Anyone else take their Horses for In-hand hacks?

LaurenBay

LaurenBay

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How many of you take your Horses out in hand? and why?

I've started to take Ruby out for a couple of reasons

  • I have no saddle for her (saddler due soon)
  • Good way of bonding
  • Build muscle
  • Keep me fit
  • De-spook her (she's 6)
  • she's started to get attached to her field mates so good to take her away from them
  • Good practise for in-hand showing
  • Teaches her manners
 
Used to a lot when mine was a youngster & even long reined him around the lanes, as a result he's nearly totally bombproof! (If mums leading him it must be ok was his attitude) But its also transferred to his ridden work.
 
Yes and it was always awesome :D
I used to wear trainers and jog alongside him :) I also found that he was much less scared of things afterwards too (he was a nappy arab) so when we went over little wooden bridges etc. togther on foot he remembered it was safe the next we we approached it mounted and he stopped pratting about so much.
 
Yep! When my boy had a very nasty slice down the top of his back and was off work for 3 months! and again now that he's retired.

-My OH wont let me have a dog, so I take my 16h horse for a jog round the park instead :) Just need to teach him to play fetch and I'll be sorted! ;)
 
Yes for the same reasons as you stated as hoping to de-spook him. also something a bit different and teaches him ground manners when being lead i.e if he wants to spook to do it out of my way so at shows etc people including me dont get squished :D x
 
I do! Have done for years mainly because my mare has a nasty sarcoid on her girth area so I only attempt to saddle her up when we go for longer more exciting rides. I often ride bareback too but because Im so unfit I often opt to walk / run with her. Its great for bonding and i tell her stupid stories too.
 
To get horse back to fitness after injury, we were walking out in hand. She loved it, she's worked hard all her life and going for an evening stroll was quite therapeutic for her.

OH sometimes takes the Cob out for a walk with the dogs if he's been ridden earlier in the afternoon. Cob will sometimes be ridden twice but otherwise may go in hand, as he's such a nice horse to be around and anyway, it gets his face out of the grass for another hour.
 
Yes - we had very restricted grazing over the winter, so as well as being ridden, unless it was raining or snowing hard, my mare had at least 30 mins a day grazing in hand and wandering around the sheep field or up the bridleways with me on the end of the lead rein wearing about five coats, wooly hat, gloves etc

Am also doing the same with my youngster if he can't be turned out for any reason.

I'm not so fussed about leading them about as we've got a round pen for exercise, but I think its essential that they are calm and well behaved on the end of the lead rein. A few years ago, i had to graze my mare in hand for over an hour at Michael Wood services on the M5 while a mechanic mended the damage our blown out tyre had done to the lorry. She was an angel, because she was used to just 'hanging out' with me :)
 
I like others did this with my youngsters. It is a great way to desensatise them. I used to take my 1st pony on walks everywhere as I wasn't allowed to ride alone so she ended up form a mental 3 year old to being sold as a riding school master!!!!
 
Hell NO!! Would love to de spook my little lass this way but just cannot hang onto her in hand when she spooks so we're working on it at home where it's safe and going out ridden and on the leadrein. Had all this sorted but yard move set everything back to worse than she was the first day I sat on her. It's taking time but I think we may get there.
 
I do, it is a great way to keep oldies interested and satisfied, fantastic experience for youngsters, and a great way for them all to forage for different herbs and grasses.
 
I have, mostly because he's turned into a bit of a hacking psycho so thought it would be a good way to build his confidence without him killing me :D
 
Yes, I took my gelding out to 'de-spook' him and my mare has a walk around as she's on box rest so is grazed inhand. When she was sound she'd also have a walk as I was unable to ride and wanted to keep her out seeing the world!
 
Yes, I take my little pony out on walks as he isn't ridden for various reasons. Keeps him interested, de-spooks him and is great for practising our inhand work, as I show him inhand.
 
Yes! I take my youngster out for walks round the village to desensitize her to traffic and anything else we might meet once she is backed. She is pretty laid back about most things now including lorries, buses and motorbikes although she is still wary of push bikes :rolleyes:
 
Yep all my gang go "walkies" :D does them the world of good and sometimes if times short I can't be half-assed to go through the tacking up
 
I do! But then Misty is only 37 inches and unrideable but a laminitic so needs to keep the weight off. He absolutely loves it and the change of scene is nice for him :) And there is rarely a problem with cars because they all stop to look at the little pony!
Am also taking the one i'm breaking out for walks just to get her out of the arena and get her used to life outside of the yard. At the moment she is only going on the roads as the bridle path has a very randy colt on it although he is moving in 2 weeks. She loves her walks though and really enjoys going out for one after she has been lunged or ridden too :)
 
Im thinking about taking my 16mth old out round lanes in hand.she has her moments and runs straight across me then we end up circling before carrying on.do u lead with h/collar or bridle?
 
I walk my yearling out in hand as it teaches manners and helps us bond and I also want to teach him to trust me. I want him to see scary things whilst he's young and not too big!!!
 
When I bought my mare last year, I was told that she had never hacked out or been on the roads so I used to take her out all the time in hand and then long reined her out. She is now bombproof.

My old boy is having a sarcoid banded on his girth area on Thursday which means a few weeks off work, so I'll be taking him for walks as well - horse in one hand, dog in the other!
 
Yes nappy, spooky horse so means we get away from yard by ourselves and build up confidence. Usually ride back though.
 
Yes, because Aviv is more fun to take for a walk than any dog - she's impeccably mannered, never pulls or barges or gets in your way, doesn't stop at every dustbin/tree/dog and going for a walk in-hand is clearly recreational and an easy thing for both of us.
 
I take the pony up the hill with me when I walk the dog - she's way too little for me to sit on and it gets her out and about socialising/seeing things :)
 
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