Who Remembers the Eighties?

[Roheryn]

I'm doing some research for something I want to write, and I would love to know what others remember from riding in the late 1970s - early 1980s. Tack, clothes, turnouts, feed, equipment, etc. ...

I was riding in the early-to-mid 80s, and I remember some things, but I would really like to hear other people's memories too!

[Skippys Mum]

I started riding in the late 80's. Jute stable rugs!!!! Canvas new zealands!!!!! They all weighed a ton and did nothing for the poor horse:(. The folk at my yard thought I was a snob because I bought one of the first weatherbeata rugs for my girlie.

And I fed bran:). Every day. No wonder her feet were crap:D

[Tatooed Lady]

Your thread made me look at some old slides of me riding in '81 and '83...I was riding western, and I'd started it in '81, and what I noticed was my stirrups were almost English short, and my jeans were too short. *LOL* We didn't own, I just rode at a local stable...and the owner was an older guy (late 60's, probably) who dressed the 'cowboy' part...boots, spurs, chaps, leather and beaded vest, cowboy hat....WHAT a character!! I recall being told to "sit on my pockets" because I'd originally learned to ride English, and had a rather upright posture.
When I rode English, I seem to recall being told hands almost together, thumbs up...but that was a short stint almost 30 years ago, so the memories are pretty fuzzy, sorry. Clothing....I remember my mom buying me some black jods....I think they were polyester or poly/blend.....
Oh, and I never wore a helmet (even English) until I bought my horse last year....it was just never something anyone worried about.

[dansmum]

Started riding in the mid 70 s and got my first pony in 1979. The things I remember most are the green NZ rugs, jute rugs which went brick hard and were held on by rollers, Main Ring horse feed with locust beans (like a pasture mix), velvet hard hats which were cool to wear minus the chin strap:confused:, big chin straps with a harness which you could add to your hat, non stretch jodphurs, when you went to buy a saddle you bought the one you liked best regardless of fit:eek:, drop nosebands and stylo matchmaker riding boots (basically rubber but they had a leather top)

Will keep thinking! I have got an old PC Manual Of Horsemanship which is really old fashioned and quite funny to read:rolleyes:

[Capricorn]

I also have an old copy of a Manual of Horsemanship and remember the chin straps! Don't forget that Jodphurs only seemed to come in the colour cream and body protectors were unheard of. One of the main differences for me was being taught to grip with your knees when riding. On returning to riding in the 90's I discovered that this was not taught anymore and spent endless lessons trying to stop myself doing this.

[Skippys Mum]

I had to put a hanky between my knees and the saddle and not let it drop - OMG its all coming back to me.

And what did riding hats do for your perm?:p

[sancho]

One of the main differences for me was being taught to grip with your knees when riding. On returning to riding in the 90's I discovered that this was not taught anymore and spent endless lessons trying to stop myself doing this.


Yep, me too! The ony rug I remember is the green NZ turnout, now you have a choice for everyday!!!

[sancho]

And what did riding hats do for your perm?:p

LOL!!!! Thankfully I wasnt riding when I got into perms....quite frankly the thought of me with a perm having had a hat on is too painful!!!!!!!!!!!:D:D

Hair Bairs are us!!!!!!!!!! (Think Roly, the poodle out of eastenders...)

[LinzCos]

We didn't have head-collars, just rope halters. There again that was perhaps in the late 60's not 80's- I am so old!!!!!!

[Siogfinsceal]

great thread im an 80s kid!

I remember...

hats with the plastic/rubber chin strap

ton weight jute rugs and new zealands

numhans/saddle cloths were black, white, brown, navy, red, green there was no pink and lavender numnahs or diamonte browbands:D

people actually knew (and obeyed) the traditional rules at showing, hunting etc

buckets were black

neatsfoot oil

people bandaged for so many things rather than using boots

when learning types of saddle in pony club it was racing, GP, jumping and dressage. now theres probably 20 different types at least :p

jods were cream white navy or black and definately not designed with fashion in mind!

puffa jackets

sweatshirts with embroidered picture of horses on them

[georgie1]

Ahhhhh gripping with the knees was the main thing.....I spent rounds & rounds of rising trot without stirrups(the years i have spent trying to unlearn this:rolleyes:)

rugging was simple....NZ or not!!! I remember having no fear at all....bareback, headcollar, jumping.

Pony nuts or bran mash!!! Ahhh the days!!:)

[Fanshawe]

Ooooh you've just reminded me of the nz and jute rugs- had forgotten all about them! I still have a (very old) hat that has the plastic chin cup (for if I have someone who wants a sit on my girl-better than nothing!) The hunting yard I used to help out at did the bran and lots of linseed thing- is linseed still used?

[dansmum]

Ooooh you've just reminded me of the nz and jute rugs- had forgotten all about them! I still have a (very old) hat that has the plastic chin cup (for if I have someone who wants a sit on my girl-better than nothing!) The hunting yard I used to help out at did the bran and lots of linseed thing- is linseed still used?

I used linseed last year - boiling it up and letting it set etc - the smell brought back memories!:rolleyes: I suspect you can proabably buy it liquid form nowadays:)

[Roheryn]

These are great! Thanks! The knee-grip thing has been a problem for me too; I'm finally getting to where I don't even have to remind myself anymore, but I'm sure if the horse every shies again my knees will remember and try to squeeze him right out from under me.

People at the barn where I rode had Hermes saddles or Stubben Siegfried look-alikes--it wasn't a dressage barn so I have no idea if dressage saddles were black or brown or both--I've seen some quite old brown ones recently that might date from that time.

Black buckets--right, there were no bright colors, and I don't remember colorful nylon halters and leads, either, just leather ones.

I remember Schooling Sweats from sometime in the 80s--sweatshirts and sweatpants made for riding. ????

Dumb question: Did horses eat pony nuts too?

[cramarion]

stinking the house out on a saturday night when mum and dad had gone out boiling linseed and making bran mash
green new zealand rugs
gripping with knees for dear life.......thats a no no now
finishing a grooming session with plenty of hoof oil......so is this it seems and boiling linseed well........

[Gill]

The 80's? Good grief thats yesterday isn't it?
I started riding in 1965!

[paul_exe]

What about those awful string girths....
Fur nosebands, purely because Red Rum wore one....
The dreaded Green canvas new zealand rug with attached roller, that was always too long, and you had to tie knots in them to make them fit....
Our local saddler only stocked pony nuts, bran and oats....
Horses wormed once a year....
Horses shod every 4 months!!!! They never wore out or came off, unlike todays shoes....
Roads were a much safer place to ride on....

Oh those are long gone memories....

Paul

[Snowyboy]

hoof oil! you were posh

we used old engine oil - everyone round our way did

and Stylo boots

leather came in English and if you were posh, German

synthetic saddles didn't exist

A set of shoes was £10

you rode with a snaffle or a pelham or if you were a bad rider, a gag. You just never saw gags


I could go on and on and on but I won't

(and I remember the smell of the barley cooking all day - yummy)

[dansmum]

What about those awful string girths....
Fur nosebands, purely because Red Rum wore one....
The dreaded Green canvas new zealand rug with attached roller, that was always too long, and you had to tie knots in them to make them fit....
Our local saddler only stocked pony nuts, bran and oats....
Horses wormed once a year....
Horses shod every 4 months!!!! They never wore out or came off, unlike todays shoes....
Roads were a much safer place to ride on....

Oh those are long gone memories....

Paul


Youa re so right about the shoes!! They used to stay on till they were paper thin!

[tina1958]

Late 70's

Spillers horse un pony nuts. Bran, Oats, Maize. No ready made mixes.

New Zealand rugs (jute) only for the clipped though. Ordinary horses un ponies with winter coats on had no turnout rugs at all or stable rugs.

Saddles without knee rolls (only jumping saddles had these) General purpose saddles were very basic. New saddles and bridles only seemed to come in an orange colour which generally changed to a darker brown with lots of cleaning un leather dressings.

Caldene riding clothes un harry hall. both still going strong.

Rice horses trailers. (Don't think Ifor Williams had been Born:p)

Land rover defenders

Range Rovers if you were rich.

Bedford Horse boxes (no power steering:eek:)

No sand schools, riding lessons were taken in the open field on a large muddy circle. If your horse took of or you fell of tuff luck.

Cream colour jods..nothing else.

Foam numnhas

Drop Nosebands

String Girths

All straw beds don't recall any shavings

NO ONE POOH PICKED!!!!:eek::eek: They just rotted down in the field:eek:

No fleece coolers only the string vest jobbies.

Thats I few things to be going on with:):)

[tina1958]

I had to put a hanky between my knees and the saddle and not let it drop - OMG its all coming back to me.

And what did riding hats do for your perm?:p

Yep I remember the knee gripping thing. I have a feelin thats coming back in fashion again. Took me ages un loads of lessons to stop doing it too:mad:

We had to practise rising trot with no stirrups by gripping with our knees:eek::eek:

[tina1958]

Started riding in the mid 70 s and got my first pony in 1979. The things I remember most are the green NZ rugs, jute rugs which went brick hard and were held on by rollers, Main Ring horse feed with locust beans (like a pasture mix), velvet hard hats which were cool to wear minus the chin strap:confused:, big chin straps with a harness which you could add to your hat, non stretch jodphurs, when you went to buy a saddle you bought the one you liked best regardless of fit:eek:, drop nosebands and stylo matchmaker riding boots (basically rubber but they had a leather top)

Will keep thinking! I have got an old PC Manual Of Horsemanship which is really old fashioned and quite funny to read:rolleyes:

I can remember buying the chin strap thingy to go over my hat:D

[bexj]

No boots
No rugs
No numnah
Just a saddle and bridle
No fancy bits
No fancy nosebands
String girths
Bran, bran and more bran
No poo picking
Little worming
No worrying about your horse not having a companion
Thick heavy rugs
No clipping (no rugging remember!!)
No stables (or was that just me)
Riding hat with plastic chin cup that would make your chin all spotty
Black or beige jods, no patterns, no full seat, no colours
No fancy jackets, just Puffa (the height of modern) and Barbour stinky wax jackets
Riding in wellies was ok
Taking complete beginners out on hacks at the age of 14
No insurance
Bombing around bareback
Not worrying about silly drivers on the road
No horse boxes (again maybe just me, but I hacked everywhere!!)
No hi-viz
No compound feeds
No supplements
Lots of stirrupless lessons, often without reins too
Jumps made out of whatever you could find
No parelli/Monty Roberts/Kelly Marks etc etc

Ahhh, it was fun!!:D

[tina1958]

The 80's? Good grief thats yesterday isn't it?
I started riding in 1965!

