Feeling a bit depressed about hacking

[Widgeon]

Not much point to this post except that I feel a bit sad and tired. I've always loved hacking - it's why I ride really - and with hindsight I was spoiled in childhood with the Surrey / Hampshire MOD ranges to ride on (when the flags were down!).

We now live in a lovely part of Yorkshire, very pretty, lots of woods and little villages. But hacking out is so difficult! On the face of it we have plenty of bridleways, but to get to them, or join them up, we have to negotiate country lanes with speeding drivers and enormous goods / livestock wagons. Obviously now it's also harvest so mega-tractors, combines etc. are out. Then it will be the beet and potato harvest so even bigger machinery, and roads covered in mud. Even getting through the village is a pain - lots of houses being done up, cement mixers, vans blocking visibility, and a pair of idiot townie joggers who wave their arms and jump up and down in front of the horses. To be fair most people are very kind and considerate but even so it's hard to make a cement mixer quiet and horse-friendly.

Yesterday I went out with a friend; to get up to the top of the hill (about 1.5km distance from the yard) we had to open and close five gates. Then as we were coming up to the lane at the top my horse took a real dislike to a yard full of machinery by the track. Apparently lots of the yard horses don't like it up there; maybe it's a smell. Or something. Who knows. He hadn't been up there before and was genuinely quite upset; he wanted to spin and take off down the stubble towards home. Anyway we kept a lid on it, made it to the lane with tiny mincing steps in the right direction, only to be met by a tractor barreling up behind us, spike and round bale on the front. He was not going to slow down and turned into the yard we'd just come past. I had to settle my horse again as he was already upset and would have taken off in trot to run away if he'd been allowed.

Horse gradually relaxed and we got home fine along the lanes; we could have used a permissive bridleway but we could hear big machinery down there so avoided it with a horse already doing a giraffe impression. Now I feel like we should go and ride past that yard repeatedly until he's ok with it, but his behaviour really rattled me (I had a previous horse who used to spin and tank who destroyed my confidence) - I could feel his fear, and to be honest I can't promise him I'll look after him, because I can't.

I feel tired and sad and I just want to enjoy my horse, but hacking out - proper hacking, not just 1.5km up the hill, turn round and home again - increasingly just seems stressful and dangerous, and horse is such a genuine willing little chap that I'm reluctant to put him in situations he feels he can't cope with. Also I don't feel I have the mental energy to keep psyching myself up to go on "proper rides". I don't have the money for a trailer at present so that's not an option.

I don't know. I can't be the only one who feels like this? Please tell me I'm not :-(

 

[SEL]

No you're not. We have 1 mile on the road to the bridlepaths and it feels like dicing with death. During the week there are heavy lorries (the council allowed an old airfield to be turned into an industrial site despite access being through 2 tiny villages). Used to be better at weekends but seems to have become a race track for cyclists and motorbikes.

A friend leads her small child on a tiny pony and even that doesn't guarantee them safe driving.

I love hacking, my mare can only do hacking due to an injury but right now I dread it.

 

[Dyllymoo]

You are definitely not the only one.

Is there any way you could box up and go somewhere with a friend that is a nice long off road hack somewhere? I 100% know about loosing confidence with a horse that bolts, its not fun and its hard to put that to one side with the new one. I'm very lucky that J is amazing with traffic (any traffic) but that doesn't help the heart palpitations when you can hear something zooming along but you are powerless to go anywhere and just hope they slow down before they get to you.

I think boxing up might be a good suggestion, at least just for the interim to help you both enjoy hacking again.

Are there any other yards that have easier access to the bridleways at all?

 

[ester]

I love hacking, I am well aware it is significantly more pants than the miles of off road I had on the wilts/hampshire border and it's partly why I'm not rushing to replace the pony.

 

[tristar]

make it an aim for the future to get a trailer, look around for someone who does transport or who will give you lift, research the region tracks bridleways to find a decent length of track so when you can go you know where., try to ride out when its quiet,

just trying to start the dream off, best of luck

 

[Wheels]

My options for hacking are...

roads
box up 45 minute each way trip to the beach
box up 30 minute each way trip to a trekking centre where longest ride is about 40 mins
box up and ride around the local cross country spot at £20 a go even if you don't want to jump...

it's pants and yes, various times of year bring those convoys of huge silage trailers that never slow down, even my saint of a pony spins and runs at the sight of them bless him.

