Am I neurotic about hacking on my own?

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abb123

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I always worry when I go out hacking on my own that I might fall off knocking myself unconscious and no-one will know where I am.

Does anyone else worry like this?
 
Yup, though I worry about D1 hacking on her own and if she fell off, not knowing where she would be :o

Reduce the issue as much as possible:

Draw out your hacking routes, include approximate timings;
Let someone know where you're going;
Give them an eta;
Take a mobile phone with you;
Have a tag on the horse's saddle giving contact details;
Wear high viz even if off road hacking, makes it easier to spot you.
 
I always hack on my own, I have no choice I am not on a livery yard & nobody around has horses they hack out. I just make sure that I tell someone where I am going ( I have dragged my OH round every ride so he knows what rioute I take) & roughly how long it usually takes I then let them know when I am back so if they don't hear anything they know where to send the search party. I have been hackiing on my own for 10years & luckily never had a problem but although my horses are quirky & can have their prat moments they are not dangerous even when scary leaves in the hedge jump out to bite them.

I would never hack alone on a youngster.
I would be more worried about my horse getting home safe if I fell off & someone finding them safe & sound than me!
 
No I love hacking on my own, I can choose how long and how far I am going and at what speed. Hate waiting for people to turn up after arranging a time, hacking to their field and finding they are yet again late. If you are worry about such things let someone know where you will be hacking and how long you will be gone for, if something then happens like you are late returning they will be alerted to any problems.
 
I worry about it too!

I hack out alone on the New Forest, and keeping my horses at home means that when I go out, there is no one around to tell when I am going and where.

I have a tag on the saddle with contact details, and always carry my mobile.
 
Cat&Mouse said:
I would be more worried about my horse getting home safe if I fell off & someone finding them safe & sound than me!
Click to expand...

That said, OH always askes where I'm going. Once out, if I decided to go further I always ring him so he knows - no need to worry him more than he worries himself when I ride out!

I too have to ride out alone as no-one in my area has horses but I do find it peaceful just me & Nessie
 
Well look at this way - my worst accidents have been via inanimate objects - so if you fell over and bashed your head whilst doing your horse; how will it take for someone to find you?

In my case a few hours or more...

When hacking always tell someone where you are going, carry a mobile and if really concerned use something like Phresheez - it will record your progress and your family / friends could log into your account and see exactly where you are at any point in time.
 
No I love hacking on my own, but totally know where you're coming from. I once dislocated my shoulder whilst riding my horse, and it was the one time that I had not got my phone on me! I was on a main road, crying in agony, with cars and lorries going past me without stopping! Every movement of the horse was agony, and it was a fit event horse! I couldn't get off without someone holding the horse. Thankfully I was near enough home for me to scream and scream for help - and my husband heard me, and drove up the hill! So now I always make sure that I have my phone. A tag on the saddle with an emergency phone no is a really good idea in case you do fall off and lose the horse.

Don't over worry though. Its not likely that something will go wrong, and you can't live your life being over cautious. Catious is good, paranoid is not.xx
 
i normally walk the route (if it's new) with my dogs that i intend to take on my horse, it helps me to spot any problem areas and also it means my OH knows where we are going.

i used to phone him to say i was just getting on and going to be doing eg. short block, that route is about 45 mins at the pace me and my horse would do it. if my OH hadn't heard from me after about an hour he would drive the route to see if all was ok.

always let people know where you are going and roughly how long it will take you and make sure you wear high viz.
 
I always tell people where I'm going and how long I will be. There is just so much that can go wrong especially where horses are concerned! It doesn't put me off hacking out but it does make me think carefully about where I go - especially if it involves roadwork!
 
i often think of this as i live on 18,000 acres of shooting moorland , i always ride alone lol as there is no one else here , i always wear full high viz on myself and my horse while out riding , so that if we were to have an accident we would be found easily by our gamekeepers or 1 of the helicopters.

here is a pic of home and the terrain i have to contend with .


100_1311.jpg
 
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^^^^^
Like Christi and Sprout. That's some country there you have to ride on Christi!

I enjoy hacking on my own, and so long as someone knows roughly what route you were planning on taking and how long you were planning on being gone for there's not a lot more you can do.

Totally agree about hi viz and the mobile. People comment to me about my hi viz jacket for riding on the forest, but I am not joking when I say its so the air ambulance could find me quicker... Grey pony is also bedecked in hi viz too...
 
I wouldn't say it's something I worry about enough to make me nervous but it is something that is always in my mind, specially if your riding something that young or a bit sharp etc

I think so long as you take extra precautions, hi viz, BP, phone, hi viz on horse (should you become parted!), some form of identity on your horse like a tag you can clip onto your saddle, lots of little things that may ease your mind should the worst happen, least then there are ways people can track you down or contact help quickly, which hopefully will help ease your mind and not have you worrying quite so much?
 
I loved to hack out alone, could go where I like for how long I like. But my loan horse is a bit of a loany (rears and spins) if we're not going where he wants too (not that I let him get away with it, we always go where I want eventually, even if he does often nearly put us in a ditch first) so I will always tell someone I'm going out and how long I plan to be, so they'll know where I should be if something really does go wrong. Before him though I never even thought to tell anyone I was going out hacking. It's nice to know in the back of your mind, if I don't come back someone will know how to find me.
 
I hack on my own on a nappy horse. I do take a mobile but reception not very good, and dont know who Id ring. OH not got a phone and rarely in. The one time I got slung off and horse galloped off down the road I tried to alert police re stray horse, but by the time I had got through to 2 different people and then tried to explain where I was someone had caught up with horse and put him in a field ! Did get knocked out once on a hack and came to eventually and walked him home! So I dont think you are neurotic, take as many precautions as you can.
 
I actually used to prefer hacking on my own but I didn't have roads. And now with a fairly young horse I do worry. You should take your phone and also let someone know you going and how long you will be,
 
Love hacking alone and my Arab thinks sharing my attention when we have company is the pits and sulks. Our time together means full attention! We discuss lots on our routes!:)
 
I prefer to hack on my own but its better for the horse to be in company especially when out on fun rides but I always take my mobile with me. I always feel safe on my own (well depending on the horse, last horse I had was good in traffic, one before that was nuts).
 
It's quite healthy to worry, or you wouldn't be able to plan and rationalise. I get quite carried away with my thoughts and imagine helicopter rescues, being flown to Taunton then wondering what will happen to all my animals, my job aaaaaaannnnddd then I'm back in the room!!!
 
Never used to be had a wonderful part bred and would go for miles on the Downs on my own this was before mobiles became popular. Then I got one and felt safer it came in handy when she had a fall and I had to get help. As I've got older got a bit more wary of being on my own especially on Sami bit nappy at times and scared of her own shadow but is fine in company.
 
Abb123 it is understandable to be afraid of "what if" happens, it is because of that I designed a new product to help put people's minds at rest who have to hack out alone etc.
I'm just starting to sell it and to help you I will send you a freebie on me (nylon one) the range can be seen on ebay under Locata.The most popular is the Hi Viz yellow.
Have a look on ebay and then pm me if you want a free nylon Locata, it should help you, Oz :)
 
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