Me to. We can go back to the hunting position then before the knee grippping stuff. Heres a picture of me un my first luv.

http://i275.photobucket.com/albums/jj296/tina1958_2007/PrinceOne.jpg

[paul_exe]

Ahh bless, those were the days. That drop nose band does not look like it is doing anything though - lol.
And the blessed kimblewick, for those little devils that use to bolt everywhere... Did we care? Nahh we just got on with it.
The slippy sliddy saddles with no knee rolls........ perhaps some of the kids these days should ride in them to see how we "slightly more mature" riders coped..
Ohh and we have all forgotten the local Gymkhana.......... sack race, bending race, walk trot and gallop.... clear round, which: come on confess, we all entered, several times just to go home with a rosette......
Paul

[kusha]

Starting riding with dunlop boots! You were really serious if you saved up for a pair of Stylos.

Cream ribbed nylon jods.

Topped off with a Thelwell Sweatshirt or T shirt.

Christy Beaufort Hats with a drawstring.

Navy/green quilted jackets/waistcoats.

[mrsb]

Heels RIGHT down, as illustrated in Tina 1958's photo

[chestnut-mare]

OMG :eek:, does that mean we don't grip with the knees anymore?? Started riding in the mid 70's - heels down, wellies, felt saddles - oh yes, the original treeless! Haven't had a lesson since the 80's so probably have a few bad habits still lurking....

Don't remember rugs - & I lived in the north of Scotland back then!
Bareback riding
Stylo boots and barbour jackets in the 80's for xmas and birthdays
Hoof oil to make our ponies look pretty
No hi-viz
No boots
No fancy bits
No fancy nosebands or any other 'riding aids'
Bran mash or pony cubes - definitely no supplements or mixes
Cantering on grass verges alongside the cars
Jump anything that looked like a jump :eek:
You fall off, you get straight back on!

Best of all about the 70's and 80's - rode anywhere at anytime on any horse and never gave a damn and had the best times ever.......:D:D

[cramarion]

what a great thread and so many memories

[tina1958]

Ahh bless, those were the days. That drop nose band does not look like it is doing anything though - lol.
And the blessed kimblewick, for those little devils that use to bolt everywhere... Did we care? Nahh we just got on with it.
The slippy sliddy saddles with no knee rolls........ perhaps some of the kids these days should ride in them to see how we "slightly more mature" riders coped..
Ohh and we have all forgotten the local Gymkhana.......... sack race, bending race, walk trot and gallop.... clear round, which: come on confess, we all entered, several times just to go home with a rosette......
Paul

Yes I often ponder that noseband....I wonder who tacked up that day:):)

And yes we did used to 'just get on with it'. I work in a riding school now and I am amazed at how difficult kids find it to just get on the pony never mind ride the thing. I worry that the PE in schools can not be as good as when we were kids. Their fitness levels definatley leave alot to be desired. Maybe its also something to do with the fact that they don't walk to school or play out as it would be nice if they could.

[popdog]

Wormers...there was only one type (no Equimax, Equitape, Panacur etc, etc), just Frisk.

We didn't worm for different types of worms at set intervals. We just gave them a good dose of Frisk once in a while :D

[chestnut-mare]

OMG :eek:, does that mean we don't grip with the knees anymore?? Started riding in the mid 70's - heels down, wellies, felt saddles - oh yes, the original treeless! Haven't had a lesson since the 80's so probably have a few bad habits still lurking....

Don't remember rugs - & I lived in the north of Scotland back then!
Bareback riding
Stylo boots and barbour jackets in the 80's for xmas and birthdays
Hoof oil to make our ponies look pretty
No hi-viz
No boots
No fancy bits
No fancy nosebands or any other 'riding aids'
Bran mash or pony cubes - definitely no supplements or mixes
Cantering on grass verges alongside the cars
Jump anything that looked like a jump :eek:
You fall off, you get straight back on!

Best of all about the 70's and 80's - rode anywhere at anytime on any horse and never gave a damn and had the best times ever.......:D:D

Forgot to add :

No mobile phones - how did we ever cope!?
No internet - so no NEW RIDER or the likes - so probably spent even more time at the stables/field than we do now :D

[dansmum]

How could I have forgotten string girths and cantering along grass verges on main roads:eek: Anyone remember Extra Tail fly spray?:)

[KazRider]

Can't remember if it was late 80's of later but...... the tv program 'If wishes were horses'!!!

Ditto everyone else though, especially the field with the dirt ring in it that was used as the school!! Can still see it now.

Those were the days most definately, feel quite sorry for kids today. :)

[eml]

The 80's feel modern when you started riding in the 50's :D

Now that was the stone ages with colic drenches in glass bottles you poured down the horses throat, turpentine worming once a year and, for some bizzarre reason I cannot remember, gunpowder in the first aid cupboard (think it was something to do with foor infections :confused:)

However on the plus side miles of traffic free hacking, real agricultural shows,simple feeding (spillers introduced 'horse and pony' and 'racehorse' cubes in the early 60's and were the first branded feeds) and seemingly endless farmers willing to let you have summer grazing with the cattle for little cost . Hours of jog trot on autumn mornings to fitten the ponies for hunting and hacking 10 miles or so to a local show. I can only assume we worked our horses harder then becasue I never heard of laminitus in those days.

[Iron Maiden]

Early/mid 80s I remember orange bit ring rubbers, overreach boots, rubber reins, stops, anything made of rubber simply had to be orange! Puffa jackets with very thin vertical stripes were the height of fashion, Stylo Wilkies were the ultimate boot. If you wore the chinstrap anywhere other than above the peak of your hat you weren't cool. I can't recall ever seeing jods with a full seat, they just had knee patches. Posh kids had their names written on the passenger door of their lorry in swirly whirly handwriting. Just about every horse in the world was ridden in an eggbut snaffle and all tack was havana brown. Horse boots were all made of leather. Rugs didn't have crossover straps & had to be held on with a roller. Pink eyeshadow & electric blue mascara was everywhere. Not a great decade :p

[paul_exe]

OMG I must have looked really odd then....... never wore blue mascara.... LOL..
And what was a horsebox in the 80's? We hacked for miles to get to a show... actually we did have a trailer, but the horses had to be kept apart at a show......... hacked one there, and the other one home......... how spolit was I? two horses.....
And what about the headscarf............... Princess Anne had one.......... suddenly every horsewoman had one too........... Naff 'orf........... was the innnnn word too........
Paul

[annareeves0]

I took up riding last year at 38 so wasnt 'there' (too busy smoking behind the bikeshed) but someone did give me a whole boxful of horsey magasines from that decade and some of the articles are priceless - how to make a stable rug from an old sleeping bag, how to make a haynet, noseband and something else from baling twine, make your own jumps (Im hanging onto that one!) and endless debate about whether people should wear hats or not. While some of the stuff has been funny, a lot of the advice is so down to earth and common sense its been great - none of this you need to buy this expensive bit of equipment or the other - much more pull your socks up, get your blue peter diy kit out and blooming well get on with it and heres how - i wish there were a few more articles like that in the mags I buy today!

[jumpingkatey]

I vote everyone should post piccies of you all riding then and some of you riding now!
My mum rode in the late 70s up until mid-80s and took riding up again when I got Katey!I have some pics of her on her old ponies Cindy and Fearne and she is bareback on Cindy in one of them,galloping through a field with no hat on and in shorts and sandal type things!

[Ashfield]

The 80's , well here goes....

the smell of sugar beet soaking....
covering yourself and horse in louse powder....
trying to get your horse to eat the bright blue worming bits in their mush brown food
Blue puffa jackets that rip really well on bramble bushes and whatever your horse decided to drag you through next
Getting a Barbour jacket for your 17th birthday ( that i still can struggle into, not do up 25 years later)
Riding in your hunter wellies..
Winning a 7th place rosette in a flag race at pony club


Growing up in the 80s riding around the countryside safely.....priceless

[Welsh_Girl]

Ooh the eighties......

cream jodpurs
sheepskin numnahs
trace clips
hurtling down jumping lanes with no reins or stirrups :D
washing my ponies white legs with chalk-no special shampoos then!
Seeing pink elephants after re-proofing my NZ rug.....:eek:
The endless battle with rug rubs
If you couldn't do it in a snaffle, you kept trying untill you did, none of this buying fancy tack malarkey.
No bitless, treeless, or barefoot.
Western riding was thought of as very uncool.
Thinking nothing of hacking 10 miles down the grass verge of a dual carriageway to go to a show :eek: (and cantering all the way if you're late :eek::eek:)
trying to squish my corkscrew perm into a hairnet :(
Neatsfoot oil on everything leather, and sometimes everything else too :o

Ooh the memories....

[Wally]

Go and have a look at this thread

http://www.newrider.com/forum/showthread.php?t=139072

BTW I was barefoot in the 70's , doing endurance riding, but needed a note from my vet for the organisers to allow me to compete!

[MoeWalker]

Not sure of year but l remember for my first pony his food was:
Hay

Hard feed a mix of:
Flaked maize
Oats
Chaff
Pony Nuts
Bran mash once a week
Dash of Salt (worms)

The smell of saddle soap..

Lone Ranger and Fury (would love to see them again)Foley Foot and White Horses

No fancy goods just basic equipment and l was as happy as Larry.

Happy days....

[Mary Poppins]

I remember:
Bareback riding - galloping round the school and falling off lots
Jumping grids with no stirrups or reins
Puffa jackets
Wax jackets
Only cream jods
Lots of hoof oil
Ill fitting rugs with rollers
No automatic water fillers
Teenagers running the yard being paid peanuts - I was one of them.

[Gasbag]

Didn't own a pony in my young days but every Saturday was spent at my local riding stables, where I would hang around (after my paid for hack along the canal) and help muck out stables etc. I hated going home. One of the ponies came up for sale (Percy, a black native type, very naughty) I begged my dad to buy him for me, he was "only a 100 quid". We lived in a terrace house with a small back yard and in my young niave mind I thought we could keep him there. Not surprisingly dad said no. :( I then gave up going to the stables and joined the Girl Guides (big mistake - cut my nose of to spite my face):confused:.