But I don't have much of a choice really, I try to stick to the quieter roads but we don't have any bridleways or byways here and the local farmers don't like you riding on their land even if it's only a grass field so I really do feel your pain

 

[Widgeon]

Thanks guys....feeling a bit better knowing it's not just me. I mean, I knew that, but it helps to hear other people say it.

I think I need to stop worrying about the very local hacking and think about hiring a trailer. There are plenty of places to go a short trailer ride from our yard that are lovely and much quieter. While I could move yards, this yard is fantastic in all other ways - year round grass turnout (not just mud), lovely YO, a small group of nice friendly liveries. So I think a trailer is the answer. Even if I only went out once a fortnight that would probably do.

I haven't towed since I took the trailer test a few years ago now...eek. Perhaps I can find a friend to come with me a few times while I tow an empty trailer!! I won't tell the trailer hire place I'm just planning to tow it around empty as practice....they will think I'm mad.

 

[Flame_]

Horse gradually relaxed and we got home fine along the lanes; we could have used a permissive bridleway but we could hear big machinery down there so avoided it with a horse already doing a giraffe impression. Now I feel like we should go and ride past that yard repeatedly until he's ok with it, but his behaviour really rattled me (I had a previous horse who used to spin and tank who destroyed my confidence) - I could feel his fear, and to be honest I can't promise him I'll look after him, because I can't.

I feel tired and sad and I just want to enjoy my horse, but hacking out - proper hacking, not just 1.5km up the hill, turn round and home again - increasingly just seems stressful and dangerous, and horse is such a genuine willing little chap that I'm reluctant to put him in situations he feels he can't cope with. Also I don't feel I have the mental energy to keep psyching myself up to go on "proper rides". I don't have the money for a trailer at present so that's not an option.

I don't know. I can't be the only one who feels like this? Please tell me I'm not :-(

I'm exactly the same. Part of me would love to have another try at endurance, I bought my current horse with that intention, but I lost my last horse to colic a short while after an accident at a ride and I just see all the stress and risk that it is now. I have limited but very nice, safe hacking on private land where I can be pretty sure I will only build on my horse's hard earned trust and confidence. I entered one pleasure ride, spent a week worrying about the long journey there, the potential for things going wrong while we were there and the potential for consequential issues afterwards, then was relieved as hell when he had a foot abscess and couldn't go. I'm starting to think I shouldn't try to talk myself into it again.

 

[PeterNatt]

Unfortunately there is a lot of development going on at the moment nation-wide and it is important that horse riders and carriage drivers take note of any developments and ask the local authority at the planning application stage (Comments) for additional off-road riding routes to compensate for the busier roads. These off road routes could for instance join up to existing bridleway/byways. These can be achieved under a s.106 agreement which is issued by the local authority on the developers and they are obliged to comply with this. I ask for these routes to be put in place prior to the development taking place so that riders can use them prior to, during and after the development has been completed. I also ask that they be of public bridleway or restricted byway status so that they remain permanent routes which horse riders can continue to use in future years. Your local BHS Access (Bridleway) officer will always be pleased to assist you.

 

[SpeedyPony]

I find going early in the morning, just after dawn sort of early, is a good way to get quiet roads. If you can plan your hack so you go out first thing on the busy roads and come back along the quieter ones when you return it can make for a less stressful hack. Although copious amounts of coffee might be required beforehand!

 

[Pearlsacarolsinger]

I find that practice helps. After an unpleasant experience on the road, many, many years ago. I try to make sure that I only buy horses that don't care about anything when they are out and about. My first few hacks after I get the horse home are always nerve-wracking but I go out in company and prove to myself that the horse doesn't care. Then I can relax and enjoy my hacking, when I am looking for a new horse, I am more bothered about ability to hack confidently than anything.
OP, if you can find a hacking companion whose horse will accompany yours past the hazards and teach you both that they are nothing to worry about, you will flourish. In the meantime, a trailer every now and again, sounds like a good idea, so that you can really enjoy going out.

Whilst I understand that SP meant drink a lot of coffee to wake up but actually caffeine will make most people feel more anxious, try to avoid it before hacking.

