Do horses get bored of hacking?

[spotty_pony]

Just something somebody said today has got me pondering. She said her horse needs to do more to learn more and stimulate the brain further - lungeing, in hand work, spook training etc. Now I have always been of the opinion that hacking is the route to the cure of all evils but maybe I am just old school. ?‍

Thoughts please!

 

[AmyMay]

I think they can get bored of anything that’s repetitious. I’m not sure my horse got bored of hacking - but I always varied the routes.

 

[shortstuff99]

Yes my Spanish mare gets bored if all she does is hack. She loves the mental stimulation of hard dressage moves, but likes some downtime too.

 

[MuddyMonster]

I think it depends.

If all I did was hack up the drive, then yes, I think that could be as dull as dishwater for them.

But if the hacking is varied, I think most horse's wouldn't be. Especially if you 'school' out hacking on occasion too.

 

[SpeedyPony]

I'd also say it depends on the routes- if you do the same hack every day they'll get bored stiff, but if they're seeing new things fairly often it keeps them interested.
I wonder if it also depends on what sort of riding is done on the hack? I have limited options for schooling, so a lot is done on hacks, but some people do seem to just slop along on the buckle the whole way round every time (although I'm sure we're all guilty of that occasionally ??).
I imagine the hacking available plays a part in that as well though- if everything is on the road you're a bit limited in what you can practice, if you have access to decent tracks and areas of turf there's a lot more scope to try more challenging work.

 

[spotty_pony]

I do different routes every ride, work on transitions etc, lots of long and low, and working into a contact, and a mix of road and off road routes.

 

[milliepops]

I think it depends on so many things, the kind of hacking, the horse's individual outlook and what the rider wants.

I have some that would have been totally happy to hack every day of their lives. And currently have one that would curl up and die rather than do that, she turns off hacking and enjoys her schoolwork.

I think for a young horse it can be useful to do a mixture of things because they learn different stuff in different environments. But I want horses that can work in an arena so it's important to me that they get to know what that's about. It might be of zero importance to someone else. I don't think that's about boredom so much as needing to broaden their life skills.

 

[Accidental Eventer]

I am discovering that my older horse thrives off variety. When he was in full eventing work he resented flat work but enjoyed jumping and hacking.

Now he’s doing less I noticed that hacking all the time he wasn’t as enthusiastic about it as he used to be. I try and vary where we go and what we do as much as I can but have limited routes to work with, and hard rocky tracks limit our speed. If I throw in schooling once a week, I have a nice bouncy horse all the time who even enjoys flatwork (jumping still the vest though!).

 

[TheFarmIsFull]

Every horse is different.
I have had horses that will happily hack the same trail every single day.
I have also had horses that become sour doing the same trail every day.
My youngest horse is a classic example, she has not long been under saddle but if we do the same thing every day she starts finding things she doesn’t like that she didn’t care about the day before. So during the backing process I done a lot of different things. I would hand walk her on the lunge line to this paddock with a big hill and boulders and small banks and gully’s and instead of lungeing her in circles I would let her explore and sort of follow her on the line and let her pop up and down and over and around things. Luckily for me she’s incredibly quiet and good on the line and she absolutely loved it and was settled in her work for days following. She’s a very very brave little horse and loves new adventures and keeping stimulated and would probably get pretty horrible not having much change in her work

 

[Red-1]

I would say, it depends.

I have had horses who are happy to walk the exact same route every day, on the buckle end. Rigsby would be like this, although he is also happy to pick up and go do more exciting stuff.

I have had some horses who actually seek comfort from dong the same route, and don't enjoy exploring.

Some horses though, they thrived on variety, hard work, keeping on the contact, varied terrain when out, schooling/jumping etc.

I have also known a few horses who mentally die a death when taken onto a sand pit.

I am old school too but old school, for me, included treating every horse as an individual.

 

[Auslander]

Now he's in his dotage, I mostly let Alf choose what we do and where we go. 9 times out of 10 he chooses the same hacking route, which isn't one that I'd ever choose, as it's all on the roads, which can be a bit hairy round here!
He never spooks/plays up if we go where he has chosen to go, yet if I put my foot down, and we go for a route of my choosing, he is guaranteed to be spooky!

