Hacking alone help please

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luna88

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Hello well my new loan pony arrived today safe and sound and seems to have settled well. The thing is I'm all nervous of hacking alone with him his previous loaner has said he hasn't hacked alone for about 2 years but hacked alone a lot before she had him does this time scale make much of a difference or will he end up all spooky and nervous as he has no other horsey friend. One part of me is saying tack him up and away you go the other ( who I wish would be quiet) is mentioning all the dangers him rearing bucking all which I'm told he has never done since he was first brought by his owner at 4 he's now 15!
Any help or tips would be greatly recieved thanks
 
I would get used to him while hacking with others if you can, then once you feel as though you know him a bit better toddle off alone, without worrying about it.
 
Due to my hours getting time to hack with others is a bit difficult :-/ like the idea of walking him though as I get the feeling he's just going to take it in his stride suppose if he's doing well on a walk I can always jump on :-)
 
Exactly - take him out tacked up and just go with the flow!

It will also give you an idea if you can trust him in traffic, how he reacts to things such as barking dogs etc, and a good chance to bond too.

Have fun!
 
I just replied on your other thread, but do you have anyone who could bike alongside you? Then you aren't on your own but he is without the company of other horses.
 
How is he on the new yard? You can gauge how he might be to some extent, if he's quite reactive to things on the yard or if he settles in beautifully.

In hand hacks are a good idea if you can't go out in company also if you have a school it's a good.idea.to have a pootle about in there.

Happy hacking
 
My boyfriend often walks out with me, so as others have said, ask someone to come along, on foot/bike.
Also make an effort to ask when others at your yards' days off are/if they'd like company/to go on a hack & plan ahead etc...and if you pass other riders on your hack don't be afraid to swap numbers & meet up for a ride. And don't ever underestimate small steps, pick the shortest loop, come back still wanting more. This will help your frame of mind for the next ride.
Have fun with him :o)
 
He's settle in well really well and seems to have bonded with me well responding to my voice alone already think maybe when he tried to act up I acted like the boss only using my voice i didn't hit him or anything maybe that helped and thanks for all the advice I think a tacked up walk is in order for tomorrow
 
Hope you have a nice time. I love walks out in hand It really helps the bond too I find we really feel like a little team wondering about chatting <3 :)
 
The technique I use for young horses getting out on their own for the first few times is to just take them for a very short ride - maybe 5 minutes out and back the same way. The next day take them out on the same ride plus a bit, but go for 10 or 15 minutes. Day three, over the same ground again plus a bit more, for maybe 20 minutes or so.

I just build them up from there. It means that evey time I take them out there is something familiar to start, before we get into the unfamiliar, which is when horses become uncomfortable. If things turn to custard I don't hesitate to get off an lead them. Better safe and sorry and never once have I had issues with horses becoming nappy. Happy hacking on their own is all about confidence in the leader (you) - and once they do, you can take them pretty much anywhere. I always hack (endurance training) on my own, so all mine have to learn to cope with it.
 
while walking out is a good idea in principle it would be much safer for all concerned if you rode and someone else led him until you are used to him especially if the roads and hacking are a bit busy. Just think sometimes it is easier to cope with a spook etc when you are actually aboard
 
I had a similar problem with no one to hack with but a pony that hadn't been out alone (or in fact hardly at all) for about 4yrs. Plus I am a novice rider!
Red was very strong and excited the first few times but still looked after me and is now as good as gold!
I have someone to hack with every now and then but find hes actually a wally with company! X
 
windand rain said:
while walking out is a good idea in principle it would be much safer for all concerned if you rode and someone else led him until you are used to him especially if the roads and hacking are a bit busy. Just think sometimes it is easier to cope with a spook etc when you are actually aboard
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Cannot agree with this more. I hear all these people say they are taking there horses out for in hand walks and I think they must be mad! I trust my boy and he has excellent manners but I would much rather be on top when out for a hack than on the ground if he decides to spook or be an idiot!
 
How about someone on foot to come with you then they can just drop back and be there in the background just incase?
This is what i did/going to do with youngsters after initially getting them hacking with other horses i then get someone on foot to accompany us, they drop off and we go from there until horse is confident in going it alone :)
 
Best of luck with your new horse OP. He sounds lovely. When my friend first got her horse she just kept taking him out for walks in hand to get him used to the area. She wasn't a very confident rider but was great with him on the ground. It worked for her and it does depend on how confident you feel. Good luck and stay safe.
 
windand rain said:
while walking out is a good idea in principle it would be much safer for all concerned if you rode and someone else led him until you are used to him especially if the roads and hacking are a bit busy. Just think sometimes it is easier to cope with a spook etc when you are actually aboard
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Sorry don't agree with this. I took my horse out for an in hand hack a couple of months ago, and she was badly spooky by a horse charging at her in the field next to the road.

If I had been on her I would either have been impaled on the church railings, or fallen in the road, and my horse would probably have been killed as she galloped across the road to get back to the yard.
 
That is why in principle is a good idea but having both a person on board and a person leading is a better one. Your horse could easily have got away from you and it would have been just as catastrophic. I would never take an unknown quantity out without at least one preferably two foot soldiers so they can drop back once the horse has been assessed at to whether it is safe to do so. It in my view is absolutely bonkers to take a horse that might spook out in hand on your own if you dont have a rider you should again have at least two people leading it so if one lets go the other has got it
 
A person with you on foot sounds like a good idea., maybe just do short routes the first few times and try to avoid busy roads, so if something did go wrong, theres less chance of him running into in traffic.
If you hack out alone alot it might be an idea to put a small tag on your saddle somewhere with your mobile and where you keep the horse on it, that way if you do come off and your worried he wont know his way home, at least if someone catches him they can call you or will know where to take him, which if your hacking locally probably wont be too far.

Some people caught my horse once when my sister fell off her and that is the only way I knew where she was, she had galloped miles away and not the suspected route home either!
I always find it strange that dogs have to have ID out in public but not horses?
 
Ive done both - in hand and with my OH on the ground for company. Both have worked very well for her and me but pre in hand i had done quite a bit of lunging and ground work with my mare so knew what she was like and had perhaps established a bit of trust with her. Mine had been hacked a lot (I had a couple of unpleasant incidents with her - back/saddle caused not spooks) so it was more down to my confidence than hers so i foun.d the in hand walking very helpful as could gauge what worried her and what didnt. She now stands and walks on on voice command (in hand or under saddle), which i find gives me a lot of confidence out and about
 
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