Hacking alone - how is it for you?

[Pc2003]

Mine hacks fine both. We hack mostly on our own tho as he is very forward and bouncy and generally easier not having to wait for others etc. If we hack in company we always end up front and having to wait for others. However he is good either way. I previously had a mare that wouldn’t hack alone so was an absolute must when I got another

 

[spookypony]

The Spooky Pony is a total pain on his own, impersonating an immovable object at every opportunity, and is superb in company. It's rather a handicap for an Endurance horse, being so reluctant on his own, though he did manage to do two Pleasure Rides solo, and, amazingly, the final 21km loop of an 81km ride. But his reluctance is the primary cause for finishing that ride rather more slowly than I wanted.

The Ballerina Mare is spooky as heck on her own, but is very forward when she isn't petrified at the sight of a purple flower. Now that she hacks frequently by herself, she is continually increasing in confidence, and is lovely to ride. She is fine in company, but I foresee a period of over-excitement when we start doing competitive rides.

 

[Dave's Mam]

Solo hacking is my ultimate thing for Dave. We attempted one with my sister on the ground last weekend, but every other pony on the yard decided that Dave walking up the driveway was a thing that required throwing shapes, farting & generally not being helpful.

This weekend will be spent walking up & down the drive til everyone involved is bored to tears.

 

[criso]

Bay tb #1 (now retired) loved going out though could randomly to want to go in a different direction, not towards home, just somewhere different. We would discuss and eventually agree to go in the direction I wanted. He was good in company too though developed a range of deeply exasperated sighs if another horse was acting up. If another horse tanked off, he would quietly watch them go into the distance.

Bay tb v2.0 is much less confident but OK and pretty safe. Just needs a little more leg at times than ideal on his own. With company it goes either way. With some horses he'll take confidence from them, however others make him more spooky. If we meet a say a pile of my rubbish on my own, he'll initially stop but can be encouraged past. If he's with another horse who doesn't go straight past, he'll make much more of a fuss. He's more likely to get wound up and upset if another horse is playing up and if another horse takes off, I can stop him from following but there will be a bit of jumping about and jogging sideways.

I love hacking alone, being able to potter along admiring the scenery or having a nice gallop and not having to worry about being too fast or slow for other people.

 

[Kezzabell2]

My horse behaves so much better on his own! he'll go anywhere with no issues! when we go in company he refused to go in front at the beginning. went we trot he gets silly and wants to be in front, so I put him in front and he stops! when it suits him he will over take and lead but at any moment he will stop and want to go behind again! he's such a n o b clearly just being silly as he hacks anywhere alone

 

[{97702}]

Hello Shilasdair by another name Every horse I've ever had will hack alone, mainly because I always hack alone...... I much prefer it, you can do what you want when you want instead of having to check in with your hacking buddy? The only advantage for me of hacking in company is that he will be with mega-fit eventers, so as a little cob he will have to make an effort to keep up

 

[Kat]

Mine is her usual reliable self whatever the company. We hack alone, with one or more ridden horses, with a bike, with a Walker, with an in hand pony and with a horse and carriage. Never tried a ride and lead though.

She grumps a bit if other horses want to pass her and gets cross if they nap or spook unnecessarily. But she is absolutely 100% to hack alone or in company.

 

[Vodkagirly]

Mine is excellent alone or in company, front, middle or back. He will go passed anything that I ask him to and be a nicely mannered ride. The only difference is the acceleration is better when we canter in company however he will come back as soon as asked. Im proud of how he behaves.

 

[Nudibranch]

I've had 3 TBs who were stressy hacking alone although they improved over time. My CB was bombproof alone but a bit excitable in company. The ponies were solid either way. The big man started his ridden career hacking alone and can be a bit spooky but he's young and green. In company, he still likes to take a back seat but his confidence is growing. He's actually less spooky than his main hack buddy, who is twice his age.

 

[rara007]

The 4 I’m riding at the moment the stallion and the cob are plods in any set up, the baby (backed approx 14 weeks, moved home twice and also learnt to drive in that time) is understandably very green and sometimes needs confidence alone, not taken him in company yet, and Pip is 100% alone 95% good in company 5% a bit annoying not settling for the first 10 min in company as he’s very rarely ever gone in company. My retired boy never settled hacking alone in 16 years of work. Never once spun, napped, planted, would spook about 1/5 times but his eyes were on stalks and everything at twice the tempo as in company with super tense body language unless he was pounding the roads at a decent trot. We reserved torturing him with it other than for fitness.

