The old ways - what good practices don't we see anymore?

[Jessey]

I think old ways are sometimes the best, I don't remember seeing laminitis very often as a kid, and we didn't have all these fancy premixed feeds/balancers/supplements, rugs for this and that, genetically modified grass in the fields and 'show condition' wasn't the norm and the ponies/horses survived perfectly well. I feel like maybe we've come so far it's detrimental to our animals in some cases, so talk to me about the old ways, how we used to keep horses when we didn't have these problems (so much).

We used to have grass in the field, hay in the stable, oats for those needing energy, barley or sugar beet for those needing weight, nothing for most. Shoes off for the winter, no rugs unless they were clipped and those were the old new Zealand's. What else was different way back when to now? the pros and cons of it? (I'm not just talking feed/stabling, but whole horse care methods and practices)

ETA, what I mean to ask is what were the good practices of the past that would benefit from re-introduction to modern horse culture?

 

[carthorse]

I don't think it was always as idyllic as it seems when we look back.

Laminitis, well I still saw it. The treatments weren't so great though & often things that didn't come right or had repeat attacks had a visit from the hunt because there wasn't the knowledge to treat it. Also I wonder how many "lazy" ponies would now be diagnosed as laminitic?

I remember the yard owner's look of horror when a bag of mix first appeared on the yard - all that molasses! A bit of molasses was to tempt a sick horse, or one that was tired & off it's feed after a day hunting, not to be fed daily. Now that I do think we had right, I miss bins of clean straights that were picked from according to need, but they aren't practical for single horse owners. I think there was more of an acceptance that you weren't going to completely change your horse by changing feed or adding supplements, instead you bought the right horse & if you made a mistake either sold on or learned quickly - now it seems people buy what they like the look of and then shovel in calmers & hunt for low energy feeds while doing ground work until it comes out of the horses ears & getting every known "expert" out, or alternatively shovel quantities of high energy feed into an already fat horse in the hope of livening it up when a diet & increased fitness would do better.

Grass, oh God do I miss proper horse grazing! And proper horse hay too, that's hard to find.

Rugs were around & we used them on unclipped horses too. I don't miss those rugs - heavy to handle & wear, not as waterproof or as well fitted so rubs were common, not warm enough for a clipped horse to be out for more than an hour or so.

People rode their horses & I can't help thinking that was better for them, but there was a consideration for them that I sometimes think is lacking now, for instance people wouldn't take a horse on a long ride if it wasn't fit enough & they didn't sit around drinking coffee while a sweaty horse was tied up getting chilled.

Vet medicine has come a long way & things can be cured or managed that once would have been a death sentence. Often this is a good thing if you can afford it, but it's made insurance a big business & I sometimes wonder who's interests it's truly in.

The other thing I find is that nowadays people buy horses much sooner than they once would have done & I wonder if this is partly responsible for the rise in "problem" horses.

 

[Jessey]

I totally agree it wasn't all roses, a lot of duff's were probably put down where now they would be treated and then bred from because they can't stand up to work I do think there's something to be said for natural selection, its worked well for a lot of years for a lot of species.

how much were people riding? when I was a kid we went everywhere by pony or bike, but we probably didn't go that far, just the poor bugger was dragged around for hours

 

[KP nut]

Vet medicine has come a long way & things can be cured or managed that once would have been a death sentence. Often this is a good thing if you can afford it, but it's made insurance a big business & I sometimes wonder who's interests it's truly in.
.

Insurance is my current bug bear, especially the clock ticking issue. It send you down an investgations/treatment route inmediately. Extended field rest for a not-quite-right horse cures multiple ills. But you then get timed out if after turning away you need to investigate and treat. Same with sarcoids. If they are inactive they can be left but then if they start growing you may have been timed out so people are forced into treatment prematurely.

 

[newforest]

We had off road riding. Now they build on fields that had horses in it and build on the bridle paths!

You could let people ride your horse without the worry of the sue culture.

