Does everybody hack?

[FestiveFuzz]

My new boy doesn’t really hack so I’ve taken to pottering around the fields on him after a schooling session and have just started putting out feelers to find a happy hacker to act as nanny to both the newbie and my youngster once he’s backed.

 

[celeste-izzy]

I don't hack mine at all. Their work is varied throughout the week and if I want to go for a bumble or let them go for a bit of a gallop I use our spare field. They enjoy that as much as they did hacking out.

I do miss hacking, but the risks near me were too great and I wasn't prepared to put one of my horses at risk.

 

[Milliechaz]

To be fair, the most very bombproof horse isn't always going to help if you have literally nowhere to go on the road when a car comes too fast or too close. I had a very near miss with a HGV driving stupidly - my wonderful pony was awesome and probably saved my life - but it didnt give me any more room to deal it. It won't give me any extra room if a car comes too fast on the wrong side of the road, either.

No one is saying don't hack or those that do are silly @dreamcometrue . I've always been happy to ride on the quiet roads around me but I can appreciate that it would be different on different roads and a 14hh mildly spooky native pony that prances and snorts but doesn't do too much is different to riding a 4 year old, athletic event horse or a SJ bred for his/her sharpness.

We have good off road riding too - which I've always made a priority - so i can avoid or be picky about when I ride on roads.

When you have a horse that doesn't hack well & start a post about it, chances are a lot of the posters will be those that don't too ....

OP - as long as you're happy to box out off road regularly and can vary your schooling, I'm sure you'll be fine!

Thank you. My youngster is great with buses and even tractors

I only have a grass school so I'm the same. Our local village lanes are pretty quiet, but I do cross a dual carriageway to go further afield. All of mine are good in traffic or I wouldnt take them out. None of them would bat an eyelid at a strimmer, they happily stroll past the tractor and hedge cutter for example.

I think riders have a responsibility to ensure there horses are good in traffic and with things like strimmers, before they venture out, or to keep them off road.

my youngster is great with buses, motorbikes and even tractors but just wasnt expecting a strimmer

 

[Cortez]

You couldn't pay me to hack on the roads; people are mad and it's too dangerous. My horses are/were all great in traffic.

 

[scats]

Yes, I hack. I have off road hacking at the yard and I also hack down our local lane. Unfortunately we have a seriously busy main road at the top of our lane (can take 10 minutes to get out in a car, it’s thats busy) so I am very wary of going on that unless it’s early morning or late evening. Annoyingly, there’s about a 300 metre stretch of this road, over a railway bridge and then you are on a a quiet residential road that leads to the beach and bridlepaths. It’s frustrating to be so close to the beach (15 min hack) but have that road in the way. If Millie wasn’t such a spooky idiot, it would be fine.
I tend to box out to hack out in quieter areas. We do chuck them in the box and drive the 1 mile to the beach sometimes.

 

[sportsmansB]

My muppet who broncs at the alpacas is excellent with traffic of all sorts, including tractors and buses

But hes a muppet with an alpaca, or a big stone, or a few other random things- which can put him in the path of a driver who is going too fast to see us until the last minute. Its not just about preparing your horse for the traffic, its about how the traffic itself behaves.

 

[Nudibranch]

I still do but ride off road more than I used to. I used to ride anywhere but traffic is much busier than it was 30 years ago and apparently more idiots on the road with it. That said, every horse is exposed to lots of silly stuff while being backed. I ride alongside busy roads but behind fences where I can, do lots of long reining, make sure they get lots of exposure to OH cutting the grass, using power tools etc, before I ride on the roads.

I once dropped part of an old tiled fireplace into a skip with a horrendous crash, not realising a lady was passing on an enormous WB. She was very good about it (as was the horse tbf) when I apologised profusely. I suppose I could have walked the garden boundary beforehand just in case but it's hardly realistic, the world doesn't stop just because someone might have a spooky horse.

These days the riders who pass are more likely to screech at me over walls through 50 metres of woodland and demand I stand still while walking my small child and dog, because their horse has cocked an ear sideways. The roads have got worse, but so too has the level of horsemanship in many cases.

