Hacking Alone - Need Some Success Stories!

[Shantara]

As I hope to be loaning Neddy soon, I am trying to conquer one of his biggest fears - hacking alone.

Have you ever had one who won't hack alone, if you did get over it, can I ask how?
I have a vague idea of how I'm going to go about it, but I'd like some stories from those who've succeeded

The furthest I've got so far is walking in-hand in the show field with no other horses in there and I'm terrified of trying to get him onto the road as it's a busy stretch, but unavoidable if you want to leave the yard.

Anything would be helpful

 

[Sportyspots]

Hi Nah, I've got youngsters who are the only horses on the yard so have no choice but to hack on their own including when first backed. Always start with long reining. If it helps use one lunge rein with a clip at either end then you're not tripping over them. Start in the school at horses shoulder then gradually long rein from further back till they get the idea. Usually pick it up very quickly but my current youngster took 2 weeks to get the idea so don't panic if it doesn't work straight away. Once you have stop, start, forwards, backwards, steering and leg yielding on long reins in the school then long rein everywhere, paddocks, farm fields etc. if anything unussual happens then explore on long reins eg we just had sugarbeet lifted so off we went to watch the harvester working and then see the lorries loaded. When confident, long rein round roads. It's a long process but mine are normally out on long reins autumn they are 2 then a year later I start hacking them ridden and never had any probs esp with napping. I'm not saying you need to spend a year with an older backed horse but it teaches them independence.
Hope that helps, I'm sure you're get some better replies but its quiet at work tonight so bugging HHO instead of working hard!

 

[Peachescream]

I dont have a school so what i did with my youngster was lead him continuously everywhere in the field in and out of cones round tires etc until he was great to lead. then i started leading him for small periods on the road and built it up a little as he progressed until it didnt faze him and then you feel safe enough to go out by yourself. I mostly hack by myself and 10% of it is in a busy main road the more experience your horse gets the better. Its not always plain sailing though i had a young mare who i had built up to a level i thought would be suitable to go for a 5 min walk on the road riding and some lunatic drove up the quiet back lane at around a hundred miles an hour and beeped the horn repeatedly and had his music blaring. The horse nearly had a heart attack and galloped off down the road onto oncoming traffic. Neadless to say it was 5 years and a lot of hard work before she would walk quietly while traffic went past but i think most horse would get a fright with people like that.

 

[Paris1]

I know a couple who won't hack alone, mine has always done it. Try after a schooling session when horse is listening and a little tired.

 

[Moggy in Manolos]

Yes I have dealt with horses who do not want to hack alone.
First off you must start small building your confidence and theirs, familiarity is key I think too. It can be quite dull but I think repeating the same route for a while is wise as you become more confident and in turn so does your horse. All horses are different but in my personal experience I have found building on small routes repeatedly really goes a long way to happy solo hacking. I am hoping that the new girl will hack alone one day. I am trying to walk her out in hand alone so she gets used to being alone, she certainly seems bold enough, time will tell.
Good luck

ETS: Oh and I second doing a little route after schooling too as usually their edge has been taken off and they are relaxed and listening

 

[sleepykitten]

I have a horse who doesn't like hacking alone, as other posters have said, small victories are key! Familiarity is important, do the same route until it becomes second nature, push them a little bit further everytime and always end the hack when YOU want to end it, don't let them dictate when they go home.

Also, get someone to walk with you to begin with, then they can lead if you have to go past something scary, but gradually drop back and let the horse go forwards first.

I have gone from not being able to get out of the yard to doiing aout 4 miles alone now, we are still on the same route, but we are getting there! Good luck!

 

[Shantara]

Thank you to you both
I used to ride alone all the time on a horse called Archie, but he was fab, he never put a foot wrong and even seemed to prefer being out alone. Then Ned came along and I fell in love, the only real problem being I can't go alone, which is very annoying as then have to fit my riding around everyone else and ride when perhaps I should be doing other things.

Anyway!! Ned's problems are very deeply ingrained in his silly little mind, he's 10-ish and when his owner got him, although he had issues, he did what she wanted (Which was hack safely in a group, not over take other horses in canter, buck or rear) he did all of that perfectly (Apart from he does rear if you push him to the front, but seeing as she never wanted him for a lead horse, that was fine)

I'll certainly try the long reining, in fact, I just borrowed another lunge line from my friend I've been watching youtube videos about it, but I think you described it beautifully Sportyspots!
He's very very good with traffic and even the biggest lorry or tractor doesn't appear to spook him, but that's with other horses. When he's alone everything is scary! I've started the bomb proofing and he's actually doing quite well Peachescream, I'll work on my leading too He's quite good, but I know he could be better!