I have been looking at my old piccys whilst reading this thread :cool::rolleyes:

When at home I lived for Champion The Wonder Horse & Folly Foot (70's) and my favourite was definately the series Black Beauty (Istill get jitterbugs when I hear the music).:D

[joey_olop]

I was only a nipper in the 80s but I do remember some things:

*those horrible rubber riding boots!! Made my leg position so crappy!!
*String Girths that I could never make heads or tails off!!
*heavy NZ rug things made out of a canvas material, I was only little so could never pick them up!!
*No stupid H&S rules-could ride bareback & work at RS till I broke my back(I did love it tho!)

[Roheryn]

Originally posted by Gill--

I started riding in 1965!

1964 here! ;)

[allinyourrows]

Im afriad im 16! so wanst even born in the 80's!
My mum is, older than shed care for me to mention, and started to ride when she was VERY young in the late sixties.
She says, no hats, tack only when they could be bothered, etc etc.

I was staying at my Grans a while back and found a book called the first rossette?
Any way ive still got it somewhere, and its LONG since out of print (written in the 30's!), but i was reading it the other day, and it just struck me how much more fun kids who rode at riding schools had then, compared to what they do now.

[oldpunk]

Hey, hands off string girths! I loved them, especially cotton ones - nice and breatheable and I never had any 'rubbing' problems. (You did, however, need to do that pulling the front leg forward thing - still do.)

I started riding in 1969 and at that time we never has rubber stirrup treads. To this day, I can't ride properly with them in.

I loved the flat saddles too. I still don't feel comfy in ones that are all up round your bum and still use a 'pony club' saddle as it is fairly flat.

Who remembers:

feeling the bees knees in first their pair of uber-trendy coloured jods (which were £29 in 1979 - a fortune!)
when children only ever wore short jod boots
turning clipped ponies out without rugs
how to fold a normal bed blanket to go under a horse's night rug
making 2-colour brow bands using velvet ribbon 'for best' (I still do that!)and the same in plastic for everyday?

In the 80's, I couldn't afford a summer sheet/'cooler' for my boy so made one out of a cotton candlewick bedspread. (Very effective.) I also made haynets out of baler twine.

Not sure about bareback jumping etc being just a memory!But it's a shame kids don't get to do it in lessons anymore.

...and the hats??!!! Even the Manaual of Horsemanship advised you to stuff your hat with newspaper to obtain a better fit! In my lessons, we never put the elastic under our chins unless we were jumping something scary and the hats always fell off when we did.

Having learned to jump without a back protector, I horrified my mates when I took my boy to his first sponsored ride at RAF Halton in 1990 (lots of big jumps) as he didn't have boots, and I didn't have spurs or a back protector! And, of course, he had his bandages (with pad things, we had progressed past gamgee!) and bedspread on to go home. He may well have had a bath sponge as a poll guard too...

I'm glad I learned to ride when I did but I do appreciate all the nice things we have now!

[Fandango]

I remember cantering on grass verges (still do on VERY quiet country lanes, much to Sancho's annoyance:D).

String girths,
Cork or fibre-glass riding hats - not much protection there:eek::eek:
Drop nosebands
Only thoroughbreds being rugged up in NZ rugs
Warm bran mash after hunting
Horse and pony nuts
Only getting pony shod when worn very thin and falling off
Very unflattering jodhpurs
Gripping with knees and heels down
Kick to go, haul on reins to stop (much to my shame:o)
Aunty buying my pony a saddle without knowing anything about horses.
Extra Tail fly spray
Worming when you thought they might need to be - usually annually
Saddle pads cut out of foam
No clipping
No stable
No equine dentist
No back person
No alternative therapies
Probably no field shelter
Riding bareback
Jumping bareback
Riding two up on friend's Exmoor pony and jumping over milk churns with pole on top:D:D
Riding out over the moors on own.

My horses really don't realise how pampered and lucky they are:rolleyes::)

[Drifted]

Late 50's onwards

Donkey jackets
Leaving hat out in rain to go grey
Heavy jute stable rugs and rollers
Bran mash and linseed
No treads on stirrups
Riding bareback with a halter
Making halters and leads out of baler string
Grip with those knees
No knee rolls
Saddles flat and slippy
Cantering on every blade of grass
Riding everywhere, no cares
Loads of gymkhanas
and the wonderful Pony Club
Hunting every Saturday
Getting up at the crack to go cubbing

Still riding, but not having as much fun, don't we all tend to over analize now instead of just getting on with it.

[sancho]

[QUOTE=Fandango;1625576]I remember cantering on grass verges (still do on VERY quiet country lanes, much to Sancho's annoyance:D).

Me??????!!!!!!!! You're just a grass verge hooligan!!!!!!!!!!!!:p;):cool:

[unicornleather]

I remember some of what has already been said and since I have been a saddler I can appreciate the saddlery of the time(1970's) more now than I ever could at the time!
I liked and still use the London Colour or London Tan (orange as Tina called it in earlier in the thread) it was known as this because the saddlery trade in England was based in London at the time and everything was made using it and then the saddlery trade moved lock,stock and barrel to Walsall where it is still based. ALL saddlery I remember in the 70's was London maturing with age down to a nice chestnut brown and NO saddle had a damn saddlecloth (apart from dressage) or numnah as it was widely known that a good fitting saddle really didn't need one!
I actually stop riders now I see who don't use any pad or cloth and congratulate them, but there aren't many!
I remember the first noseband I made whilst training in the 80's was a Drop noseband as they were all the rage then and our only lecture on "synthetic saddles" which had a heavy fibreglass tree at the time was "you can't get tacks into them so how can you make one" that was my saddlery teacher!
I had to learn the synthetic scene after I finished training!
The old saddles had the white straining web made out of best Flax (which I still use now and again) for making the seats of saddles and girth strap webbing. We made handmade threads for girthstraps, stirrup leathers and lacing saddle panels in, almost unheard of now, we had pigskin seats on the saddles, hand made thin welting on the seats and plain flaps, no knee pads on them unlike todays where the stitching (machined nylon) breaks as the stirrup leathers rub against them!
We had to flock the seats with wool instead of the modern foam we use now.
Every part of the saddles we made were hand made, no machining and it took us 3 weeks to make one!
I remember and still make plain cavesson nosebands, the nice wide Hunter type ones, no lining just flat and plain.
Plain reins, plain everything really!
String girths really do stick in my mind too and the pulling the horse's leg forward after tacking up so the hairs didn't get caught in it!
Todays saddlery is like from a different planet compared to how I was trained!
Oh and lastly, all the wellies were black!
Oz :)

[dansmum]

I remember some of what has already been said and since I have been a saddler I can appreciate the saddlery of the time(1970's) more now than I ever could at the time!
I liked and still use the London Colour or London Tan (orange as Tina called it in earlier in the thread) it was known as this because the saddlery trade in England was based in London at the time and everything was made using it and then the saddlery trade moved lock,stock and barrel to Walsall where it is still based. ALL saddlery I remember in the 70's was London maturing with age down to a nice chestnut brown and NO saddle had a damn saddlecloth (apart from dressage) or numnah as it was widely known that a good fitting saddle really didn't need one!
I actually stop riders now I see who don't use any pad or cloth and congratulate them, but there aren't many!
I remember the first noseband I made whilst training in the 80's was a Drop noseband as they were all the rage then and our only lecture on "synthetic saddles" which had a heavy fibreglass tree at the time was "you can't get tacks into them so how can you make one" that was my saddlery teacher!
I had to learn the synthetic scene after I finished training!
The old saddles had the white straining web made out of best Flax (which I still use now and again) for making the seats of saddles and girth strap webbing. We made handmade threads for girthstraps, stirrup leathers and lacing saddle panels in, almost unheard of now, we had pigskin seats on the saddles, hand made thin welting on the seats and plain flaps, no knee pads on them unlike todays where the stitching (machined nylon) breaks as the stirrup leathers rub against them!
We had to flock the seats with wool instead of the modern foam we use now.
Every part of the saddles we made were hand made, no machining and it took us 3 weeks to make one!
I remember and still make plain cavesson nosebands, the nice wide Hunter type ones, no lining just flat and plain.
Plain reins, plain everything really!
String girths really do stick in my mind too and the pulling the horse's leg forward after tacking up so the hairs didn't get caught in it!
Todays saddlery is like from a different planet compared to how I was trained!
Oh and lastly, all the wellies were black!
Oz :)


That was really interesting! I still pull my horses legs forward after tacking up:confused:

[Skippys Mum]

Right here goes - everyone sing along

Like a streak of lightning flying through the sky,
Like a speeding arrow whizzing from a bow,
Like a mighty cannonball he seemed to fly,
You hear about him everywhere you go,
The time will come when everyone will know the name of
CHAMPION THE WONDER HORSE NEEEEIGGH NEEEEIGGH

OMG I dont believe I can remember that:D

[Skippys Mum]

Woops, got all carried away and posted twice:)

[unicornleather]

Do you remember "White Horses" think it was in the 60's originally and was dubbed in English and in black and white and THAT theme song?
And Follyfoot in the 70's !
Oz :)

[Soozy]

Right here goes - everyone sing along

Like a streak of lightning flying through the sky,
Like a speeding arrow whizzing from a bow,
Like a mighty cannonball he seemed to fly,
You hear about him everywhere you go,
The time will come when everyone will know the name of
CHAMPION THE WONDER HORSE NEEEEIGGH NEEEEIGGH

OMG I dont believe I can remember that:D

Go on Skippy's Mum, have a look at this link, you know you will want it LOL
http://www.amazon.co.uk/Adventures-Champion-Wonder-Horse-Complete/dp/B000B6F8N2

Soozy
x

[kirky]

I used to ride at badly run stables with nobody qualified, skinny horses and creepy men who used to take advantage of the horse mad girls. No CRB checks and not many BHS people around Tyne and Wear at that time. We moan about standards but thank god these days they have some! When older and I got my own horse it was show jumping show jumping show jumping-Harvey Smith and David Broome rocked! Eek!

[Skippys Mum]

Go on Skippy's Mum, have a look at this link, you know you will want it LOL
http://www.amazon.co.uk/Adventures-Champion-Wonder-Horse-Complete/dp/B000B6F8N2

Soozy
x

Nooooo - dont let me, somebody stop me pleeease!!!

