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Post by mirosa on Aug 23, 2011 14:43:24 GMT
Remember many of these!
I think there was something called 'Reckitts Blue Bag' which was brilliant for grey horses - especially tails.
After hunting, the best part of the day was the bath & hot tea followed by a tour of the yard. The sight of your horses all rugged up (Jute rugs, with those gorgeous striped Witney wool blankets under) & munching contentedly - perfect.
Wisps were mandatory at Pony Club - & if you couldn't make one on the first day of camp, you jolly well could by the end. I graduated to using a leather & felt pad, which the horses loved. Because it moulded itself to the shape of your hand & had a backstrap, it was very effective & easy to use.
I also bought myself a very expensive (then!) leather bodybrush which worked wonders with my tickly & headshy TB. She quickly learned to enjoy being groomed & her stable manners improved 100%
It never occured to me to cut baler twine anywhere BUT by the knot! It was always looped up & tied in a knot before being put safely in a sack in the barn. As everyone knows, there is NOTHING that cannot be temporarily fixed with baler twine! It was natural fibre when I was a child, but I remember the excitement when it started appearing in polypropoline in different colours! Gosh, we were easily pleased in those days. (I'm 52, FYI)
Tiny children feel comfortable on a plain sheepskin rather than a saddle, they're far more in contact with the pony & can hold the fleece if they need to.
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Post by brindlerainbow on Aug 23, 2011 15:09:44 GMT
Glad this thread has come to the fore again. I was rooting through my bookcase yesterday and came across a fairly old book called Horses of a Lifetime which was done by Horse & Hound with stories about different horses from yester year mainly hunters, show jumpers,eventers and a few others.Each story had a photo of the horse. What amazed me was the tack and equipment!! Pasha winning Badminton in a fulmer snaffle and drop nose band,Peter Robeson jumping a huge fence on Craven A in a pelham,cavesson noseband and no martingale,big strapping hunters in snaffles,team chaser in an eggbutt snaffle and drop noseband,Derek Ricketts on Hydrophane Coldstream in a snaffle,drop noseband and no martingale. You get the picture!!!  When did it all change to dutch gags,wilkies and other new fangled bits ? Is is because todays riders take short cuts and dont put the work in that they need so many gadgets ? I must admit I prefer how things were in the 70's and 80's!!! Less bling,simple tack,fit ponies and not fat ponies, short jackets, no diamonte browbands or glitter spray!!!! |
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Post by jump4joy on Sept 11, 2011 18:34:44 GMT
Chelix Elixir, brewers yeast, Physic Ball or powder i used them until the 80's can't even find people who used them.........would put chelix in the drinking water after hunting and before they had a day off and put physic and epsom in bran mash to give them a good clear out..when they were mashed down before a day off hard feed and after hunting..normaly on a sat evening..sunday day off and a leg stretch and back on road work on a monday, with the brewers yeast supplement...............and i bet many of you when younger would sit on the muck heap wall with the muck covering your wellies to keep your feet warm....well i did anyway :-)
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snowflake
Happy to help....a lot
Posts: 13,399
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Post by snowflake on Sept 17, 2011 17:09:17 GMT
'You are not working on the horse, but on yourself' Famous quote, not sure by who but I love it & think most riders can think & relate to it! |
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Post by sparklepony on Sept 17, 2011 18:48:35 GMT
I remember blue bags for greys and bay rum to make coats shiny. I worked at Rosevean stud and we had a chaff cutter! No way were we allowed to bath before a show it was all strapping though we did used to cheat and put a dollop of washing up liquid in the hot water. We had to damp the coat and strap for all we were worth my muscles were so big I used to arm wrestle men in the pub in the evenings!! If the coats were not clean enough we were not allowed in for lunch. I remember boiling barley and linseed too. Love the smell.
Witney rugs and jutes for stable rugs with anti cast rollers.
If the point to pointers were a bit off we would put guinness in their feed. Once someone forgot to turn off the tap for the molasses and the whole floor was like treacle in the morning.
I wouldnt recommend feeding limestone flour for babies unless your grazing is lacking, you can cause all sorts of bone problems.
