Stroll down memory lane OR do you remember when.....?

Question

Good Hay cost 75 cents a bale.

Good Straw cost 50 Cents a bale.

A top of the line western show saddle was $400.

A very nice AO show quality horse could be had for under 10K

Man....I 'm feelin old now....lol!

Feel free to add to this list with your own recollections!

Answer 1

gas was 1.75 and you could drive to work/barn and not worry bout if you had nuff money to pay bills/eat that day.

i'm old but i'm not that old, least i didnt say 98 cents. lol.

milk was 1.50 at one point i believe, and more recently tea prices were 1.60... needless to say i'm broke nuff to say i cant afford the 30 cent increase. lol

Answer 2

Well I remember my first set of shoes on my first horse was $8.00 and that was for hot shoes!

I had a vet do a vet check on my first TB that we had to track down to finally pay him ($10.00).

I could board my horse out in pasture with feed for $20.00/mo.

I'm with American Morgan, I remember paying $3.75 for a 3 wire (Remember bailing wire?) 125LB bale of alfafa hay and that was November of 1970.

What really sucks, is that when I was paying $.53/gal for gas  (92%) I found a reciept for 18 gallons of gas for six bucks and change under the seat of my '65 Bonneville and whined about the price of gas.  My first NEW bumper pull King 2 horse ran me $2,300.00 at Horsetrailers International, Encino, CA.  My 3 yr old truck then cost me $2,200.00...Tells you who rated in my FAMILY!

The first horse show I ever went to was the same weekend as the opening of the San Mateo Bridge (It was a Morgan show.)...  AND I remember going out on my first date with a guy who was embarassed that he only had a pickup truck and we were driving in San Francisco with it.  Sheesh, times have sure changed!

Answer 3

OMG, LOL at some of these answers! yup those were the days I used to pay .25 Cents a bale for good hay but again that was from a farmer freind! I had to load and haul it myself!

and if I told you what the cost of gas was back then I would really be telling my age LOL

Answer 4

First good quality headstall and reins I paid $13.50.  It was the most expensive set the store had, except for the show stuff.  Saved my allowance for about a month to buy it!  I still have it and use it on occasion.

Throwing out old papers, I ran across a receipt for a pack of Marlboro's for 84 cents.

Big, beefy, heavy duty tires for my pickup, I paid $30 apiece, similar ones are now $120.

Bought eggs from neighbor lady for 25 cents a dozen.

I used to babysit for 50 cents an hour.

I have a 1974 Olds Cutlass, and it was bought new for $4700.  I bought it used for $75, and the starter just needed to be shimmed.  Over the years, I've had some nice offers for it.

Paint for outbuildings-$3.50/gallon.  Wish I could get it for that price now as I have a big hip roof barn that needs a little attention!

Sheesh!  I feel old too!

Answer 5

I remember when you could show at a local show for $5/class or $20 for the division.

I remember when horse show stalls were $30 for the week and included initial bedding, which was never quite enough.

I remember when horse shows awarded fancy engraved silver plates when you were champion.

Answer 6

i remember a semi load of 75 pound wire tied bales delivered for $200

2 horse straight load bumper pull trailer for $1200 with tack room

gas .35 cents a gallon and tractor fuel was .15 cents a gallon for #2

pulling a brand new 2 horse trailer with a used 1967cadillac fleetwood that cost $1800 (that was stylin in those days)to the rodeo and winning a real silver engraved buckle,enough money to fill the tank,have a real shower in a motel room,clean sheets and not tripping over everyone sleeping on the floor in the middle of the night to go to the bathroom but still have enough money for breakfast for all your friends and still have enough for the entry fee at the next rodeo.

i almost forgot about rockmount ranchwear shirts and sears toughskin pants .yeh those were the days.

Answer 7

OK .... lets see.

My first pair of custom made chaps cost me $100 and I still have them and use them. That was back when putting a contrasting color for the piping first started.

I don't remember hay or straw ever being less than about $2.00 for straw and $3.50 - $4.00 for hay...

I do remember my first "learning experience" lol!:

The first horse I ever bought by my self, was a 9 year old palomino gelding that turned out to be a 12  year old "final sale" that I bought in 1993.  He was recently put down at a ripe old age after he developed Cushings disease, but he had a good life.

I'll bet my Dad remembers some interesting stuff. I'll have to ask him.

Edit -

My dad says he remembers $50 saddles and $100 horses. The first place he bought cost $9,000 with land and if you had the money, the HOT, must have car,was the new Mustang which was about $2,500...including the options.

He still wants one ....

Answer 8

When I started buying hay (after years of getting it for free since my dad helped bale it), it was around $2/bale.  

Gas was $.85 when I started driving.

My farrier used a coal forge and would go down the road with smoke coming out the chimney in his truck cap.

Answer 9

I can't really remember what the price of a bale of hay or straw cost when I was a kid because he had our own hay and when dad bought his first baler, in the 50's he was charging 10 cents a bale to bale the neighbours field.  

