# Am I imagining it but years ago we didnt have...



## Champion1969 (29 May 2013)

Harvest mites, Sarcoids, Grass sickness, Lice? And now garlic is bad so is hoof oil and so many more things or was I just so ignorant in my youth?

Owning a horse this time round has caused me to be a nervous wreck, and that's before being in the saddle


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## Clava (29 May 2013)

Champion1969 said:



			Harvest mites, Sarcoids, Grass sickness, Lice? And now garlic is bad so is hoof oil and so many more things or was I just so ignorant in my youth?

Owning a horse this time round has caused me to be a nervous wreck, and that's before being in the saddle 

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Well years ago I remember sarcoids and lice and mites, but that would only be from about 40 years ago...and we never fed garlic! lol.


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## Champion1969 (29 May 2013)

I must have been ignorant, and had perfect horses in that case


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## The Fuzzy Furry (29 May 2013)

Clava said:



			Well years ago I remember sarcoids and lice and mites, but that would only be from about 40 years ago...and we never fed garlic! lol.
		
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Ditto ^ and also grass sickness, all going on in same time-frame as Clava mentions


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## siennamum (29 May 2013)

We tragically lost a homebred to GS in the late 70's.

Sarcoids were called warts tho......


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## Bedlam (29 May 2013)

What we didn't have was dentists, 'back people', anything but a jute stable rug and canvas New Zealand, mixes and balancers or any of the plethora of feed additives and training aides that seem to be must haves now......I have never owned a body protector and my first hat was kept on by a length of elastic. The next one had a chin strap that actually went over my chin. 

From a veterinary perspective we didn't have scintigraphy or MRI or even easy to access x-rays and ultrasound scanners or endoscopy, so lameness was dealt with by turning away for a good long time, and we never knew about kissing spines or ulcers - the things that everyone seems to suggest immediately for every ridden problem encountered these days. 

I think things are generally better these days, but I suspect that having horses was a more limited back then and the people that had them probably had generations of experience behind them and more acres to keep them - hence it being easier to turn away for a good long time without any financial implications. I certainly think that a lot of mild lameness would probably go away after a year turned away without expensive scans and diagnoses.


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## jessieblue (29 May 2013)

Haha, this thread is showing our age lol!!  I lost a horse to grass sickness mid 70s too.  I had never heard of it though but vet knew straight away so obviously was not a new thing.  We didnt have education or internet either. Veterinary manuals, physiotherapists or back people or at least not where I came from!!  Jute rugs with a big old blanket underneath held on with a roller and a nifty bit of folding and tucking!(I miss that!) We didnt have hayage or mix feed.  But a myriad of bins containing bran oats barley sugar beet maize hahaha and bone meal!!  Anyone remember bone meal??  God knows we knew b****r all really.  We didnt have saddle fitters either, used to buy a saddle and plop it on with a pad or two underneath!!  Maybe I am just older than everyone else.  Yes horses were prescribed rest, in a paddock, not box rest!!  As many people didnt have the luxury of a stable!  I had a horse that injured an tendon and it was bandaged up and turned away for 3 months came back good as gold!!


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## JillA (29 May 2013)

Sweetitch? Only ever knew of one in many years of keeping horses until about 15 years ago. Could it be coincidence that there were never that many proprietory forms of feed, just oats, barley, bran  and beet pulp if you could get hold of it? Spillers pony nuts or stud cubes were all I remember.


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## Champion1969 (29 May 2013)

Bedlam said:



			I have never owned a body protector and my first hat was kept on by a length of elastic. The next one had a chin strap that actually went over my chin.
		
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I could do with a chin strap these days, may stop face wobble in old age lol 

And back protectors, I don't think I would get one near my boobs, yes Sarcoids may have been warts, but I cant remember being afraid of those like I am now.


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## Aarrghimpossiblepony (29 May 2013)

JillA said:



			Sweetitch? Only ever knew of one in many years of keeping horses until about 15 years ago. Could it be coincidence that there were never that many proprietory forms of feed, just oats, barley, bran  and beet pulp if you could get hold of it? Spillers pony nuts or stud cubes were all I remember.
		
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And plain chaff, made by the farmers and delivered in hessian sacks that had to be returned to be refilled.

That's what I miss now. Got the sugar beet and the oats/barley, just can't get the plain chaff.

Reading here is enough of a scare to send me running back to the past.


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## MiJodsR2BlinkinTite (29 May 2013)

Nope! We didn't have any of the modern stuff. Fleeces were still to be invented; technical fabrics were "Tomorrow's World" (don't worry young'uns, you won't remember this!!). And as for synthetic tack, well I know my dear old PC DC would have had a seizure, bless 'er, at the thought of all of us kids growing up to be horsey gals and riding out sitting on plastic!

We had mangers then, not haynets; fly stuff actually WORKED, plus rugs were jute rugs with a surcingle for inside, NZ turnout for everything else. And no other rugs.

Feed wasn't complex like now; the thing to avoid then for fizzy ponies was oats!!! (i.e. the old saying, "the best whip is in the corn-bin"). Concentrates as we know them, just didn't exist back then.

We didn't have the traffic on the roads back then; the drivers that DID encounter horses were more savvy and gave you space. Not that you needed to be on the roads so much coz there was far more access to off-road riding back then. Unfortunately in my neck of the woods a lot of these well-used tracks were never registered as Public ROW's and so have been lost.

Ah well...... the price of progress I guess.


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## jessieblue (29 May 2013)

Champion1969 said:



			I could do with a chin strap these days, may stop face wobble in old age lol 

And back protectors, I don't think I would get one near my boobs, yes Sarcoids may have been warts, but I cant remember being afraid of those like I am now.
		
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Well I dont remember being afraid of most things that scare the hell out of me now!! Hacking on the roads, falling off, jumping, driving in the dark, bright lighting and BACK FAT!! hehe!!
Brightly coloured brow bands with a webbed girth to match!! Ahhh!!


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## jessieblue (29 May 2013)

Ooooh and the farrier was called a blacksmith!!


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## Pale Rider (29 May 2013)

I reckon horses were healthier in themselves years ago. They weren't fed so much rubbish and sugar, they spent less time imitating hamsters.


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## noodle_ (29 May 2013)

i was ignorant 

i knew about colic but it was "rare" !.......

grass sickness i didn thave a clue (do now!).....


hay was also £1.75 a bale.  and straw was £1.25  - so yes a lonnggg time ago


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## AMW (29 May 2013)

sarcoids were called angleberries way back then.............
you did get laminitis and you brought them in and starved them for a few days
navicular was the 'new' disease and you never heard of kissing spines


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## Champion1969 (29 May 2013)

Gosh Jute rugs take me back!


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## Holly Hocks (29 May 2013)

I remember when there were two nosebands - cavesson or flash - that was your choice!


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## AMW (29 May 2013)

no it used to be cavesson or drop. when flash nosebands came in they were all the rage


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## mulberrymill (29 May 2013)

All haynets were made of heavy jute rope, and when they broke anywhere, (basically every time they got wet or dirty) we had to hang them up and mend them. Only threw them away when there were more mends than original net.
Hay was baled using lightweight jute string and the kids had to save it and plait them up ready for haynet repairs.
We knew about recycling in those days!!


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## eggs (29 May 2013)

When I first had a pony we never saw Ragwort - now I can't seem to go anywhere without seeing it flourishing.

We all kept bottles of colic drench in our feed rooms but never used them.

An old school vet once told me years ago that the biggest damage to hit the horse world was the proliferation of maneges as in his view horses spent too much time on the turn when they are better suited to straight lines. 

Plastic chin cups on the 'new' crash caps that gave you spots.

Great big heavy anti-cast rollers.

An aged horse was one over 8 years old.


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## pines of rome (29 May 2013)

It was so much simpler years ago and far less stressful, who remembers the hideous jodphurs we wore before we had stretch ones! Just remembering all the mentioned things has made me feel extremely old!!!!!!!


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## Bedlam (29 May 2013)

Laminitis in a section A - teatment was to keep her moving and stand her in a river for half an hour every day...... !!!!

And that was on the DC's yard!!!!