 

[AUB]

Not if I can avoid it. We have forrests on both sides of the yard and only have to cross our quiet country lane, but I’m just not into hacking. So when I searched for a sharer I specifically searched for one that didn’t want to do dressage and primarily wanted to hack.

 

[SussexbytheXmasTree]

I love hacking as I’m really lucky to have fantastic hacking on my doorstep with varied terrain that works all year round. Save for 200 yards of dead end lane there’s no roadwork. Tbh even on that small stretch we can experience some pretty bad driving. If I had to go on roads like you have to then I probably wouldn’t enjoy it and wouldn’t bother. There’s plenty of other stuff going on such a running, cycling, dog-walking and an increasing frequency of organised events but mine are pretty chilled about most of it.

 

[LadyGascoyne]

I don’t even want to drive on the roads these days.

There are just so many people everywhere and it appears road manners are not a modern concept.

I hope you are ok after your fall. You don’t need to make any decisions right now. Just take each day as it comes and hack when you’re ready to. As long as your horses are getting adequate exercise and turnout, they will be fine.

 

[Ceriann]

My horse is pretty traffic proof, lawnmowers, strimmers, tractors going past over the hedge etc no problem.
The thing that last caused her to leap across the road was the sound of someone removing velcro travel boots from a horse that had just unloaded at a yard we were passing. I mean. you can't plan for everything can you ?! My horse wears velcro on boots every day, it was just the unexpected nature of the thing that surprised her.

This is so my mare. She’s perfect with the heaviest traffic (I’ve hacked on roads with hay contractors out), motorbikes, artics, bikes, chinooks (I’m not joking I more or less wet myself)) but the unexpected can freak her out - think walkers with sunglasses, people carrying plastic bags, a lady putting her hair in a ponytail by tipping her hair upside down and prams (not all prams mind). They are and always will be unpredictable! We hack lots and we’ve done a lot on roads as have rehabbed her following injury. I don’t think she enjoys it but doesn’t hate it - now she’s able to school more the balance will tip more in favour of school work but hacking will still be a big part of our routine.

 

[Sossigpoker]

I'm mainly a hacker but really don't like hacking on roads. My yard hacks straight onto a bridleway with only a short stretch of a village lane to do on the way back. And 99% of people are very courteous probably because there are so many yards along the lane. But i wouldn't want to hack on any roads other than this, it is just frightening.

Things like someone starting a strimmer behind a hedge can happen anywhere though.

 

[hoofprints1994]

Really sorry to hear about your fall - I hope you are ok.

It is very busy where we are and after two near misses of my own, I really hate riding on the roads and find it very stressful. The horse I ride is spooky but generally excellent in traffic and puts up with a hell of a lot these days. It seems many drivers around here are either ignorant, or worse, plain malicious with no thought to the consequence of their actions. We hack because I think it's so important for the horses to be able to deal with the outside world and it's also good for them mentally and physically to get out of the arena! But I completely understand those who don't hack because of the risk. We wear full hi viz and I try to remember to where my body camera which does seem to make a difference to driver behaviour.

I think safe bridleway access is becoming a massive problem. For example, we are very lucky to have a wonderful country park a very short distance from the yard, but the closest access is over a roundabout on an extremely busy dual carriageway! It's ridiculous and simply not worth the risk.There was a thread on here the other day for a very comprehensive BHS survey on road safety which is definitely worth doing - the stronger the vvoices of equestrians are the more likely we are to get some change!

 

[Lyle]

I hack around paddocks and driveways at home, on our property. Its the same loop that I do a couple of times a week. I vary the work I by sometimes just walking, other times fast work. The horses really don't seem to mind that it's the same paddocks and track they see. They really relax into the free walk hacks, no surprises! I dont hack on roads, but I do have a choice.

 

[AFB]

Not very much on roads at all, it was one of the key things that pushed me to get transport so I can box up to hack off-road.

 

[Milliechaz]

I don’t even want to drive on the roads these days.

There are just so many people everywhere and it appears road manners are not a modern concept.