 

[Pedantic]

Just to say you are not the only one, I have pretty much had enough, between riding my own and a friends horse, this year has been pretty dreadfull for hacking, with one really bad incident due to illegal trial bikes along the river stretch, not hacked out my friends horse since.
Thing is its not just when out riding, even just the 10 minute drive to the yard and back in my car is stressfull due to idiot dangerous drivers, I had to mount the kerb last week to avoid some idiot coming over onto my side of the road, guessing they were on the phone, just this morning another near miss due to a speeding driver, its happening faf far to often, the roads have got terrible, add onto this cars motorbikes and qauds made to be deliberately excessivly noisy, and back fire as well for some inane reason, cant see it getting any better, seems to be a war out there now.
So much building gone on in my area over the last 16 years, commercial and housing, bringing more and more large traffic, they are now just starting a new Aldi along a stretch I have ridden for years, traffic already horrendous, shit knows how much that will generate.
,

 

[oldie48]

Our lanes were quite quiet but 20 years on they are now a lot busier and there's more bigger traffic, which Rose is a bit more wary of. It really spurred me on to get her hacking off road on our local TROT route. I box to a friend's yard so I can get straight on it and so far so good, Rose has taken everything in her stride despite not having done much hacking in her former life. Well worth boxing if it improves the hacking as there's not much fun in dealing with today's traffic.

 

[Summit]

I’m similar to you OP in that I grew up in Surrey and had some brilliant hacking on my doorstep, never needed to go on the roads. However I live in Somerset and as beautiful as it is and endless walking with my dog, it’s just not riding country. No woodlands to speak of and surround by fields which are full of cows and sheep . I have droves to ride around however my horse hates the swans so I limit myself to riding around the village. Upsets me sometimes but I cant change anything so just try and make the most of it. It may have bothered me more 15 years ago

 

[Not_so_brave_anymore]

This is why I don't have a horse/pony for myself at home ? Uninterrupted views of beautiful devon countryside as far as the eye can see.......except it's all working farmland, and we can't access any of it! So I only keep a couple of tiny ponies at home for the kids, and they're happy poottling in our own field in the summer, and wandering 20 mins down the lane and back again (the lane ends at a huge dairy farm) in the winter- but even then we're liable to come across some huge tractor with cows in a trailer, or even worse, a kamikaze DPD delivery driver. And I just do pay as you go hacking at a local riding school with direct access to bridlepaths (which is actually perfect for me at this stage of my life, but it makes me really sad to realise that I'll never be able to have my own horse at home)

 

[Pippity]

I'm lucky in having the Trans-Pennine Trail maybe five minutes of roadwork away, and having generally sensible motorists around. (Cyclists on the TPT, however, are a different matter.) Even so, hacking is the main reason I bought my own transport.

 

[Myloubylou]

I had amazing off road hacking on sand in Surrey & round here is clay. Winter is too wet & muddy, summer is baked like concrete. Doesn’t help that farmers have taken to ploughing to edge of fields but at least we are allowed to go on them. Am fortunate that have transport & there are places that have proper headlands mown in. Do miss being able to go out whenever I liked for a fabulous hack. Moved for the sake of my boyfriends job who stayed a year then got a job back down south ?

 

[JoannaC]

Same here, had fabulous hacking in herts now have my horses at home in Staffordshire which is a dream come true but the hacking is dire! When we were looking I said it was the one thing I wouldn't compromise on good hacking but trouble with that is you just don't know until you've moved. It totally depresses me as hacking is my favourite thing but hey ho I guess nothing is ever perfect. Our lane is a cut through for the huge tractors pulling huge trailers. I only hack out on a Sunday morning and even then I need to be out at 7am to miss the traffic.

 

[SussexbytheXmasTree]

Despite living on the crowded Sussex coast where I keep my horse I have access to hours of off road hacking. We do meet a fair few obstacles, dogs, cows, sheep, walkers, cyclists, firing range, the shoot in winter, logging, the cycle/ running events including pop up refreshment stations and porta loos etc. But with enough space and not worrying about road traffic they’re all manageable. Bloody awful gates are the worst obstruction to stress free hacking but we can avoid them on the woodland routes.

 

[Daniel_Jack]

I sympathise with you although we are fortunate to have decent enough riding and a pony who doesn't seem to bother with much. If I want to go for a longer hack (i.e. Any thing over 6 miles) I need to hack on twisty country lanes with cars passing you by a whisker at 50/60 mph.

Pony doesn't generally fuss but I find it stressful and rarely do these routes alone.

Trailer definitely sounds like your best option although its a shame you have to go to that extent. I also think there is an element of your own confidence and mindset - I have friends who regularly hack through busy industrial estates and just seem to accept that this is how things are!