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archiepoo
Junior Member
where knowledge ends ,violence begins
Posts: 186
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Post by archiepoo on Sept 25, 2011 10:13:00 GMT
gosh yes i remember chaff cutting and anti-cast rollers, blankets and jute rugs ,cleaning tack every time it was used inc taking bits and reins off -if we didnt do a good enough job we had to clean out the beagle pack kennels! yuk
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Post by beachbum12 on Sept 27, 2011 13:22:08 GMT
My Dad saved my mares life last year , after a week of daily vet visits loads of antibiotics, and a bad prognosis, he came down to the yard one night knowing how devastated I was , and said leave her to me... 48 hours later she was sound , 48 hours earlier there was talk of giving her one more night then calling it a day ... he had been moulding some brown bread at home , and saved her with mouldy bread, demerara sugar a crepe bandage and hot water ... !
I have tons of tips from him and other older members of the family particularly my Godfather bless him who hunted for all his life , I still use a lot of their wisdom and tips today ... I had ponies 30 odd years ago and we couldnt buy a fraction of the stuff the shops have for sale these days..most of it is a total waste of money . I have had ponies live and hunt well into their 30's and never had any of the new fangled stuff .
My other veteran now she has banged weight back on after been a hatrack last winter.... good old fashioned bolied linseed , its a mess to make but boy does she look good on it ! she never put a jot of weight on last year with bagged feeds ... may as well have put my money down a grid !
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Post by mirosa on Sept 27, 2011 15:04:10 GMT
Beachbum (fab name!) - PLEASE write a book of these tips! If they're not passed on, they'll be lost. That type of wisdon, knowledge & intuition just isn't made anymore!
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Post by Sam on Jan 28, 2012 21:49:32 GMT
Any more tips for this thread???
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Post by auntiebarb on Feb 14, 2012 18:43:08 GMT
Wow, these take me back. I remember riding miles to the farrier on a saturday morning, if you got there first your pony was shod for 17/6d (about 70 pence I think). My first bridle bought off an apprentice saddler from Walsall cost me £2 and that included a snaffle bit. It never ever wore out and the reins became as supple as satin. I too remember wire baling, it was a pain to remove and dangerous if it got caught in anything.
Some new stuff is useful though. I just could not manage without plastic milk canisters. I take hot water over to the stables in them, I wash the dogs legs down with them, I take water to the chickens in them, I use them to rinse the tails of my horses, and their manes sometimes. Cut in half, they are good scoops, for feeds etc. The other end is useful as a funnel too. I even use one to get the last of the jam out of the saucepan at the end of jam making sessions. I can just about do anything with some baling twine and a plastic milk bottle.
I sometimes think I lead a very sad life!!!
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Post by precious123 on Feb 22, 2012 16:45:34 GMT
a old gentleman told me if your horse is coughing give him some honey and fresh garlic. my horse was coughing and as 2/3 days he was cleaned up  |
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Post by lownthwaite on Apr 16, 2012 14:47:34 GMT
I love all these! I still use thatching on occasion - works fab! Have also tried cornucrecine for hair regrowth - also works a treat. I agree that I save all my baling twine - there is nothing it's not good for!!! Keep them coming! We may all learn something new |
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Post by Sasha on Apr 16, 2012 15:34:36 GMT
Dolly blue bags for greys! Works wonders! Cut up tights over plaits the night before a show never mind hoods! Lol
oh and tights for the tail too to keep it clean before show!
A chopped up hessian sack cut a piece of about 2 ft square and use it to remove stable stains by rubbing side to side across stain!
Disposable nappies and Epsom salts instead of shop bought poultice
For cold hosing a leg bandage with gamgee and tuck the hose inside the bandage switch it on and away you go, muck out while the bandage holds the hose in place.
Will think of more I'm sure!
The old jute rugs were great as it was pretty difficult to get stable stains through them.
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Post by Sasha on Apr 16, 2012 15:40:11 GMT
Cornucrescine was a grooming kit staple, mind u I remember being scared to put it on any other way than the way the coat lies as people said if you put it on the wrong way the hair would grow back the wrong way!!! Lol
Stockholm tar for hooves on show days to keep them looking black.