[Beebop]

Golly Kirky that sounds like the riding school where I worked. Awful ponies, all half schooled (well not actually schooled at all), and they used to run away with the kids. No one got sued and riding hats were a fashion item not a necessity. I got half a crown for working all week end, it was 1960 though so a bit earlier than most!

[horse__obsessed]

IMO sounds much better then than now - thee riding and attitude i mean not the tack/rugs

hehe

[popdog]

Can anyone remember the TV show 'Horse in the House'? It was about some kids who hid their horse in the house so he wouldn't be sold. I think the horse was called Orbit...I loved that show!

[~Perdita.M~]

Do you remember "White Horses" think it was in the 60's originally and was dubbed in English and in black and white and THAT theme song?
And Follyfoot in the 70's !
Oz :)

Just for you:D

White horses:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iR6z8GUywyc

Follyfoot:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WVgyxhe849k

[unicornleather]

Yes, sad as it is I did look the follyfoot and white horse up on you tube last year, I must get out more!
Thanks anyway, Oz :)

[~Perdita.M~]

Not sad at all, I have both of them downloaded to my play list on the computer:o

[Soozy]

Just for you:D

White horses:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iR6z8GUywyc

Follyfoot:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WVgyxhe849k

:o brought tears to my eyes, soppy old thing that I am :o

Soozy
x

[sancho]

Can anyone remember the TV show 'Horse in the House'? It was about some kids who hid their horse in the horse so he wouldn't be sold. I think the horse was called Orbit...I loved that show!

I do, I do!!!

Love Follyfoot and will defiantely be logging onto youtube to watch it! Was Steve really as dreamy as we remember him????? **swoons**

[Mimi + Me]

Actually the 80's was the one decade when I took a complete break from horses, I don't think I touched or set eyes on one in that whole ten year period :(

[Gruntfuttock]

I remember Horse in the House - loved it !

I also had THE most beautiful navy blue Christy Beaufort velvet hat in 1977, when I first started riding. I loved that hat, i was gutted when i grew out of it, and I never had a hat that nice again while I was a child. We had lots of second-hand hats with elastics to go under the chin (though my mum did buy me a hat harness complete with sweaty plastic chin cup).

[suzanne7575]

i got my pony in the eighties and i think it was around the time that things started changing but not quite there yet. I do remeber all my friends thinking we were dead posh because my pony had a GP saddle that had knee rolls and was uber comfy compared to the horrid flat things they had, and my pony had a quilt stable rug with crossover surcingles attached!!!!!!!! and he also had a blue NZ which had quilting inside and again had surgingles attached!!!!! i also had the first pair of brushing boots on the yard that were synthetic material and fastened with velcro instead of buckles. saying that though bits were alot more basic it was either a eggbut snaffle or a pelham, we didn't get horses backs and tack checked on a regualr basis, although teeth were done twice a year. We wormed every 2 months but it was just with whatever the tack shop had (strongid p or panacur i think) and not related to what worms were prevalent, and we never poo picked fields. It was still okay to feed bran and sugarbeet neeeded soaking for 24 hours and you basically fed them on pony nuts or cool mix as that was all that was available along with highly molassed mollichop, and there was no mobile phones and parents thought nothing of us leaving the house at 6am and coming home at 6pm without being in touch with them or letting them know where were hacking to or anything. We also hacked miles to shows too and thought nothing of it

[Jill_H]

I started riding in 1972!!!!

I remember:

Husky jackets
Jute rugs
Striped blankets
Riding to the field bareback (and leading two as well) with just a halter made out of plaited baler twine
Rubber riding boots - had to put bread bags inside to get my feet in as they were so tight
All jodphurs were beige (yuk)
Saddle cloths made of whatever came to hand - numnahs were only for special occassions
Sitting on the barley boiler to keep warm
Riding in the back of the horsebox on the way to point to points
Teaching other kids to ride (I was 12 at the time and the parents didn't bat an eyelid - but then that was before we became a sueing culture)
Taking the ponies and donkeys down to the beach at the weekend to do pony rides

Ah, those were the days!!!!!

Jill

[joshes mum]

Ahh the 80s i remember them well out all day at the weekends riding my friends ponies, things seemed so basic back then oh and i had a dreadful perm to that somehow i managed to cram into my riding hat.:eek::D

[Roheryn]

Originally posted by unicornleather:

ALL saddlery I remember in the 70's was London maturing with age down to a nice chestnut brown

Oh, yes--now I remember that! I could tell which saddles in the tack room were new by that tan color!

And as for the plain bridles, only Dover Saddlery that I know of now has a plain "hunting" bridle--flat cavesson and brownband, and laced reins. It looks like what all the bridles I used to use looked back (going back to the '60s), but it's the only one of its kind now in their catalogue.

Why does almost everybody now use saddle pads?

I am really enjoying reading all the reponses to this thread! I'm being reminded of so many things, and learning so many more. :)

[2Curious]

The 70s were a mad time.
Mostly i remember
Hairy ponies
no rugs - ever
making halters from twine
numnahs were considered really posh
5 mile hack to farrier on main roads as he didnt come out
no discussion about correct position
gazing in the really posh saddlery shop window at the really posh saddles
buying a velvet blue and red browband
Forth Valley Pony Club
Tarduf Riding School
Penny Ritson my first riding instructor
jumping lanes (no reins, stirrups and crossed arms)
my first pair of stylo boots
second hand jods which had to last til they fell to bits
Show jumping on tv on sat nights
Stroller and Marion Mould
Loving graham fletcher
and eddie Macken
Smell of hoof oil
riding hat with just an elasticated strap which you tied above the peak
white horses (great music), follyfoot etc.

ahh they were the days

[dansmum]

The 70s were a mad time.
Mostly i remember
Hairy ponies
no rugs - ever
making halters from twine
numnahs were considered really posh
5 mile hack to farrier on main roads as he didnt come out
no discussion about correct position
gazing in the really posh saddlery shop window at the really posh saddles
buying a velvet blue and red browband
Forth Valley Pony Club
Tarduf Riding School
Penny Ritson my first riding instructor
jumping lanes (no reins, stirrups and crossed arms)
my first pair of stylo boots
second hand jods which had to last til they fell to bits
Show jumping on tv on sat nights
Stroller and Marion Mould
Loving graham fletcher
and eddie Macken
Smell of hoof oil
riding hat with just an elasticated strap which you tied above the peak
white horses (great music), follyfoot etc.

ahh they were the days


I remember Tarduf and Penny Ritson and the jumping lane:D Small world eh?? I was a member of East Stirlingshire Pony Club but used to attend some of the Forth Valley shows in Alloa:)

[emm]

Late 50's onwards


Still riding, but not having as much fun, don't we all tend to over analize now instead of just getting on with it.

How true! Things were simpler then. What a brilliant thread, really makes you think.

:)

[ali cat]

60s and70s memories for me

used to ride in either green wellies -lined with straw and/or plastic bags -- or -- clarks nature treks (they looked a bit like cornish pasties on your feet) no heels but it didn't seem to matter then

lead ropes were baling twine -- i have a really nice scar on my thumb where twine cut through many layers of skin -- got dragged off my horse by a pony i was leading, landed on me back --was up like a flash and chased that bl##dy pony back to the field --got on it (though it was tiny) and the YM told me to ride it round the route (took an hour normally) but fast!!! i was back in 40 mins and was told to take it out again -- we were both knackered by the time we got back.

we used to make saddle blankets for our favourites -- out of whatever your mam would allow you to use--old blankets - towels --and embroider them with names etc

brow bands were blinged up -- we took the browband home -- wrapped coloured wool around it and then put it back on the bridle the next day

made our own crops with peeled twigs and again with the coloured wool:)

always rode in jeans - never wore a hat - never even heard of body protectors

regularly rode bareback using only halters -- great fun galloping along the verges taking ponies--or pponies taking us -- back ot their fields

i remember buying a cheap version of a husky jacket - me and my pal had identical ones -- we were out escorting a ride and it started to rain -- the bloomin jackets started foamin up -- me and caroline were falling about laughing

our yard used to buy ex pit-ponies for TEN POUNDS at bishop auckland auctions -- them little devils had some character i can tell you

the yard used to have loose boxes, and stalls--where the horse stood in a halter all day --the lead rope went through a hole in the manger -- then end of the lead rope had a bit of wood tied to it -- so that the lead rope was always fairly taut--and your horse wouldn't trip over it

we sometimes used to have 30 horses going out on a ride with about 6 kids escorting -- if leading you took at least two at a time -- leader always had one of the troublesome horses:)

the horses were such characters -- we had one that used to steal stuff off the bakers tray when we went past the local shops -- any number of them used to be terrified of buses -- one had a fixation for turning left -- didn't matter if it was a road or someones garden gate

i rode there from age 9 to 23 regularly and another 15 years occasionally -- happy memories of that place:)
my only rosette is from there--a red one -- for a treasure hunt :)

[LindaAd]

Gosh! Most of the stuff you've posted about the 80s was exactly the same when I started riding in the 50s - beige jodhs, gripping with the knees, canvas rugs (or none!).... Although I think jodhs were baggier then, horse boots hadn't been invented, and we had chaff-cutters ...

I bought my first horse in 1988, and things were all different then. The 80s must have been a time of great change.

[*katie*]

Heheh I'm an ickle baby - i wasn't born :D!

[scoob&lill]

I can remember walking to my 'work' (4 miles)aged 12, at 4am to bath ponies tails for a show,didnt do a full bath as not enough water in buts!!
Green gillets,puffa jackets with a stripe down,well worn barbour jackets that had been passed down from older family member,snaffle bits and nothing else allowed,drop or grackle nosebands,using 1 saddle for about 10 ponies,worming once a year,riding down the dual carriageway as rest of roads closed with snow,riding with no hat on,riding a 17h and leading 4 smaller ponies up a busy road as couldnt be bothered to ride all other ponies(my brother passed me on his way to work ,stopped and totaly freaked and turned round and went home to tell our mum,she went bananas and told me i couldnt ride for a week,Yeah right)!every horse/pony had bran,molichop,sugarbeet and molasses in winter,boiling the barley in tack room,jackie books,champion the wonder horse,oh and working for Tim Stockdale!
x

[tina1958]

I know this is going abit off thread cos its pre 80's but seeing that Champion the wonder horse thing (oh what lovely memories watching) I was wondering, does anyone remember....Follyfoot

[Roheryn]

tina 1958--

Search this thread for Follyfoot memories .