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## The Fuzzy Furry (29 May 2013)

noodle_ said:



			i was ignorant 

hay was also £1.75 a bale.  and straw was £1.25  - so yes a lonnggg time ago 

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Pah - hay was 50p a bale off the field or 80p delivered & straw delivered in at 40-60p a bale as I recall when a nipper 



AMW said:



			no it used to be cavesson or drop. when flash nosebands came in they were all the rage
		
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Definately cavesson or drop, the cavesson's were all usually flat but the more 'posh' girls had stitched cross patterns across the nose part, which matched browbands 
Then the grakle came in big time in the mid 70's (blame the showjumpers) then the flash followed that.....

Livery was £5 per week in our 'posh' area in the 70's & £1 a night for a stable if pony was sick.

Mind you, I was charging £25 a week DIY in around late 1980's to early 90's - I think its the only thing that has not gone up over the years!


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## lachlanandmarcus (29 May 2013)

JillA said:



			Sweetitch? Only ever knew of one in many years of keeping horses until about 15 years ago. Could it be coincidence that there were never that many proprietory forms of feed, just oats, barley, bran  and beet pulp if you could get hold of it? Spillers pony nuts or stud cubes were all I remember.
		
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It definitely did exist cos it's in the pony books written in the 50s and 60s, although they seem to think ponies catch it if they get into the feed shed and eat things they shouldn't.....but from the description it is definitely SI they are talking about, and it is emphasised with capital letters that it is Incurable....


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## lachlanandmarcus (29 May 2013)

When I used to wait for a lift to my riding lesson I would stand at the end of our drive in fawn jodhpurs, yellow turtleneck, tweed jacket and well dubbined second hand jodhpurs boots. The riding hats were owned by the riding school and had elastic to keep them on, no strap. If it didn't fall off when you bent down, it fitted.


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## Dry Rot (29 May 2013)

Well, we didn't have contraception years ago when I was a lad! (Thinking of another thread on here which made me go quite pink when I glanced at it!). We had something far more effective!;

Yes, you could get "something for the weekend" from the barber if you were brave enough. The chemist was out because it would always be the pretty female assistant who came up to serve you, then you'd have to ask for indigestion pills or something inocuous. And if you got a girl pregnant, you'd have to marry her. Now that was scary!

No, we had acne, bad breath, BO, no car, no money, and her dad would be waiting up until she got home (before 10pm). Now that *is* safe sex!


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## Flora (30 May 2013)

Diastemas, cushings, Prp, Stem cell?  How on earth did we manage to have healthy horses before!!   Veterinary care was definitely a lot cheaper back then!

Pony clubbing meant drag your not very expensive pony in out of the field, quick brush and hack over to where it was held. Nowadays, its thousand of pounds spent on a pony, groomed to perfection and drive up in fancy car and trailer or lorry!

Wonder if life was happier with a horse in the years gone by!


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## Gloi (30 May 2013)

There was sweet itch around back in the day. What there wasn't was sweet itch rugs or knowledge as to why they got it. It was thought by some to be a condition of fat ponies. Another reason why not so many were seen was that they often got so bad that they were pts as was the case of one a friend had. Without rugs and fly protection or electric fences being common I remember seeing bleeding ponies with no mane or tail in terrible states that would be reported today but other than being pts people didn't know how to deal with it.


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## The Fuzzy Furry (30 May 2013)

Sweet-itch? Yes, definately around in late 60's - the stench of the Benzyl benzoate still sticks with me even now. My mothers best friends pony suffered dreadfully with it & was covered twice daily in the BB as well as being kept behind electric fence - the thin orangey string type on metal pig-tailed posts.


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## Toffee44 (30 May 2013)

But years ago we had better bred horses, just because you owned a mare you didn't just put it in foal. 

The conformation you see now I never saw growing up. Sweet itch meant you didn't breed from the mare, didn't breed from horse with sarcoids and horses that were unridable were shot or found retirement homes not extensive surgery etc. and you never bred from a horse unless it had proved something (hunting, showing, pony club)

I remember using a paraffin based wash on a sweet itch Shetland lol

COPD was called bad asthma and horses were turned out.

Too many people owning horses now and not enough horsewoman/ men. And too many horses!!


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## Toffee44 (30 May 2013)

Lol I had a GFS saddle that fitted everything I rode!!!

Would be able to do that now.


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## MotherOfChickens (30 May 2013)

Champion1969 said:



			Harvest mites, Sarcoids, Grass sickness, Lice? And now garlic is bad so is hoof oil and so many more things or was I just so ignorant in my youth?

Owning a horse this time round has caused me to be a nervous wreck, and that's before being in the saddle 

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certainly had lice in the 70s, grass sickness has been around since the early 1900s although more prevalent in Scotland, garlic has always been toxic, mites have always been there but most people didn't ride feathered cobs. Granted, I did use hoof oil 

Personally I never saw a pony with SI in my part of the world growing up (East Anglia) but I knew about it. I also didn't see a case of lamminitis until much later on-ponies were expected to lose weight in the winter and gain it in the summer-they were not rugged and not fed ad lib from round bales in the field either.

I saw a shetland in a full neck turnout rug last saturday in 16 degree weather, even if it was bloody clipped out it didn't need it.


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## saalsk (30 May 2013)

Never heard of sweet itch as a kid - maybe that was the weather where I grew up - not so many midges !

Horses had either horse+pony nuts, or hunter mix, along with chaff, and the posh girl down the road from me used something called Baileys - which looked like sand and smelt like farleys rusks. 

We were all gradually upgrading from string girths, to cottage craft fabric ones, which had to match your headcollar. But that was fine, as the only colours were pretty much black, brown or white. 

Posh girl down the road had one of the first pair of "petal" over reach boots I had ever seen - while the rest of us struggled with either saddle soap, or laces, or both, to get the standard pull on version over the hoof. And a set of shoes was £10. And the farrier was a friends Dad, so no I didn't fancy him. By the time I was old enough for boys to even feature on my radar ( Dad's plan worked - keep her interested in ponies until she is 18... ! ) he had retired !

Turnout rugs were all green tarpaulin style NZ's with white leather leg straps, front straps, and a fabric surcingle. PJs were jute rugs, with surcingle. Padding on the surcingle if you were lucky. Anti-roll surcingle if you were the posh girl who lived down the road. 

BTW, the posh girl who lived down the road went to primary school with me. Then secondary school. Then uni. We were each others Bridesmaids, and I am god parent to her little girl. She now owns a hairy cob and we still try to out-posh each other !


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## Loulou2002 (30 May 2013)

I'm in my thirties and when i left school i worked in a yard for a few years. I used to love it when the horses were clipped and they had blankets and jute rugs. I tried to find some heavy wool blankets a while ago in charity shops etc but couldn't!


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## Dab (30 May 2013)

this thread totally put a smile to my face.

My first hat was a hand-me-down from a cousin, and it didn't even have a piece of elastic, but it was blue velvet and i loved it! All our ponies were ridden in normal caverson nose bands, until i started SJ and then i bought a drop nose band!

Our ponies were feed straights which included a scoop of BRAN...he was cold shod, never lost a shoe, never had a crack or a chip, and his feet were oiled every day! 

All us pony kids used to bu**er off all day at the weekend or in the school holidays, on our ponies just armed with a packed lunch, a bit of string (someone might bring a hoof pick!) and 2p for the telephone box just in case...and we would hack for miles and miles.

Our ponies were never over weight, never lame, never had sweet itch or any other illness in 10 years of owning them...i'd never even heard of GS, lami, or sweet itch when i was a kid.

It all seemed to be a little simpler back then 

Except for the rugs....lugging a soaking wet New Zealand rug and hanging it up in the boiler room to dry gave me biceps of steel...


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## Fairytale (31 May 2013)

We had sweetitch in the 60's - my NF pony had it quite badly and I used to apply a sludge of pure lard and burnt newspaper...........old gypsy remedy so I was told at the time!  Gawd it made a mess!  

My first saddle was bought over the counter to fit my bum not the pony, never had any trouble with fit, or pony never said anything anyway.

Wormers came in a tub, like pony nuts, and got fed in a jam sandwich.