 

[Lipglosspukka]

I think this depends how they are ridden and where they are ridden.

If you plod round the same tired route day after day, then yes, the horse is likely going to become bored to tears.

If you are varying your routes, popping some logs, going for the odd gallop, then most from my experience will stay keen.

 

[scats]

Millie would hack every day if she could, though she prefers familiar routes as she’s very spooky and prone to nappy/hissy fits. Same with P, though she enjoys being in the school too.
Millie has to be encouraged to enjoy the school, which is why we do just 1-2 sessions a week in there.
From my experience, a lot of people don’t enjoy hacking (understandably, given traffic, the general public etc) and I do think their horses pick up on this and become reluctant hackers as a result.

 

[scruffyponies]

They're just like people. They'll get bored if it's boring. Change routes, change tempo, meet friends, swap horses, go for a pint half way, jump the park benches or hang around at the back of a slow ride and practice your piaffe.
Playing ponies should never be boring.

 

[tiga71]

I think they can get bored of anything if you do the same old thing all the time. We have fantastic hacking on the South Downs but mine definitely have rides they love and rides they would rather not do. Mine hack a lot but we hack with different people, box out to meet up and explore and give them plenty of other outings such as XC, jumping, clinics.

I think mine would get bored if they only hacked but then they are used to going out and about a couple of times a week. Some people on the yard only hack around the farm and have done for years. I can only imagine how bored their horses are but then maybe they are used to it as they never do anything else.

 

[Griffin]

My mare gets bored quite quickly (if you leave her in a field for more than 24 hours without being brought in and groomed, she is calling the RSPCA), so I tend to do a mixture of schooling, hacking and in hand work with her. She really enjoys lateral and pole work, so only hacking would bore her after a week. Having said that, she does enjoy hacking but I try to vary the route.

 

[PoniesRock]

Mine tend to get a bit stale if they constantly hack from home. We are blessed with good hacking so they have variety. But they do make it known when they need to go and have a blow out!

 

[Palindrome]

I think horses don't mind being bored, it's us riders who want to enjoy the ride.

 

[cauda equina]

Left to his own devices a horse will do pretty much the same thing every day so they don't seem to crave variety

And even if you do the same hack all the time it won't look the same; there will be shadows/puddles/traffic/leaves that weren't there yesterday

 

[Not_so_brave_anymore]

I don't think the human concept of boredom really applies to horses. I still can't really get a grip on what's going through a horse's mind when they get "excited" to jump xc with a rider, and really seem to love those sessions, but they would never choose to jump over those same random obstacles if they were turned out in the xc field ?‍ But I do know that horse "excitement" is clearly not the same thing as human excitement.

I do, however, believe that horses get upset /depressed/frustrated if they never get to display natural behaviours. So we might say that a horse stuck on boxrest is "bored", but that's not really the same boredom as a person would feel in the same situation. I don't think a horse "stuck" in the same old paddock year after year gets bored- so long as they have company, freedom to move, opportunity to graze, most horses will settle happily to retirement for example (although not all!)

I think when people talk about keeping their horse's mind busy, what's often going on is that they're mostly reinforcing to the horse the sort of relationship they have, and the behaviour that is expected in a variety of situations (which is a totally positive thing! But that sort of work is necessary to keep the horse handleable, rather than to keep it "happy" as such. Just my own musings, I'm not trying to have a dig at anyone!)

 

[honetpot]

I think horses do not get bored, but habituation gives them more mental and physical energy to put their own spin on what ever they being asked to do. To take them to new places or somewhere that changes daily, the horse and the rider are more alert. When the children were small we used to hack around the housing estate after tea, usually in a walk, but because the cars parked and moving changed, people putting out their bins, the ice cream van, someone pressure washing their car, some on a skate board, we all had to have our wits about us. A trip down the river bank was a real safari, not knowing what sort of dog or walker was around every corner, finding the places or log that we hadn't seen before.
I think if you switch off, the horse has a message that there is a space to fill, and modify it's behaviour.

 

[tallyho!]

Depends what you do on a hack. If you’re just ambling along looking at stuff then I’d get bored too but if you incorporate schooling of any kind I think it could be one an active part of the whole experience of riding horses.