There's a link to a youtube video of Follyfoot opening title sequence on p. 4 of this thread.

I'd never heard of it 'til I read this thread; now having seen the video I wish I could see the program!

I searched youtube for videos of some of my favorite horse programs, but haven't found any yet.

:)

[~Perdita.M~]

Yeah a couple of people have mentioned Follyfoot in this thread and I posted a link on page 4:D Good stuff.

[tina1958]

Just remembered a load of other stuff. Gill books (by pullen-thompson sisters)
Silver Brumby books, I really loved these can remember reading the first one in one hit after buying at a motorway service station. There where some others to. I'd still have them all now except my mum gave them all to someone down the road when I was'nt looking:eek::mad::eek::mad: I did manage to salvage one which is 'family pony' by Judith Campbell.

[Skippys Mum]

I know this is going abit off thread cos its pre 80's but seeing that Champion the wonder horse thing (oh what lovely memories watching) I was wondering, does anyone remember....Follyfoot

You're way behind here! A couple of pages ago had us singing along to the theme tune on you tube:D

[tina1958]

tina 1958--

Search this thread for Follyfoot memories .

There's a link to a youtube video of Follyfoot opening title sequence on p. 4 of this thread.

I'd never heard of it 'til I read this thread; now having seen the video I wish I could see the program!

I searched youtube for videos of some of my favorite horse programs, but haven't found any yet.

:)

Cheers I bought the record too. how sad am I. I think its called 'The lightening tree' will have to go rumaging in my attic tomorrow:)

[tina1958]

You're way behind here! A couple of pages ago had us singing along to the theme tune on you tube:D

Thanks, I am always last:(:o

[tina1958]

Yeah a couple of people have mentioned Follyfoot in this thread and I posted a link on page 4:D Good stuff.

Thanks I have just shed a few happy tears.

[Kis Vihar]

Mmmm. As for riding memories... I started riding in 1979 at the local riding school, where I spent the hour crying because I couldn't understand a word the instructor said - There was no 'fun and friendly' at my RS, I remember to this day, being told off for cutting my corners and being shouted at for not being able to rise to the trot (I had NO CLUE what either of these things meant!!!) I was 5 years old and it was the first time I had sat on a pony (an un-cooperative shetland on a lead rein!)

I got my first pony in 1981 (she died 2 years ago aged 32 and I owned her always!) I remember 'getting a saddle' (my mum just walked into a 'saddlery' and bought a 2nd hand 17 inch dressage saddle because we could only afford that one - my pony was 11.3!) That saddle lasted a week as I cried because it was so HUGE! Then we got a lovely 'foreign leather' cheapy! The dye came out on my 'beige' (only had beige then!) joddies. I had a luxury hat (BS3686 standard) in NAVY (wow) with a real webbing narrow adjustable single strap harness. I had no riding boots, just school shoes! I had a red and white checked saddle cloth which my mum sewed my pony's name on. My bridle had a drop noseband with standing martingale! :eek: I had a leather headcollar and red rope - the only other bit of colour! My grooming kit was in shades of brown/black and I had to oil my pony's hooves before riding! I too remember jute rugs and green canvas NZ rugs, but didn't have either as my fat hairy pony didn't need rugging until she got older!

The only feed available where we lived was pony nuts.

How ever did we manage when you see all the stuff available now!!??:D;)

Great to read all these 'memories' of the 80's!! :)

[Kady A]

Here I go showing my age .. I got my first pony in 1975 - he arrived with a saddle and bridle and nothing else - not the full wardrobe you get now. I was quite sophisticated for 1975 with a kimblewick! I had a pair of Harry Hall jods which I treasured and a Christy Beaufort hat (which is still in my attic as I can't bear to throw it away). I had to persevere with my mum for a pair of jod boots - I do recall riding in her Derry boots (you know the fur lined things that grannies wear). I had an ancient leather headcollar (which I also still have) and a leadrope that had seen better days. I had one little black saddlecloth and a clencher browband and that was it. String girths - got giddy when I saw Stubben string girths at BETA in February - brought back memories. Nemo had an old newmarket blanket worn with a surcingle (no stable rugs) and I was the height of fashion when I got a canvas NZ rug. Bloody hated that thing!

As for feeding - bran mashes, pony nuts and occasionally oats and sugar beet!

Goodness me, life was so simple then .. you need a degree in equine nutrition to work out a feeding programme for a horse these days!

[LindaAd]

Just remembered a load of other stuff. Gill books (by pullen-thompson sisters)
Silver Brumby books, l.

Ah, pony books ... They really need a thread all to themselves ... The Jill books, by Ruby Ferguson, and the Pullein-Thompson sisters' books really belong to the fifties and sixties ... the P-Ts did go on writing for ages, maybe even into the eighties, but they weren't as good as the early ones.

[Skippys Mum]

And no neck covers!!! I got one of the first "heavyweight" weatherbeta rugs - 300g - everyone thought I was mad to put such a thick rug on a horse!!!

[dizzybee]

I got my first pony in 1963 and had a pad saddle and an old snaffle bit bridle and what loked like an old sack for a rug:o:o:o

[unicornleather]

lol, I am so enjoying reading these stories, brings back so many memories. One of my earliest memories of riding a pony, I must have been about 7 at the time (1968) was a typical fat pony with attitude, I was having a lesson for some strange reason (don't think the stables had a school to use)in a field full of prickly thistles. I was doing ok until the pony decided he'd stick his head down to munch and the resulting tug on the reins had me flying forwards and I grabbed hold of the saddle as I went (last resort ) the saddle wasn't done up tight enough (he'd puffed himself up like a puffa fish) the saddle slipped right round underneath his belly with me still attached hanging on for dear life and as he walked forwards to graze all the thistles were hitting me in the face and up the back side!
Oh those were the days!
Oz :)

[Roheryn]

Originally posted by Kis Vihar:

My grooming kit was in shades of brown/black

Oh, yes--I remember now, we didn't have all the colorful brushes and things we have now, and brushes had wooden backs and natural bristles? And hoof picks didn't have brushes (?).

[alliersv]

What a cracking thread!
I have been grinning from ear to ear with all the memories it has brought back. I think I had or did everything that has been mentioned so far.
NF pony with Kimblewick, curb chain and drop noseband...still didn't stop the wee bugger!
Lovely cork velvet hat with drawstring. Chinstrap always hung over the peak, followed by Skull cap with gorgeous navy and red silks, not like these daft lycra things I've had to buy recently.
Sheepskin nosebands (homemade..red!)on everything.
Anglo Arab mare followed the NF, rode her in a snaffle and a Grackle noseband, thought she looked really cool :rolleyes:
Those crappy cheapo pads to go under excersise bandages, not gamgee, the stuff you had to cut to fit...then all the stuffing fell out!
Home made numnahs, a night rug made from a sleeping bag. Mum even made a NZ rug from some canvas and a blanket for our mare's daughter when she was still growing ("I'm not buying one til she stops growing!").
Heavy Jute night rugs.
Rab C Nesbitt sweat rugs.
Bran mash and Sugar beet pulp
Draw reins, not sure if they're used as much now?
Riding across fields randomly, jumping everything with no fear or thought for what might be on the other side.
Cantering round a lunge pit with no reins or stirrups, arse out of the seat, clinging on with our knees.
Getting Harvey Smith's autograph.
Caroline Bradley collapsing and dying at a terribly young age.
Rolling up our stirrup leathers and racing each other like jockeys.
My NF pony bolting while me and my mate were riding him bareback in a halter. He cleared the 5 bar gate into the farm with us both on board bless him, sadly my mate pulled us both off the back as he landed.
Horsey progs, although I can't believe nobody has mentioned Barbara Woodhouse with her Vulcanite Pelhams and blowing up horses noses.
Being chuffed to bits with my new Stylos, previously I'd had those cheap rubber ones that you had to cut to length. They always pinched and the rubber wore off on your saddle.
String girths..I had a brown one...niiiice.
Begging for one of those fancy bridles that were black with white padding under the nose and browband, with white rubber reins...never did get one.
Cantering down verges and jumping the drainage gulleys, me and the mare missed one once and both went up the road on our noses :o
Hoof oil, loved my horses having shiny feet lol.
Puffa stripey jackets and Hunter wellies.
Spending all day from dawn til dusk with my mate Becky on our ponies just riding wherever the mood took us, with our lunches in a little saddlebag (attached to the D-rings behind the saddle) No mobile phones, it was 3 rings from a phone box and a call back if we got stuck!
The farrier using a proper forge, none of this back of the van fancy pants oven thingy they have now.
Watching the vet castrate 2 colts and the farm's German Shepard eating one of said colt's testicles in the corner of the stable in front of the poor thing.
Finding the farm owner's husband's porn stash in the haystack while filling haynets.
Think that will do for now
:)

[unicornleather]

Brilliant!!
POOR colt is all I can say and ouch!
Oz :)

[Soozy]

Watching the vet castrate 2 colts and the farm's German Shepard eating one of said colt's testicles in the corner of the stable in front of the poor thing.


Eeeewwwww, yuk yuk yuk......

Soozy
x

[laceyfreckle]

lol i remember harry hall jodhs as the 'best thing ever' the 'silver brumby' books. jute canvas rugs and green nz's:D

show gear was normal gear cleaned and polished within a inch of its life!

[Roheryn]

alliersv:

What is a "proper forge" such as you mention? All I've ever seen are the little oven thingies they have in the backs of their trucks. Was it a portable forge?

[alliersv]

alliersv:

What is a "proper forge" such as you mention? All I've ever seen are the little oven thingies they have in the backs of their trucks. Was it a portable forge?

The yard owner's husband qualified as a farrier to save them some money as they had a load of horses.
They had what I can only describe as a very large barbecue which got to a silly heat, but it was basically still a proper fire. I still remember the day he threw some petrol on it to get it going, daft sod. It was a permanent structure on the bottom floor of a high roofed barn.He kept all his shoes and kit in there and you could do the shoeing in there too, so you got weather protection.
In fairness, he was the only person who shod my horses, so maybe my experience is the exception rather than the rule.
I had never seen a "modern" farrier til the other week and was quite impressed at how clean and compact the whole operation was.

[popdog]

alliersv:

What is a "proper forge" such as you mention? All I've ever seen are the little oven thingies they have in the backs of their trucks. Was it a portable forge?