I hope you are ok after your fall. You don’t need to make any decisions right now. Just take each day as it comes and hack when you’re ready to. As long as your horses are getting adequate exercise and turnout, they will be fine.

Thank you

 

[SpotsandBays]

I don’t really hack either. Had a scare on the roads when I was younger and it just terrifies me now. The hacking near me includes a lot of roadwork, and the few bridleways we have have all been hardcored anyway! I’ll go out on the very odd occasion that a friend comes over, or if my other half walks out with me - but my horse isn’t the best on the road now because it’s alien to him, which I know is because I don’t do it enough. I miss it but I don’t want to take the chance really. I try to keep riding at home as varied as possible.

 

[Flowerofthefen]

I do but go really early in the morning or I box to the woods

 

[Branna]

Sorry to hear about your fall OP! Although that could have happened in an off road hacking environment as not directly road related... My mare is very noise sensitive and I highly recommend trying acoustic ears which take the edge off that sort of reaction to a sudden noise.

I hack several times a week. Our hacking is lanes (mostly 30mph, some NSL) and byways/bridlepaths, with a longer ride over to the local country park by crossing a busier road. We don't have many hgvs, and most of the van, bus and car drivers are pretty good. I avoid school run times as they are the worst.

We did have a fatal accident on a local 30mph lane a few years ago now, with a rider and two horses from our yard killed by a van driver. It was incredibly sad and shocking and we all did some soul searching as to whether we should continue hacking. But on balance, it's important to me for my horses to have variety in their routine, and for their fitness and working on a variety of surfaces. If I didn't want to hack I would need to move somewhere with better on site facilities.

 

[Wheels]

Yes I hack out regularly and only have roads to ride on unless I box over to the beach which I usually do once every couple of weeks over summer and once a month over winter depending on weather.

Hacking very early morning is not the right thing to do around here, yes there is less traffic but with that comes faster drivers who don't really expect to see a horse out on the roads at 6am. It's quiet here at about 6 - 8pm so if I'm going out during the week then I leave it until then. At the weekends then 9-11 is relatively quiet so I try to stick to that.

If there has been an accident on one of the main roads then the local roads get busier so I avoid at those times and when there is lots of farming activity and those huge grass trailers going out in convoy.

 

[huskydamage]

I do more hacking and roadwork than most, lots of people comment on it. I refuse to stop as a child I grew up near London so I was already used to people speeding past me on my pony. I'm now in a 'countryside area' but if you do much as step foot of the concrete there will be a 'no horses' sign. The bridleways in my area are generally overgrown and impassable or simply don't link up so you have to do lots of road to get to them. The road I'm on is straight and actually online recommended for people to go and drag their cars/motorbikes on it! I regularly get passed by a load of bikes at 80mph. Speed does not bother me my horses are very good but passing too close does. I don't want my foot taken off by someone's wing mirror. I will ride up the edge of any path/field bit of dirt I can to get out the way on narrow roads and if people want to moan about it they can. They are not the ones who will scrape me off the road with a shovel. If everyone gives up hacking out, people will get even more used to not seeing horses on the road, attitudes get even worse and horse riding will just die out not everyone has a school or box.

 

[Birker2020]

Hi all just looking for some feedback really please.

I have recently had some very unpleasant hacks around my home roads. We moved here 6 years ago to what was a relatively quiet area to hack around (30/40mph roads but only for 5 minutes to get to moss roads) however over the last 2 years a bypass has been built which has seen traffic increase and a good proportion of car drivers just seem to be so ignorant nowadays. Both me and my horses are always fully kitted out in hi viz...me in a polite coat or gillet and horse in a polite exercise rug and leg wraps. In addition we are 5 minutes away from the mounted police headquarters and they hack around here which you would like to think would make a difference however in the last 2-3 weeks I have had some really unpleasant hacks with people not slowing down to pass and passing too close. These have been on my 15.3 sensible gelding. I also have a 3 1/2 year old 15.2 mare who was backed in December and has been hacked out lightly (in the company of my gelding with my friend riding him) once or twice a week maximum ever since.