Oh and yes, the baggy johds and yellow jumper (mine had a horses head on the front and I thoughi I was the dog's wotsits )

So many happy memories, rightly or wrongly, but it was defo much less stressful in those days!


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## Fairytale (31 May 2013)

PS.  and of course yes, those green canvas NZ rugs that kept the shape of the pony when you took them off, stiff and unwieldy they were indeed!  And didn't those jute stable rugs stink !


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## Champion1969 (31 May 2013)

Leather!

Please shoot me if I am wrong, but years ago you would only buy English leather, yes there was P*** leather, but you wouldn't touch it with a barge pole and you wouldn't certainly call it that in this day and age. However I have recently bought an IMPORTED leather Shires bridle for under £30, £4 for leather dressing and I think its bloody good value.

Now somebody prove me wrong


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## Champion1969 (31 May 2013)

And Mollichop was the in thing, hence why I bought in bulk and now stuck with the stuff


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## nix123 (31 May 2013)

Hahaha the good old days, i remember in our lessons we used to take the saddles off and do the whole lesson without one. Now its all health and safety, and the blame/claim thing. I feel sorry for the kids todays, they seem to have so much more than we did, but a lot less fun and freedom.


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## 4x4 (31 May 2013)

JillA said:



			Sweetitch? Only ever knew of one in many years of keeping horses until about 15 years ago. Could it be coincidence that there were never that many proprietory forms of feed, just oats, barley, bran  and beet pulp if you could get hold of it? Spillers pony nuts or stud cubes were all I remember.
		
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No. no, I had one with sweetitch years ago and we had to use benzol benzoate!


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## Champion1969 (31 May 2013)

4x4 said:



			No. no, I had one with sweetitch years ago and we had to use benzol benzoate!
		
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Can this still be used, as there is a girl on our yard using this on her pony?


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## JillA (31 May 2013)

Champion1969 said:



			Can this still be used, as there is a girl on our yard using this on her pony?
		
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Yes, or at least it could a couple of years ago. My local Boots told me it had been taken off the market so I emailed their HQ. They said, no, it was still available and I should tell their branch as much . I got some from a small independant that time, but it is the active ingredient in more than one of the proprietory itch treatments.


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## 4x4 (31 May 2013)

It doesn't seem to work now, but I totally agree with what's been said above
a) There were no un-rideable horses or ponies - we didn't think so anyway, anything rubbish went for dog meat and you didn't breed from unsuitable stallions/mares.
b) Conformation went miles
c)We fed straights - mainly chaff which we cut ourselves/hay/oatstraw
d)We didn't wear hats -I used to hack out regularly in flip-flops and shorts! eek!
e)Horses had manners and were taught by VERY IMPORTANT PEOPLE WHO KNEW WHAT THEY WERE DOING
f)We had good riders to look up to - Pat Smythe, Harvey Smith, Derek Ricketts, Jenny Loriston-Clarke, Jane Holderness Roddam, Princess Anne, Mark Philips, Hugh etc
g)Farriers etc. weren't afraid to tell a horse off if it did misbehave, for fear of upsetting their clients 
h)It actually cost a lot more - pro-rata - to keep a horse then so I think there were less horse owners about - certainly less livery yards.


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## 4x4 (31 May 2013)

Shall we start a clique...I can remember when....


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## Champion1969 (31 May 2013)

I didn't plan to start another "remember when" thread, I am just confused as to how many thing have changed since I last owned a horse


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## LEC (31 May 2013)

It doesn't seem to work now, but I totally agree with what's been said above
a) There were no un-rideable horses or ponies - we didn't think so anyway, anything rubbish went for dog meat and you didn't breed from unsuitable stallions/mares.
b) Conformation went miles
c)We fed straights - mainly chaff which we cut ourselves/hay/oatstraw
d)We didn't wear hats -I used to hack out regularly in flip-flops and shorts! eek!
e)Horses had manners and were taught by VERY IMPORTANT PEOPLE WHO KNEW WHAT THEY WERE DOING
f)We had good riders to look up to - Pat Smythe, Harvey Smith, Derek Ricketts, Jenny Loriston-Clarke, Jane Holderness Roddam, Princess Anne, Mark Philips, Hugh etc
g)Farriers etc. weren't afraid to tell a horse off if it did misbehave, for fear of upsetting their clients 
h)It actually cost a lot more - pro-rata - to keep a horse then so I think there were less horse owners about - certainly less livery yards. 

Actually I completely disagree with most of this!

Horse quality has gone up hugely since I started riding which was 31 years ago. Horses are on the whole now better bred, better looking and more athletic. The injection of continental sports lines IMO has been a positive for horses. The difference is I think equestrianism is much more amateur now that it was 30 years ago. Hardly anybody had a horse just to hack out on. 
We have fed mixes for the last 25 years.
My mother has ALWAYS worn a hat out hunting with straps as she felt it set a bad example to us children. Our hats might only had one strap but we all wore them.
We have good riders now to look up to. Is Harvey Smith really someone who should have been looked up to?
Our farriers have never tolerated poor behaviour but nor have we ever put up with it from horses. 
As for horses being cheaper to own now, I completely disagree. The difference is the bottom of the pyramid has completely changed and horses have become more accessable through livery yards and riding school numbers have declined.


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## diamonddogs (31 May 2013)

We used to have this enormous chaff cutter in the barn which we used to shove a couple of slices of hay/straw through and make a lovely chaff!

I think you people who had your hat elastic under your chins were a bit up yourselves - everybody knows the elastic was worn over the peak, and if it had a knot in it and the velvet was faded you were a proper rider!

My first jods were cavalry twill with suede knee patches and could only be worn for best because they weren't machine washable.

I remember buying _Pony_ magazine (black and white photos of show ponies, and good old R S Summerhayes) every week and drooled over the Pennwood saddles.

All my friends bought their riding kit from Jacatex but my dad's friend worked at a very posh gentleman's outfitter (suit _you_, sir) that sold quality riding wear, so mine was bought at a discount.

Some of my fondest memories are when we used to hack over to the village blacksmith (yes, you could get your pony shod and your dad could buy a custom made wrought iron garden gate from him as well!), who was an old man in his seventies who had a dent in his bald head from when he got kicked by a crazy stallion. There were mobile blacksmiths about but it was all cold shoeing, and you didn't get the fun of the hack! After all these years, I'm still transported right back to that old forge and the old boy with a dent in his head whenever I smell a hoof burning!


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## Ellibelli (31 May 2013)

I started riding nearly 40 years ago and had my first pony 36 years ago. Maybe it's because I was bought up in a working class area, but I remember just about every poor horse having white marks from ill fitting saddles, horses being over bitted, draw reins were all the rage, and as much as I admired Harvey Smith at the time, on reflection his horses were not nearly as well schooled as show jumpers are now days. There were plently of bad livery yards, or horses kept on back yards. Most horses that would perhaps be diagnosed as having ulcers or kissing spines now days were simply branded as unrideable and sent to the local horse market, and there seemed to be one of those in every town. I do think standards are generally much better today than back then!


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## JillA (31 May 2013)

I've still got a Pennwood lightweight jumping saddle - used to work at Pennwood before it became Pennwood lol - and it fitted EVERYTHING, from cob to TB. And it didn't have a cut back head - something about the tree, which he had patented. The seat is like a piece of wood now though, I have used it for breaking for a number of years. 
And I had Jacatex lol - thought I was the bees knees walking to the riding stables for my fortnightly lesson. Jodhpurs, boots, hat and whip - I had it all!!! 
What WAS the name of those wormer pony nuts lookalikes? Equi-something?
The main thing that is missing these days though is the old fashioned professional groom, who knew how to get horses to do all sorts of stuff without having a temper tantrum - have its mane pulled, be shod, load into transport. And to whom feeding was an art, none of them around these days (well not around here anyway) so new owners can't call on that sort of experience.


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## diamonddogs (31 May 2013)

Can anyone remember what that stiff paste you used to get for coughs was called? It came in a flat round tin. My pony could get a nugget of that out of the middle of an apple, nom the apple down and spit out a perfectly formed nugget of cough stuff...

