You know your a horse geriatric when.....

You had to re proof the new zealand rug with wax or something like that but it still leaked frequently. In fact your wax coat used to have to be re waxed to keep it water proof.
You used to get really sweaty in those jackets cos no such thing as breathable coats.
No such thing as neck covers or fly rugs, or fly masks. All rugs had seams along the centre of the back which wasn't a problem for our round ponies.
I don't remember "ordinary" people owning/riding TB's, they were either racing or showjumping or hunting, we just owned cobs.
We had to scrape bot fly eggs from our ponies legs - I can't remember seeing any eggs for years now.
 
Working for rides... leading 4 down the road in the dark to get them in quickly because you only had an hour or so to groom them and tack them up. Tack you could barely lift, but at least they all had virtually the same - one had a martingale, one a dropped noseband and one a pelham the other 20 or so snaffles and cavesson nosebands - but different coloured browbands which made it a bit easier to tell them apart. Leading in lessons with your feet gradually drowning as the sweat collected in your rubber riding boots.
 
I remember Equizole wormers, they were like big pony nuts and came in a cardboard tube. I thought I was the business in my quilted waistcoat - It had a round flap at the back which covered your bottom. I teamed it with a Qualtex quilted jacket, they came in navy or olive and had a corduroy collar. I had a "Goldtop" hat, it was navy and way ahead of it's time as everyone else had black. When the elastic chin strap became loose it was tightened up with knots. Eventually I got reckless and put the elastic over the peak.

All tack was tan, we stained it with neatsfoot oil or even hoof oil! All rubber reins were orange, there were no nylon headcollars, or nylon anything back then, it was all chrome leather. Your pony slept on straw, there was no other choice, no rubber mats, hay went in a manger and all the bits went in your eyes when you threw it up. All buckets were metal and weighed a ton.

My mum used to save all the veg peelings which went into my ponies bran mash, even potato peelings went in there! Grooming kit consisted of a body, dandy & curry, you didn't need anything else. First aid was a tube of yellow cream (what was it called?).
 
After your riding lesson if it was the last one of the day, being allowed to hack bareback along the roads with the riding instructor and other pupils on all the riding school ponies down to the field where they would be turned out for the rest of the weekend.

Old style wooden cavaletti jumps.

WH Smith's Win A Pony competition...oh how I prayed after submitting my entry! :)
 
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