Whoever his previous owners where sure messed him up!! (We think Gypsy road racer at some point in his life)
Thanks to you both

 

[Shantara]

Goodness! I took a long time typing that, haha! Lots of other people have posted XD

I'm taking my driving test this month, so I hopefully can get up to the yard more than once a week (I don't think I'd ever get him hacking alone like that!) so I'll try the schooling, then attempt to take him onto the front yard/drive and just make him look at the road. That's how bad it is XD I can't even get him onto the drive by himself!!

I think I'd be able to rope mother into helping me a bit Ned adores her and follows her like a pup!

Thanks everyone It's giving me hope that Ned can be a good horse one day

 

[sleepykitten]

Yep, my mother got very fit last summer

 

[kerilli]

i think it's best if you have a walker, someone on foot wearing hi-viz (even 2 people the first time, one ahead and 1 behind, for the busy stretch of road), as they're far more reliable than another horse, less likely to spook! your walker can grab a handful of grass to give him if he gets wound up, since eating chills them out and the distraction can be just what you need.
this has worked to get every one of mine hacking alone, even the very wussy flighty ones.
good luck!

 

[Mahoganybay]

My Standardbred mare still has problems hacking out alone, she is very tense & scared of silly things but strangely the trucks, lorries, motorbikes that come past us at 60mph does not bother her in the slightest.

I have owned her 4 years and i know this is how she is now, i can take her out on her own and do a cpuple of times a week but tbh i have a much nicer relaxed ride out with others, even as far as riding out the other night with my daughter on her silly IDx gelding who was bucking & messing on the road (naughty boy , another gelding who was trying to keep out of my daughters horses way and a stallion! Now you would think that would be quite stressful for her, nah, she was so calm, leading the ride & so relaxed. Yet ride out on my own, a leaf blows across her path & its the end of the world lol.

I suppose what i'm trying to say is, give it a try, take small steps, keep safe but don't expect too much and if the fear of being out on his own is too great for him, dont push it.

Good luck

 

[horsemad32]

What I've found works:
- Work on their bond with you at home, doing groundwork etc, so they trust you, are safe in-hand and will follow you past/over something scary. You can do this in the school with tarpaulins, flapping bags etc.
In conjunction with that:
- Hack with other horses, in the middle/behind to get their confidence up hacking.
- As they get more confident and relaxed out hacking, get them to go in front on 'safe' bits of the hack, for short periods of time.
- Gradually increase the amount of time they're in front, and if they meet a scary object, start to ask them to go past it without a lead (obv where it's safe to do so), with the other horse(s) waiting until you succeed.
- When you're in front all the time, gradually increase the distance between you and the other horse(s) until you're some way in front all the time, and often out of sight round corners etc.
-When your horse no longer bothers that the others disappear as you're so far in front, begin to take them out alone round short, local hacking routes that you both know very well, and where it's safe to have an argument if you need to. If you hit major trouble, it's better to get off and lead them forward past the issue, than to lose the battle or really scare them by having to be too assertive. Then they learn to trust your judgement as it was actually ok.

Sometimes a calmer can help take the edge off, or the more traditional method of working them hard in the school before you go out so they're tired and less likely to cause a fuss!

I've taught several horses to hack solo, from just backed babies to seriously stressy/scared older horses - this works (with a bit of tweaking to suit the horse) every time. It requires patience though, determination, an ability to read the horse as you deal with true fear differently to stubbornness, and leadership (as well as a sticky bum sometimes lol!).

 

[Wobblywibble]

You could also work now on making him take the lead when you go out with others, then he has the reassurance of his "herd" with him. Even if this means him just having his nose in front to start with. If he is truly scared rather than just being stubborn, you can get one of the others to come beside you or in front but only to get past said scary thing.

 

[noblesteed]

Lots of good advice here. An on-foot human is a big help, as is another horse - learn the hacking routes with somebody else there and make sure your horse knows them too, then you can have a go on your own. Stay calm, relaxed and don't forget to breathe! You will soon learn to 'pretend' to be calm even if you're not! Looking past anything that may potentially be scary is a good plan, as horses tend to look at whatever the rider is looking at, also bending the head away or leg yielding past scary things is good. That way your horse will build up trust in you.
Only hack as far as you feel you can manage. Even if it is just a 10 minute journey, better to end on a good note than have a battle. Always set yourself up to WIN. Give your horse LOADS of praise all the way along - I am sure our neighbours think I am a mad woman the amount of fussing I do over my horse on hacks, but I find he loves the praise and will try hard for it. I also talk to my horse, I whitter on about all kinds of rubbish but it seems to keep him calm.
Oh and don;t be afraid to dismount to pass something scary, then get back on afterwards. It isn't giving in as some people believe, you are just showing your horse that it is safe to pass, and horse will begin to trust your judgement so next time you can ride past it.
It won't happen overnight, but keep persevering, little and often and by the end of the summer you should be hacking out alone with few problems.

 

[Shantara]

I hope I can get him out alone, but you're right Mahoganybay, I'm going to take it very very slowly, as I know even taking a few steps away from the herd freaks him out. He has got a lot better, but he's still no where near good, let alone perfect.