Mine still lives in a field with hay in winter nothing else. The riding school horses got one scoop of nuts and one of beet.
Our yard used to make their own barley when I arrived. It was a little like stepping back in time.

Horses worked years ago and were likely part stabled. I only ever saw rugs on a clipped horse. But because they hunted they were clipped.

Plus points- they have improved the saddles. Though some horses bring hard to fit might benefit from the half panel or pilch.
Mine isn't hard to fit. I'm hard to fit on her width. She wouldn't be ridden years ago she would be working. The most she would get is a bareback ride to the farrier.
You went to the farrier, they didn't come to you.

 

[Jessey]

Insurance is my current bug bear, especially the clock ticking issue. It send you down an investgations/treatment route inmediately. Extended field rest for a not-quite-right horse cures multiple ills. But you then get timed out if after turning away you need to investigate and treat. Same with sarcoids. If they are inactive they can be left but then if they start growing you may have been timed out so people are forced into treatment prematurely.

But is that worse than not having the option of insurance and not affording expensive treatments and therefore often in days gone by no treatment would have been given.
I hate the time limit on insurance, why they can't offer whole of life policies like they do with dogs and cats I don't know.

 

[Jessey]

Horses worked years ago and were likely part stabled.

I'm not nec talking a hundred years ago, even just 20-30 years ago, there weren't many working horses then

 

[newforest]

Insurance is my current bug bear, especially the clock ticking issue. It send you down an investgations/treatment route inmediately. Extended field rest for a not-quite-right horse cures multiple ills. But you then get timed out if after turning away you need to investigate and treat. Same with sarcoids. If they are inactive they can be left but then if they start growing you may have been timed out so people are forced into treatment prematurely.

You do the field rest first before you call them. That's what we all used to do because I can't recall having insurance as a kid. Not for vet bills.
But the treatment wasn't there either.
Saying that field rest for a laminitic could be a death sentence.
If a sarcoid isn't a problemt though leave it alone. If it because one, then look into it.

 

[Jessey]

I guess I wasn't specific enough in my original post, what were the good practices of the past that would benefit from re-introduction to modern horse culture?

 

[newforest]

I'm not nec talking a hundred years ago, even just 20-30 years ago, there weren't many working horses then

So am I.
I don't do a much as I did as a kid. Health related. My friends, age and confidence related.
We had lots of riding schools that have since closed down.

 

[Jessey]

So am I.
I don't do a much as I did as a kid. Health related. My friends, age and confidence related.
We had lots of riding schools that have since closed down.

I doubt any adult rides as much as they did when kids, but I suspect a kid 20 years ago and a kid today are probably pretty comparable, aren't they? and adult then vs adult now?

 

[newforest]

I doubt any adult rides as much as they did when kids, but I suspect a kid 20 years ago and a kid today are probably pretty comparable, aren't they? and adult then vs adult now?

Yes apart from our diet having been introduced to unnecessary rubbish, the same as the horse.
I would bring back straights. But then those with intolerant horses might disagree. But have we bred this problem into them, or has science progressed to diagnose and manage?
The same with us, are we intolerant because companies put in some much crap.

 

[Jessey]

Yes apart from our diet having been introduced to unnecessary rubbish, the same as the horse.
I would bring back straights. But then those with intolerant horses might disagree. But have we bred this problem into them, or has science progressed to diagnose and manage?
The same with us, are we intolerant because companies put in some much crap.

I think we are saying the same here, about how we have bred too many of the problems

I totally agree it wasn't all roses, a lot of duff's were probably put down where now they would be treated and then bred from because they can't stand up to work I do think there's something to be said for natural selection, its worked well for a lot of years for a lot of species.

 

[Trewsers]

This is an interesting thread. I came to horses regularly as in regular lessons later in life at 35/36 and that wasn't that long ago compared to most on here. I only really have some books that were written in the early 1980's to go by, with regard to dietary changes / rugs etc. I love those books, they show a very different way of doing and that isn't that long ago really. So it's good reading all this I haven't been around them long enough yet to have noticed any old / new ways. As a child the odd lessons or hacks were few and far between and tbh I didn't spend enough time there at the RS to notice anything in detail. We bought J in 2005 and I don't think much has changed since then. Was there a big change from say late 1980's to 2000?