My yard still has a proper forge from when the farrier used to work there. It's a brick built building with a fire and bellows - it's all unused but the YO keeps it intact. My farrier now has a gas fired forge in the back of his Mitsubishi Warrior...how times have changed :D

[JustJas]

Probably been posted just seen thread and not read it all but I remember riding for fun and litigation was not a thought!
I lived to do the stable work for rides- leading ponies, grooming, mucking out etc. I was so happy when I was viewed as the most reliable helper which lead to doing beach rides for a whole summer.
It taught me how to handle and ride very difficult ponies and stable management. How do you get that these days?

[Roheryn]

The modern little "forges" in the backs of the farriers' trucks are fairly impressive with their roar and smell and steam and sparks--impressive enough to make me wish I could watch a farrier at work at a "real" forge, one such as you describe, alliersv and popdog. As it is, I always think of Vulcan. If I could see the other type of forge, I'd probably think I was really in his forge!

I love watching farriers work!

[alliersv]

The modern little "forges" in the backs of the farriers' trucks are fairly impressive with their roar and smell and steam and sparks--

Funny how you never forget a smell isn't it?
While at the yard the other week, the farrier was doing his rounds (hence me seeing the new "oven" forge) and I smelt the aroma of smouldering hooves for the first time in 20 years.
Twas lovely. :)

Popdog, I don't think ours was brick built but was otherwise very similar sounding. Nice that your yard have kept theirs. I'm willing to bet that the one at my old yard is even still being used...knowing the owners!

[popdog]

Popdog, I don't think ours was brick built but was otherwise very similar sounding. Nice that your yard have kept theirs. I'm willing to bet that the one at my old yard is even still being used...knowing the owners!

Am sure YO thinks it will 'come back into fashion' and he'll make a fortune...the old Scrooge :p

[Mary Poppins]

All the ponies at my school had grass reins made out of twine.
No-one used a hose to wash tails - it was all done with buckets of water.
We used to oil our tack once a week.
Lots of gymkana games and galloping across the field. Everything was done so much faster than it is now!
None of the horses had shoes and only had feet trimmed once every 6 months. They were in a terrible state actually.

[Nellsmum]

The 80's!!!!!.............good grief..........I remember the 70's and the 60's..........does that make me ancient????:confused:

[dukes auntie]

aged 10 , no lesson in school out on a sandstone trail two lead rein lessons themn out on own , learnt to canter out lead rider said do what i do and off we went!! had one school leasson where it was point and go for it at jumps!!

[Nellsmum]

Girths tied up with baler twine!!!

[DavidH]

Instructors who were far more scary than any horse or pony you could be put on. :eek:
Modern equipement is nice. Modern riding ethos leaves a lot to be desired.

[Fanshawe]

Instructors who were far more scary than any horse or pony you could be put on. :eek:
Modern equipement is nice. Modern riding ethos leaves a lot to be desired.

Oooh yes. I had some seriously scary instructors who made you quake in your boots if you didn't do as you were told. Then again I also had some good ones- one that sticks in the mind is an old boy (must be about 90 by now!) who told me that I couldn't expect my horse to stand still if I didn't keep my body still. Still stays with me now.

[Smartie Pants2]

How could I have forgotten string girths and cantering along grass verges on main roads:eek: Anyone remember Extra Tail fly spray?:)

Oh that was me too:)

Rope halters, felt saddles for the diddy ponies, and i don't ever remember poo picking, body Protectors were unheard of and we never had treads in stirrup irons

[happy highlande]

Staying up all night (yep,-no sleep at all) in a local inn, then leading a trek (or two) the next day. No tought of insurance or litigation - we just took punters through the forestry and crossed our fingers they stayed on!!

[oldpunk]

I still pull my horses legs forward after tacking up:confused:

Obviously!!! While he still has his winter coat, have a look at his hair round the girth before and after. Much comfier! Forgot once when riding friend's horse (modern non-rub girth) and the damn thing drew blood.

[Roheryn]

Originally posted by Nellsmum:

The 80's!!!!!.............good grief..........I remember the 70's and the 60's..........does that make me ancient????

No more so than it does me! :cool: :D ;) I remember them all too!

[Packhorse12]

Don't worry, some of us even remember the 50's !!! :eek:

[Kady A]

Remembering the 50's isn't old ... its just slightly more grown up thats all.

Been rummaging around in my attic for pics of my 70's and 80's pony antics to show my boss's daughter - found one of me cantering on a grass verge (hatless :eek:) with only a headcollar and leadrope ... and the cardinal sin ... wearing Adidas Kick trainers. I also found Pony annuals from 1974 onwards now they make interesting reading! I doubt I shall see said books again they are going around the yard whilst everyone goes back to their childhood.

PS. Boss's daughter appalled at my hatless, bareback, trainer picture ... I am SOOOO safety conscious now I in my 40's!

[Trewsers]

I didn't have regular lessons - but odd hacks - in the 80's. Things that stand out are riding hats - they were all in a heap in a corner and you helped yourself. They didn't have very good chin straps either.
(It was the early 80's) Also I remember being allowed out with a group with nobody from the school in charge - which was fab (I hadn't developed a phobia about cantering in open spaces back then!).
I remember the carrots on the yard - huge huge piles of them just stacked up when they'd been dumped out the back of a trailer.
All bodywarmers were either green or beige. Jods were mainly beige or black.

[*toHorse&Away*]

Remember it! - I still have and wear the same pair of boots! :eek:

[Roheryn]

Originally posted by *toHorse@Away*--

Remember it! - I still have and wear the same pair of boots!

I first wanted a pair of cowgirl boots in the 50s ... finally, a couple of years ago, I finally bought a pair. I love them dearly ... yet I ride in my paddock boots because the western ones just look silly (I think) with my breeches!

That is one of my favorite of Browning's poems, by the way ... :)

[notpoodle]

:p

I remember my first riding lessons. SOME of the kids had hats on, SOME of them even had chinstraps in the form of little rubber bands that cut into your face like elastic cheesewire. and we all had rubber boots by Grandeur and jods by Pikeur. nobody used mounting blocks either. i remember being 9 trying to clamber onto a 17hh horse with the stirrup leathers already looped through the irons twice ... took a while!

Horses didn't seem to get sick in those days, neither did they ever spook at traffic. Rugs were pretty much either those heavy jute jobbies (with about 200 straps to fix them on the horse) or little sweat stringvest contraptions with a surcingle and nothing else holding them on. and they were all eating oats in large quantities!

i remember my riding instructor then. always in breeches. with an interesting moustache. he used to be in the military (or so he said) and most of his sentences ended in 'back in my days ...' . he was obsessed with 1. cooking (my dad would often watch the whole lesson to jot down that special roast lamb recipe!) and 2. showing the horse who's in charge here. he would often hurl bits of wood in the direction of lazy horses (who promptly spooked, bolted and discarded of their little riders) and yell at horse/rider alike with a range of interesting insults :o

he also had a selection of homespun cross country devices outside the school. have you ever jumped up a 3ft wooden step without stirrups? it was like a carcrash unfolding. half the lesson fell off (i didn't! my horse had a long mane for me to hang from!) :eek:

better still, he'd buy horses cheaply, use them in the school and then sold them on. only that his 'bargains' often 1. came straight off the race track into a novice lesson (both trotters and flatracing) 2. were in fact stallions or 3. were actually quite dangerous to handle.

the school horses were kept tied up in stalls at all times (yikes!) and sometimes he decided to send the whole lesson out on a hack (accompanied by a stable hand). the latter was mayhem as none of the horses were used to hacking out. i have 'fond' memories of being bolted with in TROT (ever ridden a trotter that's only been off the track for a week? they do trot quite fast!) through a field full of corn :o

in short, a lot of rather dangerous stuff in the 80s!!

Julia
x

[popdog]

Notpoodle...your post really made me giggle. It's not unlike my days at riding school, and I never dared wear the elastic chinstrap down (far too painful) so it was always up over my hat. Safety when jumping a home made XC course, eh?

I never got any good recipes though...I feel quite cheated, perhaps I should go back and ask for a refund ;)

[jumpingkatey]

Remembering the 50's isn't old ... its just slightly more grown up thats all.

Been rummaging around in my attic for pics of my 70's and 80's pony antics to show my boss's daughter - found one of me cantering on a grass verge (hatless :eek:) with only a headcollar and leadrope ... and the cardinal sin ... wearing Adidas Kick trainers. I also found Pony annuals from 1974 onwards now they make interesting reading! I doubt I shall see said books again they are going around the yard whilst everyone goes back to their childhood.

PS. Boss's daughter appalled at my hatless, bareback, trainer picture ... I am SOOOO safety conscious now I in my 40's!

Ooooo show us your pics Kady A!!!

[rattysgirl]

Ah yes... drop nosebands were in use, thick foam wither pads and purely decorative riding hats!
I agree with Notpoodle...
"Old school instructors" who shout and bully you, complete with public humiliation, horses that would never pass a riding school BHS inspection (bolters and rearers)... I actually do have a fond memory of those days. Never a dull moment!

[Dogrose]

I didn't have a huge amount of experience of horses when I was a kid and the horsey girls at school didn't talk to me (nothing nice anyway!) but I did have some riding lessons and my aunt had a horse for a short while (until it had an unexpected foal, then she got married and put it out on loan for the rest of its life). This was all in the 70s. I remember things people have mentioned though, string girths, heavy New Zealand rugs, pointless riding hats (brown velvet anyone?), pony nuts and oats, neatsfoot oil (it stank, was it made from roadkill?) and browbands with bright coloured zig zags of ribbon woven onto them (or maybe you can still get them and I haven't come across them yet). I also remember shoes having to be replaced due to wearing thin, I was surprised when I came to live here at the riding stables when I watched the farrier putting on new shoes, the old ones looked hardly touched.
Someone should start a 'Stables Reunited' website for people who want to reminisce :D

[unicornleather]

Notpoodle, reading your comments was funny, especially about the recipes, you should write a book or make a "carry on Riding School" film!
Oz :)

[poniesrule]

I learnt to ride in mid 80's.

I remember my attire consisted of:

Cream jodhs
waxed jacket
rubber long boots (filled with talc to get them off at end of day!)
cream string gloves
skull cap with colourful silk and chin cup (which i chewed!)
hair net
big wooly jumper down to the knees!
plain coloured riding crop stuffed down boots when on horse!