Last Sunday we were hacking along our quiet country lane literally having just left my house when one of the neighbouring field owners started a commercial strimmer on the otherside of a hedge that was running alongside the road. Said person must have been able to see us as the hedge was below head height. Both horses spooked, luckily my friend on my gelding managed to keep hold of him and calm him down but my youngster had a mini meltdown resulting in me falling off, being knocked unconscious and my mare taking off down the road loose. Thankfully there was a car driver coming in each direction who stopped to help and call an ambulance and one of my other horsey neighbours caught my mare and took her home for me. I was laid on the floor for 90 minutes being put on a spinal board (luckily i always ride in my body protector so no serious injury) and having been knocked unconscious for 4 minutes. I don't remember a thing about the accident and only remember leaving my house and setting off down the road then being CT scanned in the hospital.

I am now feeling like I really don't want to hack on the roads again. I have a trailer so i can box to a farm ride/beach once a month or so and my gelding loads easily so that's not a problem but there aren't any that are particularly close so time would allow me to go as often as i would like. I also need to teach my mare to load as she isn't currently too keen but i'm sure that wont be an issue. My problem is I was planning to lightly hack my mare for 12 months to keep her ticking over while she matures before taking her into the school as she is still pretty bum high and i wanted her to mature in build a little more. I have no objection to giving her the summer off and teaching her to load in the meantime with a view to taking her to some farm rides in the autumn if needs be it just wouldn't be my 1st choice of how to take her forward.

My main question is though, does everybody/most people hack on the roads locally? I've always given my horses a variety of school and hacking exercise as i have felt this was good for their mental health and stimulation. I'm not keen on the thought of riding in the school the majority of the time and only getting them out once a month or so....particularly my youngster but my gelding is also 19 so the same goes for him at the other end of the age spectrum really.

What are other peoples thoughts on this? Is mostly school work with the odd outing acceptable?

I could only hack my late horse due to injury which meant riding in a school was not appropriate. I used to trailer out once a week to the local pub on a Sunday morning around lovely quiet lanes where I used to be stabled.

Other than that there were a few hacks by us, with three loop hacks, one of 20 mins, one of 45 mins and another of 50 mins. Both the 20 and the 50 minute hacks involved either crossing a 30mph junction or riding along the 30mph which then went for 1/2 mile into a 50mph road.

Fortunately by horse was 95% bomb proif and certainly had no fear of motorbikes, artics, tractors and other large or noisy vehicles although the only time she came close to decking me in nearly 17 years was when she objected to a very noisy moped.

I can honestly say that although we had some near misses neither of us ever got hurt, hacking 3-4 times a week for 17 years. Maybe we were just lucky. Like you OP I insisted on being decked out in hi viz

 

[Ownedby4horses]

I think the roads in the U.K. have got progressively worse for hacking on. We mainly hack and our last house in the U.K. was chosen as it was on a very well used hacking route (livery yard nearby with 50+ horses) and a loop that wasn’t a cut through , we did occasionally meet someone stupid but they were always very apologetic, usually a lady driving a convertible merc who must have lived nearby as we met her often, she couldn’t reverse her car (as we found out after patiently waiting for almost 10 minutes for her to try to reverse straight down a single country Lane to a passing place, she would happily signal for us to squeeze past, like we were an inch thin ? or levitate over her. Hubby even offered to reverse her car for her one time, we’d often end up turning around and trotting quite some way back to a previous passing place so she could keep driving forwards ?.

we’ve always gone out decked to the gods in hi viz and the one thing that massively helped was a “camera in use” safety vest and using a camera - hat mounted or on a chest harness, completely changed the attitude of a few cyclists too.

We are thankfully the speed limits are lower over here and there is access to off road riding just a short trailer journey away but it doesn’t stop the occasional idiot driving too close.

 

[pansymouse]

Hacking is what I do for me there's no point in owning a horse if you don't hack. I choose where I live and where I keep my horse mainly based on the quality of hacking. I live near to Salisbury Plain and keep my horse right next to the Plain - I have achieved hacking nirvana, I appreciate my good fortunate every time I ride. I never ride in a school, it bores me rigid and never compete - far too many unpleasant people.