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Post by Sasha on Apr 16, 2012 15:41:16 GMT
Raw eggs into the show jumpers feeds for an extra protein kick before a show aNd cider vinegar for veterans to keep them tip top!
Always told never to feed bran without limestone flour.
Benylin butties if horse had a cough!
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Post by madmichelled on Jun 9, 2012 10:05:58 GMT
friend of mines been using tumeric for arthritus seems to be doing great job he also old chap told my daughter the other day never pat horse always stroke! and mix bar of sadde soap with pint of milk.when i was little we used to make our haynets out of plaited baling twine too ... back in the day!!! dont ask me how we did tho |
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Post by nags4riches on Jun 14, 2012 21:31:39 GMT
can you show / compete your horse in heart bar shoes? if not why? there is nothing in any of the BSPS / Ponies UK Rule book
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Post by bumblebee on Jun 21, 2012 14:14:10 GMT
can you show / compete your horse in heart bar shoes? if not why? there is nothing in any of the BSPS / Ponies UK Rule book You might be best to post this in its own thread to get more replies. It's not really relevant here. |
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Post by robrocksforsure on Jul 16, 2012 9:40:51 GMT
Once I wash the tail I put conditioner in it (will try fabric diluted now) put a big plait in it and then pop it in a cotton pillow case with a bandage at the top. Tail is shavings/poo free, shiney and wavey (I love waves) in the morning. I keep all my old pillow cases for this.
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Post by jump4joy on Jul 22, 2012 20:59:50 GMT
Wow, these take me back. I remember riding miles to the farrier on a saturday morning, if you got there first your pony was shod for 17/6d (about 70 pence I think). We used to ride to the farrier too, from the riding scool, ride 1 lead 2 ( no health & safety) through the town and this was on a week day when the school boardman would go to the stables and see if we were there but no we were at the farriers ...would anyone possibly remember 'Percy Barton' the farrier from S-On-Trent?? his forge at the back of terraced houses |
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Post by beachbum12 on Sept 26, 2012 11:16:29 GMT
Tip for winter with all this rain and sodden ground ... to prevent mud fever ... bring horse in wash legs throughly in fairy liquid or hibiscrub and rinse well, completely allow to dry ...and then liberally apply lard to legs up past knees and hocks.
This will not look pretty once they go out and get muddy again , but the lard provides a barrier and also if you read ingredients on lard on most supermarket packets of lard it simply states " antioxidant " .
Repeat this every 2 weeks ensuring that the legs are totally clean and dry before reapplying the new lard.
I often get funny looks from supermarket staff as I put 20 packs of lard through the till... but it works and is better and cheaper than most off the shelf horse products to prevent mud rash. Just supermarkets own cheap brands are fine about 30p a pack or so !
Also works well to prevent mites the lil beggars cannot crawl through lard ! I have a cob who can get mites he itches in one place behind the knee did same as above on this bit hey presto no mites !
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Post by yelsel78 on Oct 9, 2012 12:14:44 GMT
my great grandfather used to use liquid paraffin to put a shine on the coat, guinness was fed for iron and half a lemon bandaged to a splint.
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Post by Huntingmum on Nov 12, 2012 21:21:33 GMT
this thread is totally amazing...keep it going! My husband deems himself a great horseman...his tip is a half page advert in Horse and Hound selling my horses!!!
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Post by janetegfan on May 3, 2013 6:42:07 GMT
I'm loving this thread, especially the old tales and tips from the hunting yards. Sends a little shiver down my spine. I'm going to ask a question for an old tip, as I haven't got any, but I love to learn. I was once told by an old master to use diluted sheep dip for sweet itch, (not sure about this). Does anyone else have any other old tips for this. I went down field at 6am this morning and nearly got eaten alive.
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When did it all change to dutch gags,wilkies and other new fangled bits ? Is is because todays riders take short cuts and dont put the work in that they need so many gadgets ? I must admit I prefer how things were in the 70's and 80's!!! Less bling,simple tack,fit ponies and not fat ponies, short jackets, no diamonte browbands or glitter spray!!!!
