Things that you don't see anymore in the horse world

Trewsers

Trewsers

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Oct 13, 2004
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I realise this thread or similar has been done before, but I thought it might be interesting to see what people came up with. For those of you on here that have been involved with horses for a long time, what thing or things do you either miss or are glad have been binned? Anything from certain pieces of tack to feed would be interesting. Because I relatively new to the horse world I love reading and hearing about how it was and also would love to know the approximate costs of things. Which also brings me to another question: do you think that horse keeping and riding in general is cheaper now than say back in the 1970's?
 
Long cream coloured rubberised riding macs, so stiff and unyielding they could almost stand up on their own.

Hand knitted yellow polo neck jumpers (why yellow?) that were usually pure wool and itched around your neck and stank of wet dogs when it rained.

Knitted cotton gloves that were so thick you wouldn't know if you were holding the reins or a piece of barbed wire.

Jodphurs that had such huge batwings you could almost glide to the ground when you were thrown off a large horse out hunting or cross country!

Feeding already fat little ponies a good heap of oats every day for a week before gymkhana, to give them a bit of a lift and an edge on the other competitors!

Jute rugs - bleddy awful things that stunk to high heaven because they were rarely washed, usually just a hose down in the summer.

Tying sacking around their hooves to have a bit of fun in the deep snow.....I am sure it made the footing more dangerous than leaving them be.

I could bore you for hours......next please?:biggrin:
 
Cortrasna said:
Hand knitted yellow polo neck jumpers (why yellow?) that were usually pure wool and itched around your neck and stank of wet dogs when it rained.

Knitted cotton gloves that were so thick you wouldn't know if you were holding the reins or a piece of barbed wire.

Jodphurs that had such huge batwings you could almost glide to the ground when you were thrown off a large horse out hunting or cross country!
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I remember all those! Not that I ever went hunting or cross country, I only fell off little ponies.

Hats were often bought a little bit too large to 'make them last' and a layer of carefully folded newspaper placed inside the lining around the brim until your head grew into it. If you wanted a chin strap your mum had to sew on a piece of elastic.

Cruppers - does anyone use cruppers these days?
 
Glad gone-

New Zealand rugs.
Boring coloured jodphurs that could be used as a parachute-should you fall off! :giggle:
Continental coloured reins
Hat with just elastic
The skull cap with chin strap, pleased new ideas now on this.
The body protector that did up in a place your boyfriend should only venture!
Caveletti-and they said you could stack them!


Yes cruppers are still in use, had one on my harness and have had one on a rolypony pone in recent years.

What do I miss-decent English leather tack, known now as old English leather, its still going, still supple and made to last.
 
A feed room with bins only of straights, no mixes.

A hot bran mash every Monday morning on the horses day off.

Jods that only came in 2 colours.

The most popular riding hat was the velvet type.
 
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Yeah, I seem to remember nothing but velvet hats. I bought a second hand one - lord only knows the condition it was in underneath! I only wore it a few times tho - couldn't afford many lessons and then I gave it away to a friend.
 
Having a pasionate interest in First World War and the horses in the armies, let us not forget that the old new zealand rugs which the NZ and possibly Australians brought to the Western front were a revelation to the British and much coveted - a great improvement in horse welfare.
 
Yes they were Skib-but I am glad things have been developed to make them lighter and more breathable for the horse. However I do think we have gone overboard on the products available now.

JC-i recall beige trekker jods and navy and black. Somewhere I found purple pair.
 
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New Zealand rugs are still pretty commonplace in some countries. I saw them all over the place in Italy - it seems they were the Italians' rug of choice for horses who winter out. We had a couple ourselves for the veteran ponies, and they were by far the toughest and most waterproof rugs we had! I have spotted horses in NZ rugs in France too, normally either trotters or around the studs. The ones I've used have been a bit lighter than the heavy-duty ones so maybe designs have changed slightly? - but the basic style is the same.

Our feed room in Italy was full of straights - including oats, which everyone ate except the little ponies. If we wanted to do a "mix" we'd bung the ingredients in a wheelbarrow and stir them up with our hands. My boss's partner worked for a major feed merchant and brought our feed home from there (not stolen I might add!) - occasionally a bag of mix would appear, but we'd only have it once and then the merchant would stop stocking it because nobody bought it, they just wanted the straights! In Portugal we did occasionally have a few mixes or "special" feeds, but those we had to import from the UK because they weren't manufactured over there.
 
Skib said:
Having a pasionate interest in First World War and the horses in the armies, let us not forget that the old new zealand rugs which the NZ and possibly Australians brought to the Western front were a revelation to the British and much coveted - a great improvement in horse welfare.
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I myself have a great interest in horses in WW1 ( well the war as a whole) but my interest grew after coming across a magnificant mounted/framed signed picture picked up at a car boot sale..with a troop in and the horses and signed by the Major. I tracked down its history and eventually met up with a historian whos grandfather was in the picture by chance on a WW1 forum! ( was a fascinating story !) He travelled across the country to view the picture and we chatted over lunch. He now has the said picture, I miss it dreadfully but its definatley found its way home.
 
newforest said:
JC-i recall beige trekker jods and navy and black. Somewhere I found purple pair.
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I remember getting very excited as a teen when i saw a pair of forest green Caldene jods. They cost a fortune from what I can remember but I look back on them fondly as being my best ever jods.
 
I remember back in 1981 ish buying the latest in horse fashion a Kiwi rug, basically a NZ with no surcingles the first of the self righting ones, it cost around £100 but lasted over 20 years with no rips or tears. Lightweight waterproof canvas with wool lining. I would still buy them if they were available!!

We also still use Newmarket rugs, have a woolen one for good/travelling and a cheat washable fleece for overnighting. We now use old duvets under top rugs instead of old blankets but still use old fashioned layers!!
 
Everything on Cortrasna's list, Glad most have been updated. Specially the stand alone mac. But love cotton crochet gloves for winter... unless it's raining, but even then they don't get slippy.
Milk pellets, I have not seen those for sale for years, can you still get them?
Bone meal, that went just before the BSE crisis. WAY before it was raised as a human health concern!
Molaseen meal, Can you still get that?
I have to say, I do not miss the wrestling with 10 tonne canvas rugs, The modern ones dry so well.
And don't forget the bit of perished, knotted knicker elastic under the chin to hold the hat on, which generally had folded newspaper inside it to make it fit! :D
 
Gimp said:
I myself have a great interest in horses in WW1 ( well the war as a whole) but my interest grew after coming across a magnificant mounted/framed signed picture picked up at a car boot sale..with a troop in and the horses and signed by the Major. I tracked down its history and eventually met up with a historian whos grandfather was in the picture by chance on a WW1 forum! ( was a fascinating story !) He travelled across the country to view the picture and we chatted over lunch. He now has the said picture, I miss it dreadfully but its definatley found its way home.
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Fascinating! I think that's really good. Nice to think it's where it "belongs" (although I'm sure you do miss it).:smile:
 
newforest said:
Bone meal? What we used feed horses cow?
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Yes, it was common practice to add bone meal to youngster's feeds back in the day. It was replaced by Limestone flour.

Mine like milk! Love it, the old stallion used to get a whole black bucket down him. Strangely enough he never had any ill effects from it
 
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