What tack was fashionable when you started riding?

Mare Stare

Mare Stare

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Just wondering.

When I started out in the late 80's/early 90's all the ponies seemed to be kitted out with drop nosebands. I haven't seen a drop noseband in use for years! It all seems to be flash nosebands nowadays.

So, just wondering, what was in fashion when you started riding?
 
In the 60's just about every horse wore a single jointed snaffle with a cavesson noseband. If they needed something stronger then a Pelham or kimblewick was used but these were definitely the exception rather than the rule. I do remember quite a lot of horses and ponies wearing martingales (both running and standing). Saddles were very basic as well.
 
It was pretty basic in the 60s. Saddles were mostly half panel, a lot were serge lined (that's not the serge we know today, it was a material similar to calico) plain cavesson bridles, plaited nylon reins, single jointed snaffles (mostly nickel) and string girths.
 
I remember kimblewicks being the answer to most control issues!!! Lol

Plus matchy matchy was popular, with matching brow band, bit rubbers, martingale stops, numnah, girth, hat silk.... God me must have looked stupid!!!!
 
Ahhhhh, those mega-thick brightly coloured fleece numnahs; coloured string girths; nylon plaited reins; drop-nosebands; eggbut snaffles and kimblewicks with roundings; standing martingales were a lot more common; brass browbands with brass circular thingys attached to each side; spring-tree saddles if you could afford one.... the list is endless :)
 
D-ring snaffles or Fulmer cheek snaffles for youngsters, linen lined saddles, string or leather girths, all boots (rarely used) were made of leather with buckles. Headcollars were leather or rope. Haynets were made from hairy rope dipped in tarry stuff.
 
Anyone remember those tough buffalo hide head collars? I used to have one. It was a whitish leather and really strong. The horse would break before the headcollar in a pulling contest.

And 'back in the day' all tack was brown - never black. Black was most frowned upon.

And there were loads of 'Indian leather' items that we were all warned against ever using.
 
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drop nosebands and awful coloured plastic covered browbands lol, string or cottage craft girths and never saddle cloths only numnahs and stirrups with no rubber treads:D The saddles i can remember seemed very flat compared to todays saddles and square cantles:)
 
In the early 80's when I started - Eggbutt Snaffles or Kimblewicks, those fake sheepskin numnahs, string girths, plaited nylon reins. Grass reins made from baler twine seemed pretty popular too!
 
elderlycoupleindevon said:
It was pretty basic in the 60s. Saddles were mostly half panel, a lot were serge lined (that's not the serge we know today, it was a material similar to calico) plain cavesson bridles, plaited nylon reins, single jointed snaffles (mostly nickel) and string girths.
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ditto ^ ^ and the linen lined saddles as well.
If you had a leather girth you were quite well off, plain leather reins were usually the norm in our area.

Standing martingales were prevalent too.
 
Standing martingales (can't remember the last time i saw one).

Those god awful clackity clackity petal boots my youngster used to freak out as it sounded like a whole herd was coming rather than one usually slightly out of control pony.

Under 16's on ponies wore jodhpur boots with joddy clips- no long boots or gaiters- its a pet hate of mine children in long boots.

I used to envy the girls in suede full chaps, Toggi coats and embroidered rugs :o
 
Plain leather reins, single jointed snaffles with flat rings, wooden water buckets (weighed a ton!) half panel saddles; to have a full panel was very swish and everyone ran for the new model PC saddle which was a great improvement but still single flap I think. Nylon plaited reins (always white) nylon string girths or lampwick, serge or linen lined saddles, only jute rugs, NZ's were a very new invention and made of the stiffest canvas. Barratts of Feckenham were the Robinsons of their day (cheap and cheerful!) but most towns had a proper saddler which always smelt wonderful!
As you can guess, that was the 50s!
In the 60s I was able to buy a proper GP saddle, knee rolls and all from Pennwood for £26 brand new, a smaller one would have been less; I know of several of these saddles still in use and they seemed to fit most horses.
 
My first pony had a nickle bit, a half-panel, serge-lined rigid tree saddle and a plain cavesson noseband. I really thought I was it when I got matching red nylon reins and a nylon girth!!
 
God this is bringing back memories! Jute rugs, string girths - cant remember last time I saw one. Brown flat hardly any knee roll shiny saddles, fat jointed snaffles, kimblewick or pelham if you needed a strong bit. Oh and petal overreaches!

Jodphurs were always beige, wax jackets, hat with elastic chin strap. Back protector - wasn't heard of!

Also bring back memories of happy bareback riding with a head collar and not a care in the world! Vanishing off for hours at a time on ponies and no mobiles, god I miss those days!
 
Can remember the horrible chin strap! Grackle nosebands brcame popular in the late 60's because Stroller had one ;D there were loads of little kids on hairy, steady natives, sporting grackles and running martingales, lol xx
 
Pearlsasinger said:
In the 60's just about every horse wore a single jointed snaffle with a cavesson noseband. If they needed something stronger then a Pelham or kimblewick was used but these were definitely the exception rather than the rule. I do remember quite a lot of horses and ponies wearing martingales (both running and standing). Saddles were very basic as well.
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Gosh! makes me feel old, I was about this era and this was how it was. Then in the 70's the fashion for nylon girths and nylon plaited reins came in (in bright gaudy colours) - also back then almost every pony had one of those plastic-coated zig-zagged browbands, we thought they were wonderful, a real "must have".

Back then it was the exception rather than the rule to have a spring tree; and your saddle-lining was more likely to be serge rather than leather. Synthetic of course was unheard of.
 
In the late 80's it was really cool to have a Polywarm stable rug, a polypad numnah and a puffa jacket!

Moving on to the mid 90's when Dutch Gags or "Bubble Bits" were the must have with brightly coloured "biscuits" (bit rubbers). And colour co-ordinated everything...I had purple! Oh and fake sheepskin "Bum warmers" (Seat savers).
 
I remember half panelled saddles, yellow string girths, cavesson nosebands, eggbutt snaffles, and a two coloured velvet browband!

Then a few years later everyone had a dropped noseband, a Cottage Craft girth, and a quilted numnah, and there was a fad for sheepskin nosebands...
 
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