Pony attire consisted of:

Eggbutt snaffle or kimblewick bit
cavessen or drop noseband-fancy stitched
velvet browband!!!
laced reins
saddle with knee flaps that had suede where knee would go
fleece numnah in red, normally.
string girth.

Lessons:

Round the World and scissors:D

[jinglejoys]

I lost my nerve in the sixties and only came back to riding a few years ago.
Wondered what all the fuss was about that some saddles had no kneerolls so for some reason people can't jump any more without them
Didn't know you didn't pull the front leg foreward anymore after girthing.
I'm so glad I haven't had any BHS riding lessons since though...I'm trying to forget "Thighs down the saddle,knees pointing forewards,toes up,heels down ,little finger on line with the elbow...," and learn to ride with more comfort.
I now don't have to get on if I don't feel safe instead of "If you fall off get straight back on" and I'm learning to back my mule the modern way so we both feel more relaxed.
There is so much more tack and colour to chose from (Though the recent craze for pastels is very impracticle!)but there's nothing horsey on terrestrial T.V. anymore and no Horsey films unless its cartoons or racehorses:)I still prefer Fury to Champion:D
I can ride in a nice lightweight hat with air vents that doesn't give me a splitting headache and is clamped on with an elastic band throatlash.
And thank you for the W.W.W.,you can learn so much.

[Suzanne2]

But you've all forgotten about Husky jackets! Remember them - for riders, not horses. Dull green, thin, quilted, fairly useless at shielding you from elements. I sort of wish I hadn't thrown mine away now - nostalgia for a jacket!

[vimto92]

I must say I'm loving this thread! :D

[fairlady]

But you've all forgotten about Husky jackets! Remember them - for riders, not horses. Dull green, thin, quilted, fairly useless at shielding you from elements. I sort of wish I hadn't thrown mine away now - nostalgia for a jacket!


I have a jacket like that, its ancient but in black, it is quilted with cordouroy (is that how you spell it??) on the collar and edge of the pockets.

Ha, I still wear it:o

[Skippys Mum]

I went to see Mamma Mia last night so I'm still in the middle of an 80's fest here *singing as I type*:D:D:D

[newforest]

I'm doing some research for something I want to write, and I would love to know what others remember from riding in the late 1970s - early 1980s. Tack, clothes, turnouts, feed, equipment, etc. ...

I was riding in the early-to-mid 80s, and I remember some things, but I would really like to hear other people's memories too!

gosh good luck with your writing, i bet your get interesting feedback.

yes i remember the 80's.
feed was just beet and nuts for the horse, jute new zealands that weighed a ton, skull cap with chin straps, flatish old hunting style saddles.
cheaper livery, lessons and horse and pony was b/w and only 75p i had the old ones!!!

[Skippys Mum]

Little House On The Prairie :):):)

[newforest]

oh and you could do loads of things without the worry that you would get sued.
how many of you rode the horse to their fields in just a headcollar while leading down the then quiet country lanes.
who used to work at stables for free rides and it didn't matter you weren't 16 or qualified. we all complain and sue these days the riding schools are shutting down. one i rode at is now an industrial estate!!!!

[Packhorse12]

Stables Reuinited brilliant ! :):D

No travelling farriers in those days. You hacked to the forge or if you were posh you had a trailer or box. I used to ride my old loan pony to the farrier (blacksmiths) and it took most of the day too. We didnt book it or anything, I just used to turn up and wait my turn if it was busy. It was a pain if one of the big stable owners was there with three or four horses, but I just sat on the verge and my pony ate the grass while we waited.

I had to cross a river which had a ford but it was muddy so that would make her legs wet and dirty and the old blacksmith always grumbled, so I used to cross the River Mole using an old wooden foot bridge instead. I had to dismount and lead and it had planks missing too :eek: but she was a good old pony and would step carefully across the gaps without hesitation.
The blacksmiths was part of a big old building which was a dairy which supplied milk to the whole area. It used to have horses and carts todeliver the milk I suppose so the blacksmiths was a leftover from those days. That was in Leatherhead, Prewets Dairy in Randals Road I think it was. Anyone else from that area remember that?

[RobaDob]

love this thread, makes you realise you dont need all gadgets etc to have a good time with your horse :)

p.s, we have 3 old green nz's in our feed room stacked under all the new nz's etc (the leathery type ones)

i wasnt even born in the 80's :D

[alliersv]

I went to visit my folks at Easter and grabbed a load of old pics of me and the horses to show my new RI.
Amongst them are some of the things I and others have mentioned on this thread..my faded velvet hat with the harness and chin cup, my rubber boots, my home made numnah and my red home made sheepskin noseband...on a head collar!
It was lovely to see them again, what happy memories they hold.
When I get a chance I will scan and post them for you all to snigger at.
:)

[alliersv]

Righto , here goes
In no particular order, an random skewbald pony who I have no recollection of. Robin, little grey pony I rode/borrowed before I got Rebel, my 13.2 Bay NF pony. I'd forgotten what a handsome chap Rebel was until I dug these pics out.
Belle, my Anglo Arab mare, and her daughter Rashaka.Her father was Koran, a liver chestnut Arab stallion.
Some horse show and hunting pics (Rebel in his brand new xmas bridle on Boxing day), and Pablo, the world's ugliest (but sweetest natured) horse. His owner Tina loved him to bits, but god was he ugly!
Some vile 70's fashion from me, my little bro (check out his "catsuit") and a girl who used to bring her pony round for me to sit on. That must have been around 1975, hence the Red Rum noseband.
If you look closely you will see..little saddlebag to hold packed lunch on pony treks, Red homemade sheepskin noseband, Kimblewick snaffle, homemade numnah (pale pink :eek:), Chinstrap harness with chin cup, not a knee roll in sight, plaited reins and probably more crimes that someone will remind me of.
Anyone who can name the showjumper has a better memory than me. He was giving me my prize for doing the most pony treks in a year at a big horse show in Doncaster.

[alliersv]

More

[alliersv]

Last 2

Hope you enjoy them.
Feel free to add your own so I don't feel so stupid!
:)

[Packhorse12]

They are EXCELLENT !!!! :)

absolutely no need to feel stupid, it's good to see kids having fun and people not worrying too much about what kids did and how they did it, and it is nice to know that back then people understood that you could take chances and that accidents were down to YOU personally not to some show organiser or stables or property owner etc.

They are a brilliant bunch of photos well done for showing them to us.

Don't ya just love those ummmm anorak jackets - meant in the real sense of the word and the nicest possible way you understand .

[alliersv]

Don't ya just love those ummmm anorak jackets - meant in the real sense of the word and the nicest possible way you understand .

I'm guessing you mean the girl holding "Red Rum". That is a shocker isn't it!
I have a great one of me with a kipper collar anorak, I'll put that one up in a bit.
:D

[alliersv]

Righto, as promised the kipper collar anorak, worn with the obligatory beige jods, rubber boots that nipped and my navy bodywarmer which I often slept in I liked it so much.
Also worthy of note on these pics are Robin's string girth and by little bro has not only his stirrup leathers rolled up, but his feet in the leathers ...cute! For fashionistas, his is wearing a cords, parka and gym pumps ensemble.
Robin had to be ridden in a pelham, he'd put his head down and **** his jaw and that was it, off like a train! Little sh**e he was!
:D
...
.
.
.
.
I wish I was 10 again
:(

[oldpunk]

Love the anoraks!! Brought back memories...got a pic of me showjumping (at a show!!!) in one somewhere. Would post pics if I knew how...yours are so fab!

Is the SJ Graham Fletcher?

[alliersv]

Love the anoraks!! Brought back memories...got a pic of me showjumping (at a show!!!) in one somewhere. Would post pics if I knew how...yours are so fab!

Is the SJ Graham Fletcher?

I think it could be Graham Fletcher. I did have the letter G in my head, and the only one I could think of was Geoff Billington. I knew it wasn't him. Googled recent pics and it *could* be him, but if it is, he looks younger now than he did then!

[Iron Maiden]

Fab pix :p

I've dug out a couple!

This was Windsor Sponsored Ride in 1987 - note the beige cord jods, Stylo Matchmaker rubber boots, leather brushing boots, brown tack, no bp, funny old skullcap + chin cup, eggbut snaffle (about the only bit in the world at the time!), imitation sheepskin noseband and brass clincher browband cos we wuz posh :D

http://i121.photobucket.com/albums/o233/rancidprong/q.jpg

Windsor SR '88 - we wuz really posh here, you could get brown running martingales with white bits on them!

http://i121.photobucket.com/albums/o233/rancidprong/Sultan.jpg

And soooper-posh - brushing boots that aren't leather :eek: And brass clinchers on the browband AND noseband :eek::eek:

http://i121.photobucket.com/albums/o233/rancidprong/max.jpg

Them was the days!

[Vicki&Milo]

sooooooper posh maybe, but only the one shirt ;)

I iwsh I had some photos of me back in the 80's I can remember the coat I used to ride in, it was red with green duffles.

[Horsewoman]

I had to put a hanky between my knees and the saddle and not let it drop - OMG its all coming back to me.

And what did riding hats do for your perm?:p

When I started formal riding lessons in the early 1950s I was given 2 (old) pennies to put between knee and saddle and if they were still there at the end of the lesson I WAS ALLOWED TO KEEP THE PENNIES - such largesse!

BTW in those days you only started formal lessons when you had proved yourself capable of riding the pony so I started from scratch with lead rein hacks (on the road :eek:) with instruction from my leader as the need arose, progressed to hacking off the lead rein and then I was promoted to manege lessons! You weren't considered capable of lessons until you could walk, rising trot and canter!

Never wore a hard hat until the late 1960s and then only because I had a bad fall. Mind you the hats were very far from what they are now - lined with cork and held on with elastic under the chin which you were supposed to remove for competitions and hunting!

WE wore woollen jodhs which had no stretch in them and had big baggy hips and tight calves (often laced or buttoned) and hand-knitted yellow polo sweaters. I never knew why they had to be yellow - they just were and I still have to force myself not to go for the same thing now - the power of childhood suggestion!

We have a framed photo in the tackroom of a Pony Club meet in the early '60s of a group of PC members mucking out in collars and ties and HACKING JACKETS!!!

