04/12/2024
π«ΆTHE GOOD OLD DAYS OF LIVERY YARDS
Riding your ponies bare back in from the fields. Without a hat.
Putting up a βRiding is at Your Own Riskβ sign and that sufficed.
Being dropped off at the yard first thing in the morning and not being picked up until the evening.
Only having a handful of feed options and βsupplementsβ consisted of vegetable oil, salt or garlic.
You filled your livery spaces with postcard sized signs in the local tack shop.
Livery contracts were just a vague verbal agreement.
Horses only had two rugs- a stable rug and a turnout rug. Maybe a string cooler if they were lucky.
The dedicated kids with ponies who had to catch two buses after school just to get to the yard.
Liveries had to speak to yard owners in person or ring the landline at reasonable hours.
The sum total of biosecurity was worming your horse.
Everyone wore Harry Hall jodhpurs bought from the local tack store.
Unsupervised child labour was totally acceptable and everyone mucked in.
The Robinsons catalogue was every horse owners version of Argos.
People just loved spending time with their horses.
The local farmers would be happy for you to gallop in their stubble fields once the crop was cut.
Lunch on the yard was a cup-a-soup or a pot noodle in the grubby tea room.
The kids would take over the arena at the weekend playing chase-me-charlie or gymkhana games.
If you have your horse itβs feed or water in a Tub Trug you were cutting edge.
Bedding options were straw or shavings.
Oil drums for jumps were the norm. Jump wings were for the professionals.
Our version of social media was writing on the white board.
Most horse owners generally only had a saddle, bridle and grooming kit on the yard.
Everything could be fixed with a poultice or purple spray.
If you fell off, you got up, dusted yourself off and got back on.
You could ride out or be at the yard for hours without needing to worry about your mobile signal.
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