 

[Jane&Ziggy]

I didn't have a pony when I was younger but when I borrowed ponies from friends they all lived out in fields here and there with other equines and a shelter if they were lucky. Nobody had a stabled pony, or brought them in during the day.

I didn't know any of them long enough to experience equine illnesses, but my friend Carol remembers hot and cold hosing horses for laminitis. It's hunters she was working with.

 

[newforest]

Sand schools were not common. I know at college most of the students didn't know what hacking was.
But maybe that's just health and safely.
I didn't know what a school was and had to learn the basics such as who is on the inner track and how to pass generally. Useful at a show warming up when you expect to have a field to use.

 

[Trewsers]

Sand schools were not common. I know at college most of the students didn't know what hacking was.
But maybe that's just health and safely.
I didn't know what a school was and had to learn the basics such as who is on the inner track and how to pass generally. Useful at a show warming up when you expect to have a field to use.

Ah now one of my most distinct memories was in a sand school on a birthday treat with my mum. I would have been about seven and I was puzzled as normally we were taken out for a hack. But this time we hacked and then came back into a sand arena and I remember doing all around the world.

 

[Bodshi]

I hate the time limit on insurance, why they can't offer whole of life policies like they do with dogs and cats I don't know.

I guess it's because vets charge so much (some might suggest they charge even more if they know you're insured) that the insurance companies couldn't afford it, or at least premiums would have to go up massively - I mean think how much it would cost them if you had a horse with a tendon injury, money was no problem because the insurance company were paying out, and you could have them re-scanned every 6 months or so for years to see if there was any improvement. And horses seem to go wrong all the time to me, so I can't see how a £50 a month premium would cover all the bills that would come in. I wish Raf's PPID was covered for a lifetime, it would save me a fortune!

The thing that annoys me is that after each exclusion the insurance companies seem to put my premiums up, I really don't see why seeing as they've stated they're not going to pay out any more for that particular problem, why hasn't my premium gone down?

 

[Jessey]

I guess it's because vets charge so much (some might suggest they charge even more if they know you're insured) that the insurance companies couldn't afford it, or at least premiums would have to go up massively - I mean think how much it would cost them if you had a horse with a tendon injury, money was no problem because the insurance company were paying out, and you could have them re-scanned every 6 months or so for years to see if there was any improvement. And horses seem to go wrong all the time to me, so I can't see how a £50 a month premium would cover all the bills that would come in. I wish Raf's PPID was covered for a lifetime, it would save me a fortune!

Surely that's no different in cats and dogs though? you pay a higher premium if you want that sort of cover, up to you if you think its worth it.

The thing that annoys me is that after each exclusion the insurance companies seem to put my premiums up, I really don't see why seeing as they've stated they're not going to pay out any more for that particular problem, why hasn't my premium gone down?

Maybe check with them why its increasing, I've not seen a direct reflection in my premium after making a claim.

 

[Mary Poppins]

I can't think of any old practices that I would like to see re-introduced. I think that education has come on leaps and bounds and we now understand far more about horses than we did when I was a kid.

I worked at my local riding school for a few years at the weekend. 3 of us, all aged under 16, were responsible for bringing in 20 horses and preparing them for riding lessons. They all did 4 straight hours of lessons without a break, and then they were all given the same feed and chucked out in the field again. Even as an 11 year old kid, I hated that their feet were not picked out (unless I did it), they were never properly groomed. Many of the ponies kicked and bit the clients who came to ride them. If a horse bucked, it was given a good smack. There was no thought of physios, saddle fit, back pain etc. Horses were either in snaffles or Pelham's.

It was a simpler way of life, but the horses were not treated well. I remember a few with laminitis who quickly disappeared.

The only thing I would bring back is more space to ride. Housing developments have decreased the amount of land available for grazing and riding.