Look what I found hidden away on my hard drive:








The smell of that mac will stay with me for the rest of my life!


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## 4x4 (31 May 2013)

diamonddogs said:



			Can anyone remember what that stiff paste you used to get for coughs was called? It came in a flat round tin. My pony could get a nugget of that out of the middle of an apple, nom the apple down and spit out a perfectly formed nugget of cough stuff...

Look what I found hidden away on my hard drive:








The smell of that mac will stay with me for the rest of my life!
		
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Easacoff?


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## 4x4 (31 May 2013)

I had one of those macs a bit later on for hunting...and I went to Lester Bowden in Epsom to buy green Hunter wellies 'cos they were very de riguer to ride in on the downs...also as someone else said, lessons without a saddle, also closing your eyes and folding your arms coming into a grid!


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## saalsk (31 May 2013)

diamonddogs said:



			Can anyone remember what that stiff paste you used to get for coughs was called? It came in a flat round tin. My pony could get a nugget of that out of the middle of an apple, nom the apple down and spit out a perfectly formed nugget of cough stuff...

Look what I found hidden away on my hard drive:








The smell of that mac will stay with me for the rest of my life!
		
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Was that cough stuff like Electuary ?  

I remember making hay wisps while sitting listening to pony club teaching evenings. 

I also remember throwing a tantrum when my parents told us kids we were moving house. And all because I had had my vulcanite pelham ( for hunting, snaffle otherwise ) engraved with our postcode by the local police anti-theft department person - and I was terrified that if I ever lost it, it wouldn't find it's way back to me if we didn't live there...


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## 4x4 (31 May 2013)

Cor, saalsk, you can't be THAT old, they didn't even HAVE postcodes when I was a kid...


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## JillA (31 May 2013)

I had a huge tub of Banakoff - like a thick grease with menthol and eucalyptus, and you put it in the false nostril. Bit like rubbing Vick on someone's chest. I think I may still have it at the back of my vetmed cupboard, waste not want not lol. 
I remember the one in the tin, based on thick molasses, can't remember what it was called though. Colic drench and a drenching horn anyone? Or Ellimans Embrocation? I had a veterinary book published by Ellimans, containing the sort of stuff you read about in the Herriot books, although I don't go quite that far back  Mallenders and sallenders and all that stuff 

And check out the prices in the Jacatex ad - a fortune in those days, 5 or 6 years later I was chuffed to earn £10 a week


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## MiJodsR2BlinkinTite (31 May 2013)

Gosh!!! I never thought to see that old Jacatex advert again.

By gawd, look at the prices too!!   

Their stuff was fantastic. Went on and on and never wore out. I had a pair of their "riding trousers" and they lasted me all through PC and onto adult riding, until they were so small they ended up just under my knees and I started wearing them with long boots!!

No wonder the company went bust I believe? Their stuff was simply too good. 

Seeing the ad made me feel very old though..............


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## 4x4 (31 May 2013)

I'm still wearing mine....


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## jessieblue (31 May 2013)

Ahahahaha, love the jackatex ad.  Im sure I ordered some lovely shapely jods from there and some really flappy top riding boots for my skinny little legs lol.

I did my AI, it must have been about 1980.  I had to pay £11.50 per week to much pout 52 horses between about 4 of us!!  Maybe 2 or 3 at the weekends!  Never get away with that nowadays!


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## Cortez (31 May 2013)

I bought my very first riding jacket from Jakatex, I felt SO posh when I wore it, and I'd saved for 9 months to buy it too. My dear parents (totally non-horsey) bought me a pair of military surplus dispatch motrocycle riders elephant ear jodhpurs for christmas when I was 12; I was the laughing stock of Pony Club, but they lasted for years and were the toughest things ever made (I think they were actually WWII surplus).


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## Tnavas (1 June 2013)

I'm in my 60's

Our saddles were leather and many had Serge or Linen linings, you brushed the Serge and scrubbed the Linen then used Plimsol whitener on it. Some saddles has leather linings.

We didn't use numnahs or saddle blankets - only the wealthy had a sheepskin numnah. The saddles didn't have extremey deep seats so you sat around your pony not a mile above it! 

The saddler declared that the kindest thing against your horses skin was well conditioned leather - without a numnah the air flows through the channel and keeps your horses back warm - the saddles fitted better as they weren't having to try and accommodate the gusseted panels. When you bought a saddle the saddler came out and measured your horse and then made your saddle to fit.

A velvet hat could be bought in many shapes and sizes and it was easy to get one to actually fit your head and stay on with no elastic.

Browbands came with coloured plastic sharks teeth or velvet if you had an extra bob or two. You could get string girths in every colour of the rainbow and plaited string reins to match too.

Pony's rarely got hard feed and if they got laminitis they were hauled up to the stable and boxed, fed bran mash and hay and frog marched until they recovered - horses did not get laminitis!

We fed straights and yes I remember bone meal or limestone flour for dealing with the high imbalance of phosphorous to calcium. 

We did have sweet itch but it was confined to just a few areas of the country - grass staggers to Scotland, all horses arriving from Ireland were guaranteed to develop strangles within days of coming off the ferry.

Our horses stayed sound - they were fed less and worked more and were therefore much fitter. 

We had two nosebands - Cavesson and drop - horses wore either a loose ring snaffle or an eggbutt. Standing martingales were common - breast plates were not! 

Then came the Flash or Hanovarian noseband and the bit in fashion was a German Loose ring hollowmouth. 

Then the horseworld went crazy! Lavenham made a synthetic stable rug quilted on the outside and brushed on the inside - navy with a red trim. I bought one for Zebedee circa '73. 

Ah the good old days! I still don't own a saddle blanket or numnah - my horse is fed straights and to keep her slim grazed on billiard table grass.


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## Tnavas (1 June 2013)

diamonddogs said:



			Can anyone remember what that stiff paste you used to get for coughs was called? It came in a flat round tin. My pony could get a nugget of that out of the middle of an apple, nom the apple down and spit out a perfectly formed nugget of cough stuff...

Look what I found hidden away on my hard drive:








The smell of that mac will stay with me for the rest of my life!
		
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I had the jacket and jodphurs - the first I'd ever owned they lasted well but the cut was dreadful!


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## BigYellowHorse (1 June 2013)

I have a wonderful book in my book case from the very early 1900's - doubt its much over 100 pages and covers every ailment with full in depth treatment for each and covers cows, dogs, horses and pheasants. 

I have used a couple of the methods and found them to be very successful 


Wish I was born earlier sometimes, I get the impression that there was less nastiness, although stricter but people had fun and enjoyed their ponies more... but then again is it just looking back and remembering the good stuff and forgetting the bad? Bit like when I think back to summers when I was a kid and it was constant sunshine, harvest teas and swimming in nanny's pool..


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## saalsk (1 June 2013)

I remember the stable rug from Lavenham - blue quilt, with the widest belly strap I had ever seen. In my memory it went from just behind the elbows, to just in front of the back legs, but I suspect in reality it was about 12-16".  I remember sitting next to the washing machine with my fingers crossed that the cycle would end, and I could sneak it back to the stable to dry, before my Mum realised I was using the machine...

My stirrups were nickel, as was the snaffle. I still have the snaffle from my first pony - the joint, where the loops meet, is paper thin from wear. Luckily, I rarely had to put any pressure on it, as being 10-12 years old in the early 80's, I just galloped everywhere !


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## Faithkat (1 June 2013)

Champion1969 said:



			Harvest mites, Sarcoids, Grass sickness, Lice? And now garlic is bad so is hoof oil and so many more things or was I just so ignorant in my youth?

Owning a horse this time round has caused me to be a nervous wreck, and that's before being in the saddle 

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			What we didn't have was dentists, 'back people', anything but a jute stable rug and canvas New Zealand, mixes and balancers or any of the plethora of feed additives and training aides that seem to be must haves now......I have never owned a body protector and my first hat was kept on by a length of elastic. The next one had a chin strap that actually went over my chin.

