fall off you were just shovelled up in the saddle again and left to get on with it. Nowadays you'd be carted off to casualty and poked, prodded and X-rayed to death!!

Saddles - another big change. When I started off riding rigid trees were the order of the day and spring trees were only for show-jumpers and eventers. They were desperately expensive which is why those of us "of a certain age" have got backsides as hard as iron from all that bouncing around on rigid trees! My old pony club DC, bless 'er, would have turned in her grave had she known we'd all be riding around on plastic saddles!!! (plus plastic bridles too!).

Clothes - another huge change. I remember as a kid, being sent off to riding lessons in a pair of Cavalry Twill jods that were way too big for me, with the bit across the upper leg sticking out like elephants ears; they were SO hideous. Then Jacatex came along and they were a real godsend: jods that actually STRETCHED.

You bought a saddle to fit YOU in those days and whatever horse you had, it fitted it! No physio's, no dentists, no "natural horsemanship" If something reared: we were always told the magic mantra of "get off, stay off, and ring kennels". No touchy feely stuff, that was that.
 
TFF I have a folding hoofpick-happy to post you one :-)
I only have to compare my daughter's Pony mags with mine (I still have a few copies from about 1978 ish) and it sums it all up really-all the pink/bling etc compared with the old Jacatex/Caldene ads. My daughter is quite sensible and wouldn't be seen dead in pink sparkly horsey gear,but says my old mags very boring...
 
I agree with Enfys. The rise and rise in popularity of coloured horses and ponies. Time was they were the Cinderellas of the equine world. Similarly gipsy cobs were exactly that and didn't appear in the wider equine world. More recently the move to barefoot riding, the principles of which I wholeheartedly support, and alongside this, the development of hoofboots as an alternative to shoeing. The increasing knowledge of equine behaviour which we should use to improve the way we care for and understand our horses. Also the advances in veterinary knowledge and care which help to keep them fit and happy and us in a constant state of anxiety about their health because a little knowledge is a bad thing and our imaginations run riot!
 
daughter's groom said:
I agree with Enfys. The rise and rise in popularity of coloured horses and ponies. Time was they were the Cinderellas of the equine world. Similarly gipsy cobs were exactly that and didn't appear in the wider equine world. More recently the move to barefoot riding, the principles of which I wholeheartedly support, and alongside this, the development of hoofboots as an alternative to shoeing. The increasing knowledge of equine behaviour which we should use to improve the way we care for and understand our horses. Also the advances in veterinary knowledge and care which help to keep them fit and happy and us in a constant state of anxiety about their health because a little knowledge is a bad thing and our imaginations run riot!
Click to expand...

Really agree with the point about understanding horses. I remember my old riding school instructor telling somebody that she'd tried to retire a 25 year old pony, but he just galloped around the field and lamed himself. She interpreted this as meaning he wasn't happy not working, when in fact she was just ignorant of herd mentality and he was stressed because he'd been left alone.
 
Gosh. Horse had one cover (canvas NZ rug), saddle was Indian and fitted me, had a drop noseband, was shod 'cos that's what you did, had a velvet hat with an elastic strap which I only wore to PC, used a towel for a saddle cloth, rode in gumboots and jeans (unless it was PC), only rich kids had horse floats and TB's - the rest of us had standardbreds and hacked everywhere. Oh, and he got fed bran and pony pellets.

Shoes cost $15 a set, and paddock rent was $3 per week. Conversley the canvas NZ rug was $120 and hand made by the guy in the canvas shop down the road.
 
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