 

[spotty_pony]

I don't think the human concept of boredom really applies to horses. I still can't really get a grip on what's going through a horse's mind when they get "excited" to jump xc with a rider, and really seem to love those sessions, but they would never choose to jump over those same random obstacles if they were turned out in the xc field ?‍ But I do know that horse "excitement" is clearly not the same thing as human excitement.

I do, however, believe that horses get upset /depressed/frustrated if they never get to display natural behaviours. So we might say that a horse stuck on boxrest is "bored", but that's not really the same boredom as a person would feel in the same situation. I don't think a horse "stuck" in the same old paddock year after year gets bored- so long as they have company, freedom to move, opportunity to graze, most horses will settle happily to retirement for example (although not all!)

I think when people talk about keeping their horse's mind busy, what's often going on is that they're mostly reinforcing to the horse the sort of relationship they have, and the behaviour that is expected in a variety of situations (which is a totally positive thing! But that sort of work is necessary to keep the horse handleable, rather than to keep it "happy" as such. Just my own musings, I'm not trying to have a dig at anyone!)

That is completely my take on it too.

 

[Gloi]

I've never known one get bored of hacking but we do lots of routes and they are nearly always perky and interested in what's about. (Especially if the lady comes out of the shop with a carrot ?)

 

[Skib]

No. She tells me where she usually canters and which paths she usually takes. But does not demur if I tell her we will do things a bit different today.

 

[milliepops]

I don't think the human concept of boredom really applies to horses. I still can't really get a grip on what's going through a horse's mind when they get "excited" to jump xc with a rider, and really seem to love those sessions, but they would never choose to jump over those same random obstacles if they were turned out in the xc field ?‍ But I do know that horse "excitement" is clearly not the same thing as human excitement.

I do, however, believe that horses get upset /depressed/frustrated if they never get to display natural behaviours. So we might say that a horse stuck on boxrest is "bored", but that's not really the same boredom as a person would feel in the same situation. I don't think a horse "stuck" in the same old paddock year after year gets bored- so long as they have company, freedom to move, opportunity to graze, most horses will settle happily to retirement for example (although not all!)

I think when people talk about keeping their horse's mind busy, what's often going on is that they're mostly reinforcing to the horse the sort of relationship they have, and the behaviour that is expected in a variety of situations (which is a totally positive thing! But that sort of work is necessary to keep the horse handleable, rather than to keep it "happy" as such. Just my own musings, I'm not trying to have a dig at anyone!)

I think this makes a lot of sense.

I have one very anxious horse and she has really illustrated to me just how much security some horses get from what appear to be deeply boring living arrangements ? she likes a plain flat paddock with no hedges etc and thats her happy place. "Stimulation" = stress for her.

I have others that seek out adventure and are naturally curious but if they have lots to eat that desire falls away in terms of importance

 

[Tarragon]

You want to be riding a horse that has it's ears pricked, a swing in it's step and a curiosity to see what is round the corner.

I still can't really get a grip on what's going through a horse's mind when they get "excited" to jump xc with a rider, and really seem to love those sessions, but they would never choose to jump over those same random obstacles if they were turned out in the xc field ?‍ But I do know that horse "excitement" is clearly not the same thing as human excitement.

I think that some people confuse what is really an anxious and adrenaline fuelled horse with an "excited" horse. They like that "buzzy" feeling, but it isn't necessarily a happy horse.

 

[Tarragon]

Also wanted to add that I never get bored of hacking! I love just being out and about and riding through the countryside. No two rides, even on the same route, are the same. Just riding round in the opposite direction gives you a completely different ride.
I do ride with others at the weekends, but mostly ride by myself during the week. I do like it when it is just me and the pony; i feel much more connected.

 

[MiJodsR2BlinkinTite]

My two cobs are both happy hackers and love what they do! They don't do anything else basically. They know their job and they know they need to be good calm sensible girls out on the roads with whatever they meet.

Took my little'un to a TREC training day in a local arena when she was 6. Thought it was going to be a good productive day - it was her first-ever excursion into an indoor school, however she was radically bored in just 15 mins as there weren't many obstacles in there and certainly nothing that remotely challenged her like the "real-life" stuff she'd been used to dealing with out on a hack!