From a veterinary perspective we didn't have scintigraphy or MRI or even easy to access x-rays and ultrasound scanners or endoscopy, so lameness was dealt with by turning away for a good long time, and we never knew about kissing spines or ulcers - the things that everyone seems to suggest immediately for every ridden problem encountered these days.

I think things are generally better these days, but I suspect that having horses was a more limited back then and the people that had them probably had generations of experience behind them and more acres to keep them - hence it being easier to turn away for a good long time without any financial implications. I certainly think that a lot of mild lameness would probably go away after a year turned away without expensive scans and diagnoses.
		
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Yep, I'm old too and agree with all of the above.  Horses and ponies were fed straights too and I can't help but wonder if all the weird things that are fed these days have an effect that produces or contributes to all the sweetitch, sarcoids and miscellaneous other "common" problems.  Since when was the rubbish left after the sugar is extracted from sugar beet, horse food?  Copra meal - since when did horses naturally eat coconut??????
I don't ever remembe laminitis either but following a talk by my vets the other week, 90% of laminitis is caused by an under-lying problem and not necessarily the rich-grass-fat-pony syndrome so just what or why are there all these underlying problems.  

I hesitate to say it but horses were treated like horses, i.e. animals that are designed by nature to live outside and cope with the conditions.  It's a continuing mystery to me why people feel they have to rug native ponies!!!!!


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## Tnavas (1 June 2013)

Faithkat - sugarbeet has been fed to horses for decades - I remember feeding it in the 60's - then it was always molassed - we used it in place of chaff which for a time was extremely hard to get hold of unless you had a chaff cutter.

I too agree that horses and ponies suffer a great deal more these days because people over feed and underwork their horses. The feed companies brainwash them into thinking that they must feed these wonderful composite feeds.

Most recently a feed has been released here in NZ that has fibre in a pelleted form - all finely ground up! Wrote to them and reminded them what fibre in a horses diet was actually supposed to do! They have never got back to me!

We didn't have underlying problems and in the years I was in one riding centre we rarely had a horse go lame and these horses all competed or hunted regularly - all were stables all got sugarbeet and grains and were shod.


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## Crugeran Celt (1 June 2013)

Champion1969 said:



			Gosh Jute rugs take me back!
		
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I still have my first ponies jute rug and surcingle, unfortunately I don't have that fab pony. If the winters were really cold I used welsh wool blankets under the jute. Those blankets are worth a fortune now and mine are covered in horse hair and are well worn. Winter turn out rugs were very heavy and had to be retreated regularly to keep them waterproof. I had never heard of grass sickness and my biggest fear was colic or laminitis. Good old days.


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## Doncella (1 June 2013)

MiJodsR2BlinkinTite said:



			Gosh!!! I never thought to see that old Jacatex advert again.

By gawd, look at the prices too!!   

Their stuff was fantastic. Went on and on and never wore out. I had a pair of their "riding trousers" and they lasted me all through PC and onto adult riding, until they were so small they ended up just under my knees and I started wearing them with long boots!!

No wonder the company went bust I believe? Their stuff was simply too good. 

Seeing the ad made me feel very old though..............

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Mine was bought for me when it was £.s.d!!
Also the only fly repellent was Extra Tail and the only shampoo was Canter.


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## JillA (1 June 2013)

I remember you could only get sugar beet (shreds) through a farmer who supplied the beet factories with the beet - they got the pulp and you had to find one who would sell you a bag or three. Anyone in the Midlands remember Griffiths and Simpson? They used to make their own mixes long before the big feed companies got in on the act, I'm talking 60's and there weren't any molasses in their mix - just cereals (including flaked maize) and probably something like grass nuts.


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## Champion1969 (1 June 2013)

Bloody hell "Flaked Mase" yep that takes me back.


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## Tnavas (2 June 2013)

Does anyone remember Molassine Meal - basically peat that was soaked in molasses - not sure why we fed it but we gave all our horses this every feed.

Sugarbeet I remember came direct from the SMB - Sugar Marketing Board - in big brown paper sacks.


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## madmav (2 June 2013)

I had a pony with sweet itch in the 70s. He was hogged and covered in benzol benzoate which used to strip my nails of the varnish that I loved to wear. Toxic stuff. Cured it, though.
And there were laminitic ponies on yard, that would be walked endlessly around by young helpers.
Just love the Jacatex ad. What a memory. Oh to buy some boots for a fiver.
Rugs are better now, though, you've got to admit that.


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## Janee (2 June 2013)

I love this thread.

When I was a very young girl!! I remember hacking to the blacksmith, the pony being shod cost £5 for a full set for the 13.1 hh and I think £5.50 for the 14hh, then hacking home at least 4 miles each way so that took half a day. Before we got a pony riding lessons £0.70 and £0.05 to hire a hat, we had a lesson once a fortnight and my parents wouldn't buy me a hat until I proved I was keen, which involved riding all winter whatever the weather and there was no indoor school.

Rugs? Native pony didn't need rugs, out whatever the weather unless he got cold when wet and we brought him in to dry off and get warm, now pony has a selection of rugs and hours spent checking forcast to decide rugging stratergy.


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## Jericho (2 June 2013)

I remember jute rugs, canvas NZ, £20 DIY cost and £30 for a full set of shoes, string girths and reins to match, and the new skull cap with chin cup, the holey sweat sheets. We did use to feed a pony nut complete feed and later a mix, sometimes with sugar beet and often a branmash.

Would be interesting to start a thread of things that haven't changed or developed much. You still can't beat the proper all in one over reach boot, the lynge cavesson hasnt changed although i ever usednit as found it cumbersome. nor do I believe we have created the perfect feed bowl or hay feeder yet!


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## poops (2 June 2013)

What a lovely trip down memory lane. I learnt to ride on a pony called Johnny! Suppose even an innocent name like that wouldn't be right now.

I remember going to the sewing shop to buy elastic to make a chin strap for my hat. Someone gave me a pair of those really old fashioned jodphurs, so hideous I can't describe them!

Any no it wasn't always sunny in the old days. I remember constantly being soaked to the skin.


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## d_morrow (2 June 2013)

Quilted Husky jackets in olive green, navy and brown.  A woman at my yard still wears one! 

And at riding schools - having to walk your horse/pony after lessons  until properly cooled down. I now see sweaty horses just being chucked out in the field regardless of the weather.  Agree with the person who said knowledge doesn't get handed down in the same way. Many new horse owners from non-horsey backgrounds haven't even been through the riding school route.  One person recently asked me why I was treating my horse's foot. When I said she had a touch of thrush they were flabbergasted and asked if it was the same thing that women get...


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## diamonddogs (2 June 2013)

Doncella said:



			...Also the only fly repellent was Extra Tail and the only shampoo was Canter.
		
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I remember Bloom shampoo! I knew of Extra Tail, but never used fly repellant.

I had the string girth and matching reins (bright blue) as well! My best friend had red, and one day she turned up with a bright red numnah - we treated it with some suspicion, and none of us could remember the word "numnah".

The saddle that came with my first pony had serge panels, and it was a ****** to keep clean and dry! What a relief to get a new saddle with leather panels, but the horror of new tan tack - it used to take months, if not years, of oiling and soaping to get it flexible and get that lovely rich havana colour. My friend and I constantly argued as to whether Hydrophane or Flexalan was the best for darkening tack!

I really miss straps and buckles on joddy boots. You must still be able to buy them, as a friend on the yard has a pair, but she can't remember where she got them from.

What was in your first ever grooming kit? I used to buy brushes out of my pocket money, so I tended to get what I needed, so I ended up with just a hoof pick, a dandy brush, body brush and curry comb and two sponges - one for the face and one for the dock. These days I can hardly do up my grooming bag for brushes, but only use... you've guessed it, hoof pick, dandy brush, body brush and curry comb and two sponges. But I bought a microfibre mop last summer and swear by it for that final polish.


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## Ditchjumper2 (2 June 2013)

I got a Jacatex black jacket one year for Christmas. It had a red lining and I was so so excited to get it.  I also still have it upstairs .

I remember going to the riding school as 7 o/c so I could help to bring the horses up bare bare in headcollars. Having a crafty canter too. Helped with the lead reins so could ride a pony bareback to the field.Was there all day with chips for lunch.

