For those who don't have access to safe hacking.....

[Shantor1]

....how do you manage your horse to keep it fit and injury free for your competitions? 4 years ago I moved my horse to the best yard in my area which is run and owned by a close friend. The downside is we're sandwiched between two main roads but she has a large floodlit outdoor arena and I can ride him round big fields in the summer.

My boy is spooky and since we collided with a 4 x 4 and caused minor damage plus minor injury to him, I haven't hacked him out. In the veterinary post, I explained he's currently lame, reckon its his hock, waiting for vet to come out early next week.

I think I have no option but to pay my friend to box us up to top village where I can ride him round quiet lanes (I don't have my own transport) 5 mins away.

Just wondered if anyone's been in a similar position and how you managed.

Thanks

 

[catembi]

I can sympathise as when I kept the horses on my grandfather's farm, I could go out straight onto bridleways & had 2 routes with NO roadwork, so I could go out in the early mornings before it was properly light or in the fog etc.

Since we've got our own place, the nearest bridleway is about a mile away on the road or we can box 3 miles to the next village. In the summer I hack out Tues & Thurs with o/h on his bike. In the winter I forget about hacking in the week & save it for w'ends if I'm not competing. I school every day & try to make it hard work for my horse ie lots of canter & trot-canter trans etc to help with the fitness.

To try to break up the boredom for him, I try to do lessons or the odd comp in the week for a change of scene, altho he doesn't seem to mind schooling every day. Or at least I try to do completely different things eg concentrate on transitions one day, do some lateral work the next day. I'm going to get some jumps so I can do polework too.

It is a total pain in the a**e not having good hacking, esp as I was totally spoilt at the farm & had miles & miles of good, safe hacking. When we move, that's def something I'll be looking for!!

 

[LEC]

Do not know where you live in Somerset but I probably have what people would think of as the worst hacking and sandwiched between A38 and M5 but I just get on with it. I have been pushed in the ditch by a lorry before but just cannot let it worry me and just try not to transmit those vibes to my horse. Hacking for me is such a vital part of fitness for eventing so the horse has to get on with it. My horse is very spooky but find hacking in spurs makes a massive difference. I can be just a lot sharper off the leg when he is being ridiculous. If you can catch the spook early I find it makes a massive difference and spurs seem to do that.

 

[SpruceRI]

Mine's very spooky on the roads and in the fields, plus we have no school, so it's tricky.

In the summer I box once or twice to permit hacking and the rest of the time I either school in whichever bit of the field isn't too hard/soft/slippy, occasionally box to a hired school or lunge.

I do hack but literally only go down the lane and back sometimes as they're all a bit of a rat run these days.

This time of the years' worse because my horse is terrible in windy weather, the fields are too wet to ride on and there's not enough daylight to fit everything in if you're busy part of the day

Might try hacking her in spurs.