I remember a lot of the farmers in our area worked the fields with teams and the corn was done in shocks and so was the wheat.  We never heard of buying a bag of feed at a store, we fed what ever grew on the farm.  Vets were never called unless it was really really an emergency...not a cut or "not acting right"  no such thing as inoculating against the flu or what ever.

Answer 10

Oh, my! I can remember when gas went UP to 20 cents and we thought the world was going to end. Got 4 bales of good hay for a buck, paid 25 bux a month for full board, cigs were 15 cents a pack, Poco lena bridles were hot, hot, hot and very pricey at $20 for the bridle, bit, reins, AND matching breast collar. Top of the line saddles went for 200 bux and a thousand dollar horse was unheard of. Horses were hauled in open trailers or staked pickups. The vet bill for shots for 3 horses plus the farm visit was $25 and we didn't have Coggins or West Nile or Potomac either.

Answer 11

Good question! I sure got a flash back! LOL I remember when my parents were buying hay, earliest memory hay was about 2.00$ a bale. I grew up in sothern Ca. & Gas was 25 cents a gallon, 35 cents for a pack of smokes, my parents bought 5 acres with a 4 bedroom home for 15,000.00$ In southern Ca!!! LOL & That was a LOT of money then! LOL  Great momories!!!!!!

Answer 12

Good farriers weren't as rare as rocking horse p**p and you could ride all day without feeling like your legs were going to drop off   ;)

Answer 13

I remember gas at 78 cents a gallon...LEADED of course.

100 bales of alfalfa $2.50 a bale

My grandfather actually used baling WIRE for the bales...

Hay was stored in loaves.

Ranch saddles were $125 with the tapaderos

Miscellaneous tack...like girths and such...$3.00-$5.00

Harness leather...for reins or such...$5.00 a bag

***EDIT......My fondest 'memory'???  When my PARENTS paid for my stuff like new boots, belts, tack, hay and feed, and the horse too!!!  And the gas and they drove me places!!

Answer 14

I remember when gas was just 50 cents a gallon.

Answer 15

Gas-29.9 a gallon

Miley two horse trailer w/mats $600

Alfalfa hay 70lb. bales $60 a ton

Answer 16

Lol ! Wow...I may have to come back to this question as other memories surface but here goes....

As a kid, I remember :

Pony rides were a quarter.

The fanciest  "A"  show barn where they had every amenity know to horsedom was $200 a month....and they did everything for you. Training was a little bit more....like $25 extra a month...

I must be older than you because I remember good alfalfa hay was 50 cents and straw was 25 cents.

When I just got out of college, my first horse position was a live in position at a AQHA show/breeding/training barn. I was making a fortune at that time earning $200 a week !  lol!!!

Edit : I remember my first horse trailer was a loaded (at that time i.e. the Cretaceous period) bumper pull and it cost  $1500.00.....

Answer 17

I remember riding lessons costing £3 an hour.

Edit - I remember the riding school booking 2 hour hacks every 7 weeks to take the horses to the forge because there was no mobile farrier. It took an hour to ride there and an hour to ride back - you had to take your own lunch.

Answer 18

I boarded my first pony for $7.00 a month and my horse for $15.00 amonth.  This was at an area farm, and included pasture, hay, and grain in winter, with run-in shelter year round.  I Later moved to an actual stable, for the outrageous sum of $25.00 a month with an additional flat $40.00 fee to cover additional winter feed.  I purchased my first registered shetland pony for $50.00, and my first thoroughbred/quarter horse for $150.00.  I rode bareback until I could come up with the money to purchase a used saddle from an area dude ranch for $35.00 complete with girth and pad.  I rode my bike from my home in town ten miles there and ten miles back to the first farm where I boarded, unless I was lucky enough to find a ride. I'd had a friend who lived on a farm and had horses, riding in 4H.  She taught me to ride when I could talk my dad into driving me out to her farm. We rode into town all the time...traffic was nothing in those days.......

Answer 19

It was .75 to see a movie.  then it went up to 1.25!

Answer 20

I don't think hay was ever .75 in southern Ca. LOL But I do remember when it was 4.00$ a bale. Now it is 12.00 -17.00$ a bale there now.... Gas was .90 cents when I started driving. Great question!!!! LOL

****edit***

  My dad paid 3,000.00 $ for his 1960 Dodge truck it had 116 wheel base with a 7 foot bed. You know you could have got them with a 9 foot bed!!! I don't think you can now!!!?? I think 8 is it. LOL  

I thought you might be amused by some of the options - heater at $49.70 or $68.10, depending on whether fresh air intake was desired; rear view mirror ($3.30); turn signals ($20 to $28.50); AM radio ($59); and right-side sun visor ($3). Buyers could also opt for a one-quart oil-bath type air cleaner at $6.60 on sixes or $8 on V8, replacing the standard air cleaner; chrome-plated front bumper for $14; and larger capacity oil filter for $9.30 on the six.

My dad did pay for all the extras! LOL

***edit***

Yes, wire not string. But I sure can use the string many more ways than the wire! LOL

My mom said when she bought her 1st Simco it was 275.00$ & That was the top of the line barrel saddle, at that time!!!  LOL