The hunters only ever had the ends of their tails washed if very muddy, everything else had to be cleaned by grooming.......you would never bath a horse. All hunters had their heels permanently greased with vaseilne to prevent mud fever.  Anything slighty warm had to be walked and walked until it was cool and dry. Ears were dried with a special towel. Mud was removed with handfuls of straw. The hunters would hunt Sat do 3 hours work in the riding school on Sunday, have Monday off, 3 hours work Tuesday, hunt Weds, Hack Thursday and 3/4 hours trotting round roads on a Friday before hunting on a Saturday. They were really fit.

They all hunted in a snaffle, if it was strong it was a twisted snaffle and a drop...that was it. They all wore standing martingales.


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## keeperscottage (3 June 2013)

Tnavas - I'm nearly as old as you (I'm 58)! Back in 1970, a set of shoes cost thirty shillings (£1.50). I fed bran, chaff, oats and pony nuts which were delivered in hessian sacks. When I started riding in 1963, I wore Bedford cord johds, my hat had elastic under the chin, rugs were jute stable rugs and green canvass New Zealand turnouts. I had numerous matching sets of coloured string girths with matching velvet browbands, cotton saddle cloths and string reins. We put up with horses misbehaving without analysing their behaviour, we fell off, and got back on!! 

However, I remember back in 1970 paying 5/0d (25p) for a bale of straw......but I only pay £1.50 today for huge bales of lovely barley straw and £2.50 for hay, so better value nowadays!

I also remember back in 1973, my mum gave me money to buy a Stubben Parzival saddle. I travelled on the London Underground into London and went to Gibbons(???) in New Bond Street to buy my new saddle, asked for a medium fit and that was it! No professional saddle fitter! My Stubben cost me £199 brand new! I thought I was the bees' knees with my new saddle!

I really think there are more problem horses today because there are more "numpty" riders - I have a livery yard and it's full of them! Everyone seems to have a problem horse whereas in my youth you were only too pleased to have a horse and you just got on and sorted it out! I know, I had one!!

I could write reams, but I'll shut up! The 60s/70s really were so much fun!!


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## Tnavas (3 June 2013)

keeperscottage - The shop was Giddens - I remember it well for I spent many lunch hours browsing and inhaling the leather smell! I worked in London in the early 70's. You must have been the first of the numnah users! None of our school ponies wore them - so much easier to tack up and no uncomfortable neddy underneath!

Ditchjumper2 - my first grooming kit came in my Xmas stocking - no I'd stopped believing by then but 'Mummy Santa' just loved wrapping and stuffing stockings. The Dandy Brush bristles were made from split hazel twig and the Body Brush was genuine pig bristles. Beautiful brushes.

I also remember never washing the horses - we groomed them clean - 45 minutes every day, they shone like polished wood. The hunters got baby oil rubbed on their bellies depending on which area they were to hunt in Bicester clay was evil stuff and I always clipped the horses the day before so the mud had nothing to attach itself to.

My mare was spoilt she got Kossolian V5M and also Super Solvitax in her feed. The others got just salt. 

I loved the beautiful Witney blankets with their black and red stripes, held in place by an anti cast roller.


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## d_morrow (3 June 2013)

Oh no - don't stop kc! Tell us more. Love this thread!


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## diamonddogs (3 June 2013)

keeperscottage said:



			I could write reams, but I'll shut up! The 60s/70s really were so much fun!!
		
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Don't you dare! You're a tiny bit older than me, so we'd have bought/used the same stuff I think!


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## keeperscottage (3 June 2013)

Tnavas - thank you......it was Giddens in New Bond Street! I still have (and use!) the Balding girth I bought with the Parzival! The horse I bought the Parzival for was the best horse ever and I owned the old girl for 22 years! I paid £165 for her in 1972 and thought I was ripped off! 

I also remember shopping at Moss Bros and Swaine Addney(?) Briggs. I wish we could go back to those simple, carefree days! Loved reading Pony, Light Horse and Riding mags - recently bought a job lot of 1960s/70s mags on eBay - fab! Also have some early copies of Horse and Hound and my treasured April 1998 copies of H&H with the most fantastic photo of my daughter's TB, now 22, winning in the point-to-point at Fakenham!


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## Tnavas (3 June 2013)

keeperscottage said:



			Tnavas - thank you......it was Giddens in New Bond Street! I still have (and use!) the Balding girth I bought with the Parzival! The horse I bought the Parzival for was the best horse ever and I owned the old girl for 22 years! I paid £165 for her in 1972 and thought I was ripped off! 

I also remember shopping at Moss Bros and Swaine Addney(?) Briggs. I wish we could go back to those simple, carefree days! Loved reading Pony, Light Horse and Riding mags - recently bought a job lot of 1960s/70s mags on eBay - fab! Also have some early copies of Horse and Hound and my treasured April 1998 copies of H&H with the most fantastic photo of my daughter's TB, now 22, winning in the point-to-point at Fakenham!
		
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Balding girth - doubt if anyone else would know that name these days. I spent a lot of money in Moss Bros - they had a great saddlery department and I was working in Saville Row at the time, just around the corner. Bought my first pure wool day rug from Swaine Aidney Brigg - their shop was really quaint. I was so proud of that rug and then a few years later my brat of a mare shredded it.

I recently bought a Turf and Travel (Rex Bunney) Fulmer Dressage saddle - for sentimental reasons - the place where I trained was run by his wife. Doesn't fit anyone I have at the moment but the leather is still in amazing condition and the saddle would probably be in its 30's.


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## siennamum (3 June 2013)

I still have an original Lavenham rug with a broad belly strap. Useless thin thing it is.

Lots of things were better undoubtedly, horses lived simpler lives, but if a horse was naughty it was generally assumed to be behavioural rather than because the horse might have a physical problem. It's far better now that we assume a horse is in pain if it plays up.

We did have back people back in the 70's - it was a complete dark art but regularly used in top yards. We used to use Ronnie Longford. We also had EPSM, we had a mare with it in the mid 70's, she was later diagnosed also with arthritic lumps on her spine - which sounds awfully like kissing spines.

We bought ponies from the sales and so saw all the horrors, sweetitch was perfectly commonplace, very undesirable as there were fewer ways to treat it.

no-one rode coloured horses and horses with hairy heels were considered common. Cobs had to be shaved to within an inch of their lives.

People absolutely bred from anything with a uterus, there was a commonly held belief that mares had the advantage that if they went lame they would still have a job as a brood mare.


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## MiJodsR2BlinkinTite (3 June 2013)

Gosh am lovin' this thread........ takes me back, i.e. "Balding" girths, NZ rugs, Jute rugs, nylon girths etc etc.

Something (if my memory serves me right) we didn't have years ago, was people riding horses way above their ability; or at least it didn't seem so....... back then, if you had a warmblood, TB/Arab or whatever, you had the ability to ride it. Now, there seems to be a proliferation of "problem" horses, mainly because people are buying TB's because they think they'll look good on them, rather than because they can actually handle/ride them safely.

Most TB's then were kept either in hunting yards, by showjumpers/eventers or racing stables, where there were people that knew what they were doing. The horses were never allowed to get out of hand, thus there weren't so many "problem horses". There didn't seem to be numpty people with little or no experience, over-horseing themselves as so frequently happens nowadays, then its all the horse's fault and they just sell it and get yet another "problem horse" to follow suit!!!

Most kids that rode either did so at riding stables, or if you were lucky enough to have your own you'd probably have a native that would live out and thus get rid of its high spirits that way. You certainly wouldn't be expected to "go on to horses" until such time as you were old enough to ride in long boots!!!


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## Tnavas (3 June 2013)

An equine physio said to me recently that if people strapped their horses like they used to she would be out of a job! It's true - we massaged many of the horses aches and pains away with the body brush.

Horses were fed less and far more appropriate foods so didn't misbehave as much

siennamum - EPSM is a genetic problem so not a sign of the times

The vet Stuart Hastie used to work on the horses backs too (76 - 77) - I sent my lovely TB mare to him following a rotational XC fall - if I'd known then what I know now I would have taken her to him weekly until sorted. 