 

[Nici]

When I ride our family friends' horse I hack him out alone. He's an angel, but I've had to find out that hacking out by oneself can be tricky.
At one point we were plodding along a long a winding road (a path, really), when a van shot at us. The horse spooked, stepped back... and slid into a ditch. Surprisingly, neither of us fell and I moved him back onto the path.
Just goes to show that the sign language we learned in Riding and Road Safety does not seem to work with idiots...

 

[OrangeAndLemon]

Mine is great on his own but unfortunately I'm not. He is more aware of everything which can make me a little on edge. He assumes every puddle is shark infested and mud hides crocodiles. I'm learning to trust him and be a leader for him so we are now hacking alone again. As a contributor said earlier, in cases like mine, the question isn't how he is alone, but how good I am.

In groups of 4 or less he will relax at the back and I can ride on the buckle no matter what the world throws at us. He'll easily go front, back, middle and doesn't notice. In larger groups he's the same until after the first canter, then he'll be a bit more keen to be in the front three, but there's no hint of any naughty behaviour, he just finds a bigger walk until he's at the front.

 

[gingernut81]

My boy is fine on his own now but when he was younger he had 18 months where he would not hack at all as he had issues with traffic so we stayed in the school. I then moved him to a much more quieter area and he's now perfect 5 years on. I don't ride in company much at all but when I have he's spot on too. I get slightly anxious mow though as I'm not used to it!

 

[Chinchilla]

Have only walked out in hand with D but she's fine either way. (She LOVES her "walkies"). Alfie's frankly a **** alone. Rosie's OK but will spin and shout for the first five minutes, regardless of whether with others or not, until she realises actually there aren't any tigers. Same with Henry though he does have a habit of randomly jogging when alone which he doesn't do in company. Personally I prefer going out in company for my own sake not the horses' though. I always feel that 1 person wouldn't be enough if something went wrong but I don't know, having never really had anything go wrong except when in company.

 

[DabDab]

Hello Shilasdair by another name Every horse I've ever had will hack alone, mainly because I always hack alone...... I much prefer it, you can do what you want when you want instead of having to check in with your hacking buddy? The only advantage for me of hacking in company is that he will be with mega-fit eventers, so as a little cob he will have to make an effort to keep up

Yup, me too - I'm definitely one of those irritating people who far prefers hacking alone, particularly on the roads, but fun rides etc are nice with company.

I don't think my current horse is much different in company to be honest, and he's quite happy to join a hacking companion for a part of the hack and then go off on our own again.

Keep at it OP, they do just gradually improve over time if you're giving them the right exposure. The horse that actually started my love of hacking alone was a mare who was exceptionally nappy (the worst I've ever known, she would quite literally throw herself on the floor if asked to leave the yard alone) when I bought her. She was also a maniac in company though, alternating between trying to race and trying to kick everything. She turned into quite a nice hack eventually, aside from Alpacas which we always had to walk past in reverse!

 

[scats]

Both mine hack out alone and in company. I prefer to hack out alone if I’m honest and I expect all my horses to learn. They’ve not all come to me happy to hack, infant I had one who was an absolute nightmare on his own, but I was rather insistent and he ended up being a super pony to take out.
Diva is bold as brass and I much prefer us going on our own as she’s just more switched on. P is happier in company but 99% of the time we hack alone so she has to get on with it. She is a stop and reverse/spin type however, so I do not take her on the roads alone. We are fortunate to have good off road hacking around the Farm.

 

[Flicker]

On our own, mine is spooky but doesn’t do anything serious - just ears pricked forward, looks at things, gives scary things a wide berth, the odd spook. In company it is complete ‘reins on the buckle’ irrespective of whether it’s a ride of 2 or 6. Happy to go first or last, head low, ears relaxed, strides out.

 

[Sussexbythesea]

Used to be a spooky pita to hack alone but now good as gold and only gets nervous if we do an unusual route. Goes past everything, bins, dog walkers, runners, highland Cattle, sheep, donkeys, deer, strings of race-horses, runners, cyclists, push-chairs, tree-felling, the shoot, beaters etc. Spooks most at large leaves and wheel-ruts on the verge!

Good in company but would probably lose his cookies in a big group especially if doing anymore than trotting.

 

[Antw23uk]

My gelding is fine both alone and in company but I have a nicer experience hacking my mare alone. She is a very forward going type anyway but in company she has to be up front and everything is a competition and SHE MUST WIN!!! On the buckle does not apply to this mare on any level, lol!