[poppy 99]

I took up riding last year at 38 so wasnt 'there' (too busy smoking behind the bikeshed) but someone did give me a whole boxful of horsey magasines from that decade and some of the articles are priceless - how to make a stable rug from an old sleeping bag, how to make a haynet, noseband and something else from baling twine, make your own jumps (Im hanging onto that one!) and endless debate about whether people should wear hats or not. While some of the stuff has been funny, a lot of the advice is so down to earth and common sense its been great - none of this you need to buy this expensive bit of equipment or the other - much more pull your socks up, get your blue peter diy kit out and blooming well get on with it and heres how - i wish there were a few more articles like that in the mags I buy today!

I made my pony the sleeping bag rug AND a smart checked travelling rug out of our picnic blanket!!! My mum was furious!!!!!

[janet hakeney]

I started riding in 1963

[Hippyhorse]

Oooh those were the days, I remember the old jute rugs and proper new zealands, bandages for everything, no rubber matting, proper straw beds, body protectors? What were they! Gripping with my knees, I still do it! Halters not head collars, I still have my old skull cap with chin cup somewhere and my stylo boots! I had such a shock when I returned to riding and yard duties 12 months ago after a long break so much had changed and however nostalgic I am some of it is for the better although I think some of the attitudes today aren't so!

[scribbler]

Oh the 80s,wait dont remember a lot did have my first kiss on the Ben Hur.
Could not have my own pony as my mum did not have the money .worked at local riding school for free rides on the ponies. Loved the music hated the clothes as too fat for those Ra Ra skirts .Right in to wham!Use to take people
out on hacks met my first real boyfriend scott I taught him to horse ride.Wish those days would come back I could go on and on dont worry I wont...............

[coverblown]

late 60s - family couldnt afford to let me ride but got a few lessons on holiday - rides on the sands and we led the horses to and fro the stable.

3 lessons meant you were a "rider" - and the lessons, as well as hacking about, concluded with
round the world
scissors
thread the needle

couldn't believe that was still on the go when I finally got to ride more than 30 years later

and I envied anyone who had a riding hat. so posh

Kilmacolm show, where people who really had horses and ponies went and showed them. I just stared and longed!

Still no horse to call my own. Probably I couldnt live the dream. Lovely thread.

[durham_lass]

Wow this thread is really interesting, I wasn't even born until 1985 so don't have a clue what some of you are on about but the history lesson was certainly interesting, I love reading about how things used to be. Keep it up! And I love your old pics!

[laura jeanne]

haha, I've put this up before but I'm 10 years old - in the red jacket (1960)

http://i11.photobucket.com/albums/a156/applevalley/jodphurs4.jpg

[HollyD]

I am only 21 so most of my memories are from early 90s. Does anyone remember thatching thier pony with straw under a sweat net before we had these posh fleeces? I have done this recently and people thought i was crazy.
The strands of straw were much longer too and we used to roll them into a rope to make a whisp and everyone strapped thier horse. I strap my horse still and people think im cruel.
How about cleaning tack with the orange block of soap, we didnt have any posh lotions and potions back then!
Also nobody had flash or crank nosebands, i never knew they existed until many yrs later. When i was a kid the fashion was fulmer snaffles and drop noseband so you could hook the noseband underneath the full cheek.
Drill riding at the riding school!

[Roheryn]

I am glad to hear that someone else besides me knows about straw/hay wisps! :) No one I've ridden with seems to have ever heard of them. Isn't it supposed to tone the muscles (the horse's and the groom's? ;)

How in the world do you make one, HollyD? I've read about them, even saw illustrations of the steps in making one in at least one horse book, but I wish I knew how to actually do it.

[old_woman]

Remember the EIGHTIES?

Hang on, they were YESTERDAY!

Now - does anyone remember the forties and the fifties ...?

My mum made me a pair of elephant-ear jodhpurs from a Simplicity sewing pattern and my dad's demob gabardine raincoat, using her black-and-gold treadle Singer sewing machine.

Clothes rationing was still in force at the time, but my dad had genuinely damaged his raincoat when assisting the police and ambulance services at a road accident, so was issued with a new one. There was enough left of the old one to make a pair of jodhs for a skinny eight year old - it really is true that every cloud has a silver lining! I can still remember the joy and delight with which I greeted those jodhs and put them on - I was SO PROUD of them.

Ponies were generally kept in stalls, not looseboxes, if they were kept in at all, and there seemed no damage done by the practice. But they would have worked all day long in the shafts of a cart if they were stood in a stall at night, or have hacked both to and from the meet or rally or show, as well as participate in it ... and only if ill and needing something to tempt their appetite would they be given even a sniff of molasses. The molasses or treacle tin was considered to be more part of the equine medicine chest than the kitchen cabinet.

Yes, I remember wisps, and plaited edges to a straw bed. I knew an old lady, when I was in my teens, who could do an entire decorative edge to a bed with only a two-tined pitchfork. The only bit she actually touched with her hands was the firmly-plaited bit at the stable door.

How I wish I had taken photos of her handiwork - still more learnt myself how she did it! We had no idea that such skills would die out in our own lifetime.

[icegirl]

Im going to have to go back to the 60s as well.
Horsewoman - yes I remember those yellow polo necks knitted by your mum and they were always scratchy!
We used to canter down all the verges of the main roads too and I remember being bolted with once, on this mad pony with no neck to speak of.
The instructors were seriously scarey and would literally bellow at you: "get back on that pony".

[old_woman]

How - or where - and when - did the custom of those yellow polo-necks begin?

They were totally synonymous with riding - does anyone have any idea why?

[dansmum]

Remember the EIGHTIES?

Hang on, they were YESTERDAY!

Now - does anyone remember the forties and the fifties ...?

My mum made me a pair of elephant-ear jodhpurs from a Simplicity sewing pattern and my dad's demob gabardine raincoat, using her black-and-gold treadle Singer sewing machine.

Clothes rationing was still in force at the time, but my dad had genuinely damaged his raincoat when assisting the police and ambulance services at a road accident, so was issued with a new one. There was enough left of the old one to make a pair of jodhs for a skinny eight year old - it really is true that every cloud has a silver lining! I can still remember the joy and delight with which I greeted those jodhs and put them on - I was SO PROUD of them.

Ponies were generally kept in stalls, not looseboxes, if they were kept in at all, and there seemed no damage done by the practice. But they would have worked all day long in the shafts of a cart if they were stood in a stall at night, or have hacked both to and from the meet or rally or show, as well as participate in it ... and only if ill and needing something to tempt their appetite would they be given even a sniff of molasses. The molasses or treacle tin was considered to be more part of the equine medicine chest than the kitchen cabinet.

Yes, I remember wisps, and plaited edges to a straw bed. I knew an old lady, when I was in my teens, who could do an entire decorative edge to a bed with only a two-tined pitchfork. The only bit she actually touched with her hands was the firmly-plaited bit at the stable door.

How I wish I had taken photos of her handiwork - still more learnt myself how she did it! We had no idea that such skills would die out in our own lifetime.

Would love to have seen the plaited bed edges - what a skill:)

[madlady]

Fantastic thread - I started riding in the 70's, jute rugs and green canvas NZ rugs - if you had rugs at all that is.

Didn't have a pony but worked at a local farm in return for rides on the most ill mannered sec C in the world who would happily either refuse to move or bolt off with you.

Grip with your knees on the riding lessons - hours of riding without stirrups, walk, trot, lead, canter - round the world, scissors. Hacking out safely without a mobile phone or a hat.

Hacking to local shows (and that was as an adult!)

Feeding brand and sugarbeet or pony nuts with linseed as a treat.

Even though some of the stuff available now is very good the experiences that I and my friends got from those days is invaluable.

[Wally]

I have a book by ElwynHartly-Edwards and every child in that, apart from the shw page, is wearing the yellow Polo neck! with or without a tweed jacket! That's got a 1970 birthday date in it. :o

For shows you must have a pony club tie docherknow!

[icegirl]

I have a book by ElwynHartly-Edwards and every child in that, apart from the shw page, is wearing the yellow Polo neck! with or without a tweed jacket! That's got a 1970 birthday date in it. :o

For shows you must have a pony club tie docherknow!


I was about to say maybe it was the pictures in the books!!!

[learningcurve]

The seventies were FAB!!!!!!!!

Loved reading this, a walk down memory lane.
What I remember most is the sense of freedom, Health and safety had yet to achieve world domination.


Still got my pony club tie.

[Clava]

Fantastic thread, lots of memories (I think I still have some string girths somewhere..). Personal memories would include disappearing down the bridleways for hours, possibly all day with my friend and ponies, very little traffic, wellies instead of jod boots, hats held on with elastic and made of cork inside, and lots of bare back riding for fun. Although born in the 60s and a child of the 70s I had an old pair of "elephant ear" jods too (must have been my mum's).

[Wally]

If you had the knicker elastic holding your hat on you MUST have had the statutory knot in it to tighten it where it had perished????

[Clava]

Yep!

[palmerlover52]

I have a book published in 1994 I think, they're still wearing the yellow polo necks!

And at my old old RS we did all of the saddle exercises like half scissors, thread the needle, around the world, full scissors (Mainly because the ponies were so brain dead they wouldn't think of moving so we did 'standing still' stuff instead :p )

So not all of it's died out!

[Clava]

You mean they don't do those things any more!!!

[ali-c]

I loved the 80's! Cream nylon johdpurs were a must, big woolly jumper (no fleeces then), rubber riding boots with ankle warmers underneath:eek: wax jacket (that I still have somewhere). In the summer we'd wear those green padded riding jackets with the stitched traingles in them, it was really important that the coat you wore had double vents ...now I wear any general outdoor gear to ride..not just horsey stuff. My riding hat was lovely but wouldn't have protected me if I'd hit my head :rolleyes: We used to ride bare back and would do loads of busy road work :eek:

We used to use a hay wisp:o had a few things in our grooming kit and used surcingles with woolly blankets. Buckets were yellow or black and it seemed that kit was functional ..not designed to look pretty.

When I moved house last year the elderly lady that lived here left me alot of stuff that she thought I might use when I get my horse...string girth..new zealand rug..moth eaten jute rug..velvet covered brow bands. I haven't had the heart to chuck them out but don't think I'll ever use them!

[ali-c]

---

[Hags]

more of your late sixties through seventies and eighties girl but can remember reading a (old when I got it) book called Ten Pound Pony - which I read over and over and over again. Recently found another copy of it and read it in a sitting - enjoyed it justas much all over again!

Brilliant thread!

[juliedorman]

This was me in the early 80's on my Dad's point to pointer, modelling the trendy green husky jacket. I mainly rode from mid 70's to 80's and I