The Lavenham was thin but then we didn't rug our horses to such a degree then. It's only problem was that you couldn't put a blanket under it in winter.

Only horses in hard work were given a full clip - and we always left on legs and a saddle patch. Ponies got a bib and lived out with no rug, some of the school horses got a low trace clip and a NZ rug to wear turned out. 

The majority of riders only had one saddle a GP - only the very hard core professionals had a dressage or jumping saddle. They were certainly easier to fit without all the extra gussetted panels.

You could buy your bridle in pieces rather than a whole bridle just because you needed the noseband and it was ALL brown! A vivid shade of orange that the moment you oiled and soaped it would turn a beautiful mellow colour that stayed that way. Not like the black we have now that fades to a greenish colour over the years.

Black leather was considered inferior leather as the black dye could hide the blemishes whereas the brown dye couldn't. 

The choice of leather cleaning was limited to Ko-Cho-line, Neatsfoot Oil, Flexelan or Hydrophane, Belvoir Glycerine or the dreaded tin of Saddle Soap - that left everything very gluggy!

Mucking out shavings was done with hands - it all washes off and I'm still alive! and a garden rake or if you were lucky a potato fork that weighed a ton - I chose hands and a bucket and rake. I love my plastic long handled shavings fork with a basket - makes mucking out so easy - friend still uses her hands - with no gloves!


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## Gloi (4 June 2013)

I'm just remembering the flat, shiny,  half-panelled pony saddle mine and most of the other ponies seemed to wear. Mine came with my pony and I was glad when I eventually persuaded my dad to buy me a new saddle.

At the riding school I went to, chop was made by hand on an ancient machine with a big blade and a handle that needed someone to turn it. The kids that helped at the stables had to make chop for the feeds, in twos, one to turn the handle and one to feed the hay in. Not anyone's favourite job as it was hard work. H&S would not have approved though fortunately nobody last their fingers (That I know of!)


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## The Fuzzy Furry (4 June 2013)

I still have a good qual balding girth that was still in use up till around 18 months ago but now dont have a pony that size for it - given to me on my 10th birthday by Keith Luxford  Does anyone remember him from old showing days & his saddlery shop in Esher?


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## Ditchjumper2 (4 June 2013)

I remember buying a Christy Beaufort Ineternational riding hat that I still have upstairs in the wardrobe with the Jacatex jacket!

Those New World I think NZ rugs that had those chain bits on the legs straps and a bit of metal that you put through a metal ringed eyelet...remember anyone??

And still have Balding leather girths in my tack cupboard.

Very few horse were in loose boxes as they were called then. Most were tied up in stalls on a log and rope. Didn't have any issues with horses not tying up then.


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## Tnavas (4 June 2013)

Ditchjumper2 said:



			I remember buying a Christy Beaufort Ineternational riding hat that I still have upstairs in the wardrobe with the Jacatex jacket!

Those New World I think NZ rugs that had those chain bits on the legs straps and a bit of metal that you put through a metal ringed eyelet...remember anyone??

And still have Balding leather girths in my tack cupboard.

Very few horse were in loose boxes as they were called then. Most were tied up in stalls on a log and rope. Didn't have any issues with horses not tying up then.
		
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My Christie Beaufort is still in use and has been recovered twice.

And I have a log! - I remember the ones we had at the school - we never had to rescue anyone for getting ropes over their legs - it was great.

I had it made a few years ago and everyone remarked on it when I used it at HOY last year - It meant I could leave Serenity safely tied up - she could put her head down to graze and then when she lifted her head up the rope would go tight again so she couldn't get a leg over it. Mine is rather heavy though - next time a lighter type of wood will do. I asked the local wood turning club to make it for me.


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## JillA (4 June 2013)

Ooh now there's a thought Tnavas - my itcher can't be left in a loose box because he would demolish it so he spends hours (and has his feeds) tied up. He doesn't get into trouble because I allow all mine to problem solve as much as they can - foot on rope? All you have to do is lift your foot, I'm not going to panic about it. But a log would be a great idea. Now, where to find one............................


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## The Fuzzy Furry (4 June 2013)

I still have a pristine log (and 3 very dented ones) for tying, used to use them a fair bit even in recent years


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## Elsbells (4 June 2013)

Only professionals had the luxury of a purpose built ménage, everyone else would use a flat field. Show jumps were made from crates, bits of wood found in the bottom of a hedge and old rotton fencing posts nailed together!

Ponies were ridden into the ground and only got a day off if it was raining and of course, there wasn't anywhere to ride in doors let alone lighting.

There wasn't the big shows or competitions and hacking, games or hunting was the order of the day. We would gallop over the fields racing each other bareback and in halter bridles. You really learnt how to ride then. 

Ponies were tougher, uglier and much more fun and accomidating, moving onto horses was a massive landmark and a sign you had outgrown the younger riders.

Brilliant and fun days!


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## Elsbells (4 June 2013)

The Fuzzy Furry said:



			I still have a pristine log (and 3 very dented ones) for tying, used to use them a fair bit even in recent years 

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We need a picture of one of these logs, I for one can't remember them.


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## The Fuzzy Furry (4 June 2013)

Elsbells said:



			We need a picture of one of these logs, I for one can't remember them.
		
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I'll take some pics tomorrow night, possibly get TF to pose with one 
We used to use them sometimes at PC camp at Tweseldown back in the mid 70's and often used them at home too


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## Elsbells (4 June 2013)

The Fuzzy Furry said:



			I'll take some pics tomorrow night, possibly get TF to pose with one 
We used to use them sometimes at PC camp at Tweseldown back in the mid 70's and often used them at home too 

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Awwwwww, thanks


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## Tnavas (4 June 2013)

Pony Club camp!

A week of grubby bliss - inhale pony 24/7 - no sleep, no bath we were horrible when returned to our doting parents!

We went to the local stud where the breeding season had finished - the horses got the stables and the ponies were in stalls inside a barn especially prepared for the week, sheep hurdles tied together or planks suspended from the rafters separated each pony. Ponies were tied to a ring which was fixed to a thick rope that was tied from one end of the barn to the other. 

Every pony/horse had back shoes removed and they were all turned out together - none of this precious behaviour we see now. Food was cooked in a mobile kitchen, the little kids had camp beds dorm style in the barn and the older kids dormed in some of the stables. The boys were in tents on the other side of the field, and guarded by insomniac parents. 

We'd get night raids by other clubs who put polythene over the toilet bowls and trick soap that covered you with black in the basins. One year a couple of kids got captured and were ransomed for sweets.

It was such fun!


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## Doris68 (4 June 2013)

I loved going to Moss Bros....got my first pair of "proper" jodhs from there.  They were quite heavy (maybe?) Bedford cord and had real suede 'knees'.  Also had a riding mac from Moss Bros and it was so stiff I could hardly move - it was partly lined with red felt-like material and had loads of straps everywhere....I recall it wasn't all that waterproof though!
The jodhs, mentioned above, needed a couple of people to remove them!

Aaaah, those were the days of cycling to look after a certain well-known eventer's ponies (he wasn't an eventer then), just for the fun of it and then being paid ten bob a week!  Couldn't believe my luck AND I got to ride too!


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## diamonddogs (5 June 2013)

Oooh! Logs - how could I have forgotten logs?! I'm off too look for a suitable lump of wood to make one as my mare doesn't tie up very well.

The farm where I kept my first pony had a massive open barn, divided up into stalls. If you needed to keep your pony in the stall you'd put a scaffolding pole across the front - I feel quite ill thinking what would have happened in a panic situation!

We never had trailers - if you couldn't hack there, you didn't go!

And day rides - bliss on those long hot summer days we don't seem to have any more! My brother bought me a lovely leather saddle bag for my birthday. It attached to the D's on the back of your saddle, and it had a sealable cup for a drink and a box for your sandwiches. It had a small pocket in the front - I'd have a length of bailer twine, a folding hoofpick and five 2p coins for the phone in mine!


