Does anybody NOT want hacking buddies?

I really prefer to ride alone - my loan horse is way better by herself, she is very dominant and gets grumpy with other horses around her, and tends to race a bit. Plus, I'm totally happy just walking and trotting, and maybe one canter, and when I'm with others I always feel like if they want to canter everywhere I have to as well, even though she's never as well behaved if we're charging around.

That said, I do also like riding with just one other person, then I have someone to chat to, and there aren't too many horses to get her wound up!
 
With my boy Jay I only really go out alone. I worship the ground that he walks on and hate having him close to other horses in case they kick. I love our time alone together, like others I sing, talk, check emails sometimes (!), We canter, laugh, walk with no reins....... whatever.

With my previous mare Amber I preferred to be in company. If anyone had kicked her I think she would have annihilated them! She was quite immense in her behaviour sometimes and it was good to have moral support.

With Charlie (husband horse) I was easy either way. He was great on his own, great in company; with Charlie life was a long, happy breeze. Not pretty, not posh, but RIP Charlie, much missed!
 
All last summer I hacked by myself on my mare, at times I thought it would be nice to have someone to talk to but I soon grew to love it. We could pick where we went and how fast, and we didn't have to worry about other peoples time restraints, I think she enjoys it more too. There's no better feeling than going for a long solo hack on a warm spring day :)
 
ME!!! Well, my horse is retired now so I can't ride at all any more, but back when she was in work I was quite an anti-social rider and much preferred to go out on my own! When I first got her I was too young to ride alone (11) and I kept her on a very friendly yard with a good group of people to ride with, who were always asking me to ride with them as they knew I couldn't go on my own. I used to enjoy that! But over the years the yard changed and by the time I was allowed to start riding alone (14) I found that I generally preferred to ride alone than with most of the people on the yard. Over the next few years the only person I really liked to ride with was my younger sister on her pony. He got on very well with my horse and we always had a great time! I'm now 23 and if I could ride at all I'd far rather ride alone!
 
I generally hack alone and usually prefer it that way. Other people have time limits, or I'm waiting for them or vice versa, or we're at different levels of ability/confidence, or we want to do different routes etc. Sometimes, though, I invite or accept an invitation to hack in company because it makes a change and I've usually been shown a new route or been given useful tips or my horse has been the 'confidence giver' for another horse/rider.

Usually, I just like to be free to do my own thing and be in my own space. I guess it depends on how me 'n' the neddie are feeling that day and what the options are :) .
 
Mines a knobber to hack alone, spooking at everything so do like company but only if they are on a similar wavelength to me e.g. if we go to the fields then they are up for a canter/ gallop etc.

Do like being able to have a chat when going down the lanes though.

Also a bit funny about going to the fields on my own what with him being spooky it's that what if I come off while alone but there aren't many liveries where I am so it's a case of having to.
 
9 times out of 10 I'd rather hack out alone ........... although I don't see it as alone as I'm with my horse!

Once in a while it's nice to have company.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Top