 

[Chuffy99]

Oh how I agree, it was never brilliant round here, all were drive out, do a little twiddle and back the same way. We used to have a key to MOD tracks but that was removed at the last battalion changeover. Lost my driving pony 18 months ago and miss driving so much but the road is so fast outside now I can’t imagine replacing him and the thought of having to introduce a new baby pony just fills me with horror

 

[ycbm]

You aren't alone. I live in a national park and I've been trying to find somewhere to move to with better hacking. I can barely get off road because although I've got permission to ride on a lot of fields the access is through one gate after another, mostly badly hung and chain and padlocked or tied with string. The permissive bridleways are via half a mile of dangerous fast road. I've given up looking, nowhere else seems any better hacking wise and I'd lose every other great thing about being here, but it can be depressing not to be able to just have a carefree hack.

 

[BBP]

I moved from somewhere with roads that got busier and busier so bridleways became less and less accessible to somewhere with fantastic hacking. I can go out for hours and only have to touch a few minor roads that aren’t too busy. Lots of places to trot and canter. Bridlepath straight out from the yard. Excellent. I’m incredibly lucky. Except now the horse may never be ridden again. ?

 

[Summit]

I’m quite amazed how many people don’t have access to good hacking. Sad that it’s a sign of things changing and over development

 

[McFluff]

I feel your pain. I can’t hack from our yard (well I could, but I’d get squished quite quickly). I’m lucky as I have a trailer, so can take him out. However, lockdown has resulted in all the local places being very busy - full of people who don’t usually do the country. So they don’t have a clue, will park you in, leave glass bottles (broken) in their rubbish piles, have no idea how to control their dogs or kids... I’m on a rant. Anyway, hoping the winter will chase them all away again...
I’ve managed to arrange to go to a friends yard, but it’s 50 mins each way, so an occasional treat. It definitely helps though, so getting access to a trailer is an avenue worth exploring.

 

[huskydamage]

I love hacking and go for miles but even I get fed up at times. As I kid I grew up riding in a forest, as an adult Im on mostly road hacking with dodgy drivers, angry farmers, getting my eyes gouged out by thorns on impassable bridleways, obstructions everywhere and no horse signs on every spec of grass. Sometimes it is depressing and seems like the area is determined to confine horses to the school. I have always hacked out and refuse to stop. I end up riding further and further to get to better hacking which is out there! Best thing is just to box up and go somewhere nice or holiday to somewhere with proper freedom to explore countryside not concrete

 

[RHM]

This is partly why I moved my horses so far away. They are 35-45 mins drive away but now I have direct access to bridle paths off the yard. I just don’t find riding on roads enjoyable, people drive horrendously. Whereabouts in Yorkshire are you? I might be able to recommend some local rides.

 

[SOS]

Would moving yards be an option? Unsure if you keep your horse at home or not, but even so if hacking is your main enjoyment it may be an option.

I recently moved to a new area where the hacking is fairly good for this side of the country and there are lots of bridlepaths. However there are many ‘rat race’ roads and when viewing yards I realised some may be surrounded by bridle paths but accessing them would be risky. Yard I chose is luckily enough to have the main bridle path going along the back of one of their fields. This makes life a lot easier. The road onto the yard is not ideal but many country lanes come off it so I tend to trot down to them.

 

[Cloball]

I don't think you're alone at all. I tried a part loans horse last summer and found the whole riding on the country lanes with high enclosed hedges Uber stressful. I haven't really hacked in England for ages though.

I have found the same with cycling locally with rat run a roads it terrifies me more than the inner city commuting I used to do. The OH and I went to Anglesey to cycle the other weekend and it was a breath of fresh air a bit like going back in time! Properly quiet lanes, beaches and forestry... Bliss. So you need to box up to cycle these days unless you're in a lycra pack.

I am looking to buy a pony soonish and the yards I am looking at have access to off road hacking because we have plenty I just don't know how I personally will adjust to the roads. Either that or we'll move to Anglesey ?.

 

[meleeka]

It’s the main reason I’ve stopped riding I don’t have a school and find little pleasure in schooling in the field. New roads here have meant that there’s routes round a housing estate. The one bridleway we did have has just been dug up to make way for a bypass. They say it will be reinstated, but that’s two years away. My horse is 22 now so unlikely to still be ridden then anyway. They are moving the path over a bit. Why they couldn’t just make the new path first I don’t know. I own my field so not as easy as just finding somewhere else unfortunately and I’m hoping it will fund my move to the country when it’s swallowed up by housing, which could be quite soon. There used to be around 50 horses on the road where I am, now there’s 9 including my 5.