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## Old Bat (5 June 2013)

Loving this thread! The stables that I grew up helping at had logs, we called them sinkers and they were beautifully made...carved wooden ovals with holes through. I used to drool over the Jacatex advert, it was out of our reach in those days, had second hand tweed jackets and courdroy baggy breeches! Learnt to ride on half panel serge or linen lined saddles, no numnahs, cleaned the tack and strapped every evening and the hygiene meant hardly ever any skin problems. The back man or dentist didn't exist, problem horses were rested for a few months, then brought back into work and through until they could be no longer worked and then sent to the knackers. Don't remember any laminitis or sweetitch except for one Cushings pony which was a rarity and was PTS aged 17, looking like a 30 year old today. None of the school horses lived much beyond 17 or 18. Interesting memories being dredged up....


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## JillA (5 June 2013)

Oh, and when we had a couple of cases of strangles, we turned the horses out in a paddock to graze on the basis that any gunge from abcesses would drain, and as a result they would develop lifelong immunity. It wasn't notifiable and was considered a benefit to have had strangles before they were broken to ride - no risk for the future.


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## Joyous70 (5 June 2013)

Tnavas said:



			Pony Club camp!

A week of grubby bliss - inhale pony 24/7 - no sleep, no bath we were horrible when returned to our doting parents!

We went to the local stud where the breeding season had finished - the horses got the stables and the ponies were in stalls inside a barn especially prepared for the week, sheep hurdles tied together or planks suspended from the rafters separated each pony. Ponies were tied to a ring which was fixed to a thick rope that was tied from one end of the barn to the other. 

Every pony/horse had back shoes removed and they were all turned out together - none of this precious behaviour we see now. Food was cooked in a mobile kitchen, the little kids had camp beds dorm style in the barn and the older kids dormed in some of the stables. The boys were in tents on the other side of the field, and guarded by insomniac parents. 

We'd get night raids by other clubs who put polythene over the toilet bowls and trick soap that covered you with black in the basins. One year a couple of kids got captured and were ransomed for sweets.

It was such fun!
		
Click to expand...

This sounds like an snippett from an Enid Blyton book


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## applecart14 (5 June 2013)

And kissing spine, cushings syndrome, bone spavin, CVM, EIA, AHS, EVE, EVA, EMS, EHV and goodness knows how many other acronyms!!


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## Perissa (5 June 2013)

Has anyone mentioned Lampwick Girths?  I had to get mine specially made as I could not buy them anywhere!


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## Ditchjumper2 (5 June 2013)

..and those three fold girths that you kept an oiled cloth in to keep the folded part supple.


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## Wundahorse (6 June 2013)

Yep things were very simple and basic with little choice,but oh so much more time to spend with the ponies as opposed to hours checking all the latest trends,fashions and prevaricating over what we need (or actually don't need but must have)My daughter accuses me of hoarding things (she who comes from the throw away society) as i refuse to get rid of useful things simply because they don't match,or are unfashionable.We never has purpose built arenas,just cordoned of areas of the field.We hacked miles to shows and wore simple show kit bought of the peg and sometimes of Jacatex (does anyone remember that company?)but we were happy with what we had which speaks volumes.Of course technology has come on in leaps and bounds to our benefit and the horses and i could not go back to keeping my pony in a field with no facilities.Modern life must be working as our equines are healthier and live longer than ever.


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## JillA (6 June 2013)

Wundahorse go back a few pages and you will see a Jacatex advert posted


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## harveysmom (6 June 2013)

I see i have company i thought i was the only old **** here
I can remember jute rugs and those green canvas rug lined NZ i would love another jute rug but i think i will give the NZ rugs a miss.
My old TB had sarcoids back in 1984 and the vet had to do some research as she didnt know what it was.[yes i had a female vet]
We fed bran back then mollichop had still to be invented and we didnt feed haylage that was for cattle.
Back then livery yards gave you enough grazing [not turnout] rather than cramming as may horses on their land as they can. 
Back then im sure we only wormed when the horses looked like they needed it, at most twice a year
Life was much simpler back then


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## Tnavas (6 June 2013)

harveysmom - your post brought back another memory

Worming! was done four times a year and when wormed the horses needed a week off to recover from the wormer as it didn't just target the worms - it cleaned the horse out completely! Most wormers contained turpentine, Creosote and Linseed Oil in varying doses and all given after you've starved the horse for 24 hours.

Then later when I had my own horse it was possible to buy varying wormers as powders that you added to feeds, the rigmerol of getting your disgruntled equine to eat her poisoned feed was time consuming. The first Botacide I remember came inside tiny blue granules - my mare filleted them out. I also remember in 1976 when Ivomec was first released on the market - I think it was called Genesis - the manufacturers toured the country putting on shows for people to see with films and slides of the effects of red worm on the horse. 

In 1996 I had a pony with laminitic symptoms that was also underweght, and hairy etc and yes you'll know these days that its Cushings - then unheard of as such in NZ - the vet diagnosed it as a Pituitary adenoma.


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## onemoretime (7 June 2013)

Tnavas said:



			I had the jacket and jodphurs - the first I'd ever owned they lasted well but the cut was dreadful!
		
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The cough stuff was made by Radiol and was called something like Electra cant quite remember exactly but I remember the stuff.  Also had the Jacatex jods boots and hacking jacket and thought I was the Bee's knees in them cycling up the lane to the local riding school.


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## onemoretime (7 June 2013)

Doncella said:



			Mine was bought for me when it was £.s.d!!
Also the only fly repellent was Extra Tail and the only shampoo was Canter.
		
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  Do you remember Bloom shampoo?


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## Equilibrium Ireland (7 June 2013)

Just a note about the acronyms, EIA is swamp fever and been around a long time in America. Back in the 70's you had to have a coggins to go anywhere. 

Terri


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## JillA (7 June 2013)

onemoretime said:



			The cough stuff was made by Radiol and was called something like Electra cant quite remember exactly but I remember the stuff.  Also had the Jacatex jods boots and hacking jacket and thought I was the Bee's knees in them cycling up the lane to the local riding school.
		
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Electuary!!! I couldn't remember until you did half of it for me lol. But what WAS the name of the wormers that looked like pony nuts????


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## Ditchjumper2 (7 June 2013)

When they had a cough we gave them aconite powder????


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## Tnavas (7 June 2013)

onemoretime said:



			The cough stuff was made by Radiol and was called something like Electra cant quite remember exactly but I remember the stuff.  Also had the Jacatex jods boots and hacking jacket and thought I was the Bee's knees in them cycling up the lane to the local riding school.
		
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RAdiol was the stuff you put on splints - Bone Radiol 

- but I do remember the cough paste though but not its name.

Making up a poultice was done using Kaolin, we had a missive tin of it and a seriously old saucepan with an inch layer of the stuff caked around the inside - we carefully heated it up on the hot plate before smearing it on real gamgee - the sort made with gauze and cotton wool, covering with plastic bread bags which were especially kept for poultices, they were just the right size.

Thatching - placing lots of fresh straw under the rug - we turned the rug inside out, placed the straw under the rug until the horse dried.


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## Alyth (8 June 2013)

What a fantastic thread!!  I have just spent at least an hour reading through all the pages and they are bringing back so many memories!!  Those macs!!  I remember getting my first pony from a riding school in Exmouth in September 1955!!!  She was an amazing pony who taught me so much.  After the first months of fear....being eliminated at a school competition for 3 refusals at the first jump!.....we tried jumping a log in the woods near our home....she got stuck - fore legs one side, hind legs the other...OMG  what was I to do?  So I just stood there...useless human!!  After a few minutes she worked out that I was not going to be any help and got herself backwards over the jump and we made our way home.....we hacked, pony clubbed, hunted, competed and rode everywhere....very seldom did we resort to a shared cattle truck to take us anywhere!!!  And all on grass...no oats, no rugs (trace clipped in winter turned out during the day!) Progressed to a pony from Ireland bought at Exeter market....turned out she had not been backed....but she was amazing!!  I could hunt her and ask her to walk while everyone else galloped on madly....and she did!!  Such a perfect childhood....we were lucky enough to live right on the cusp of East Devon, Cotey and Axe Vale hunts so we had so many events to chose from!!...anyone on here from East Devon in the 1950s???!!!


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