France - Hacking out - but where?

T

TTK

Well-Known Member
Joined
4 October 2010
Messages
814
Location
Herefordshire
Visit site
I'd love some advice from HHOs who are living in France with horses. I have just spent a week in the SW looking at areas to live and I cannot, for the life of me, work out how you know where you have access to ride and where not. I can see me moving over to France and still clip clopping round and round the lanes just like I do here. Obviously, I wouldn't ride on plough, crops, through fenced areas with stock, etc. But how do I know where I can go?

I'm baffled, can you help please with some advice. Thanks.
 
I'm not quite in France but clip clopping around lanes isn't really a thing over here on the continent. Lots of schooling or riding in the woods. Most of our yards are near woods.
 
I'm not an expert but we were told, if it looks like a path and it's open you can use it.
Thus tractor lanes are good, but you stop at the final field entrance even though there is no fence.
Riding alongside vines is fine but not between them.
Riding around local public amenity lakes is allowed.
On one side of our local canal the path is rough so we can use it, the path on the other side is tarmacced for walkers and cyclists. Horse riders are specifically forbidden on the tarmac, but leading them in hand like giant dogs is fine.
The Landes forest tracks are open to all but you should avoid hunters and woodcutters.
Maps are available showing recognised routes but a look at the local cadastrale plan online also helps as you can track plots and paths from it.
Avoid riding alongside the railway as there is rarely any fencing between you and the trains!
Finally I think you can follow yellow or green topped posts which indicate recognised randonne routes. Not done that as they are too far away.
 
The area where I live has amazing hacking. We are blessed with loads of the yellow and green topped walking/cycling/riding routes. The yellow routes are circular usually and the green ones are the links between the yellow ones so you can join several together.

There are miles of forest tracks, chemin vert, tractor tracks, country lanes, and field margins. I have only ever been told off once by a farmers wife but she was a raving nutcase and her husband told us to ignore her and hack wherever we wanted on his land.

I reckon I could go for a 100km hack around me and rarely touch a road. I am in 24 near Riberac. All my friends around me have fab hacking and we often meet up and go out for a day. We also do organised randonnees which are great fun with loads of wine, pate, french bread, cake and more wine on the way round. At the end is usually a huge meal of 6 courses with more wine.

We never hack on a Sunday because around us that is the day the Chasse is about and you are likely to get shot!
 
Over here in 68 (no one seems to come over in the east lol!) we can pretty much go where ever we can. Lanes or paths through farmland or woods are marked with "no horse riding" signs.

We do have a friend in the local village who tells us when the hunters are about (wild boar shooting) in winter, and where the hunt is taking place so we can avoid that area for the day.
 
Hi Booboos, I have come across Geoportail but didn't realise about the black lines, More knowledge gained, thanks to everyone for sharing your experiences.
 
Thanks for the link to the geoportal but the black lines I see are the edges of the cadastral plots, rather than pathways. I'm sure of this as I can see too the appropriate numbers for plots we own. Should I be doing something different to find paths?
 
Hi Allie, we are thinking of buying an equestrian property in Limosin, where are the best places for rural, hacking, and weather, but not too hot please? Carla
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Top