He is a pretty fast learner though, he went from rearing, spinning, galloping, spooking and even trying to jump the fence when I first took him in the school alone, to being able to go in there alone, not even looking at the scary corners ^^

 

[hest]

I too have a pony that doesn't like hacking out by himself as he's never had to. To get to the bridlepaths we have to go past a farm with sheep (terrifying), a donkey , a frisky mare , flapping tarpaulins, rusty old machinery, trailers, a load of yapping terriers kept in pens right by the track etc etc. I'm sure you get the picture!

My youngster is a planter, rearer, spinner, bolter so I have gone back to basics with him too. I have no one else to ride out with on a regular basis. Things that have helped it all move in the right direction:

Loads of work from the ground (I've never been so fit!)
Long reining
Building on the scary route from hell bit by bit
Doing said route to death and basically boring the pony into submission
Giving him loads of praise and reassurance when he is scared
Giving him a light smack with the whip when he is just messing about!
Keeping him walking on purposefully at all times - he's allowed to 'look' but if I feel him start to plant, it's eyes to the front and keep on moving.

He still freaks out a bit at the unexpected new stuff but is already heaps better much to my delight!

Be patient, do the training in bite-size chunks, don't expect over-night miracles and you will hopefully get there in the end with him.

 

[Shantara]

Again, I have taken so long to post (Making what I call a 'Death Cake'. It's chocolate cake, with choc chips inside, choc icing with choc chips on top! It's gorgeous, if I do say so myself!) I've got lots more great advise since I started my post, haha!!

Noblesteed - I know all the hack routes inside out, so that part won't be a problem and Ned knows them pretty well too (He's been there 4 years and hacks out twice a week, sometimes more)
There's a nice little lane which is very quiet and not 'spooky', but my biggest fear is the road that I have to cross to get to it. I quite literally have to just step over the road, but I'm so terrified of him bolting with me, or even throwing me and running home, timing it wrong and getting hit

Wobblywibble - I will try that Apparently he has taken the lead once or twice and he's taken the lead (all by himself!) with me once. It was like he said "You guys are too slow, I'm going home" and just marched off ahead and lead for a good 20mins! Even past some new 'scary steps' that had just been put in. I'll give it a go this monday

 

[Headpiece]

Everyone has said really good advice

I just wanted to add that i had a mare that was difficult to hack alone, and in the end after doing all said by other posters it still wasnt working as we were both getting stressed, so i stopped for a while, just working on schooling and rebuilding our relationship. A few months later whilst just mooching about i hacked out the gate and before i knew it we were hacking!

 

[Littlelegs]

Hi lots of good advice, it does take time. Daughters pony used to panic at any seperation but we're getting there. Walking her in hand with another & taking her infront for last 10 strides on the way home was our starting point, & we built up slowly from there. What helped most tho was the fact daughter & pony have a great bond & trust each other. Bit impossible to say if she'll hack alone as daughter 7 so not an option, but i've followed a fair bit behind on foot & she's fine, also happy infront anywhere new & at a few local shows last year.

 

[Littlelegs]

& good luck!

 

[noblesteed]

Hey I had another thought, if there is a scary road to cross first, could you lead him over the scary bit then get on after you have crossed it? For the first few times at least?
Also I have a grab handle on my saddle - my biggest and worst fear is coming off out hacking and my horse having an accident running home - so I decided I will not be falling off out hacking... hence the grab strap for sketchy moments.

 

[Shantara]

Thanks everyone for all the advise Lots of things for me to try!

Noblesteed - I do have a neckstrap, but I may also invest in one of those handles that attach to the saddle
The road isn't spooky, really, I think he'll be able to deal with the traffic etc, but if he bolts and heads for home, it's a busy road (Meant to be 40mph outside the yard, but people totally ignore that and just go 60, which the the limit on the rest of the road) and if he did indeed run for home, it's such an enclosed entrance that cars would have no chance to see a horse flying across the road and if it was timed wrong, he'd be hit and almost certainly killed.

I will practice going over the road though, in-hand I think that'll be my 2nd step! The first being just getting him on the drive XD

 

[Penny Less]

You have been given lots of good advice. The only thing I personally found scary with mine and would be wary of was trying to long rein him on the road, a very quiet lane, but he hated going forward in front and panicked slipped and went over, so I never took him on the road again like this.

 

[darkhorse123]

Hey I had another thought, if there is a scary road to cross first, could you lead him over the scary bit then get on after you have crossed it? For the first few times at least?
Also I have a grab handle on my saddle - my biggest and worst fear is coming off out hacking and my horse having an accident running home - so I decided I will not be falling off out hacking... hence the grab strap for sketchy moments.

im reading this with interest as im going through the same thing - what is a grab handle?

 

[MrsHutt]

I am interested in the replies to this as I am hoping to work on getting Hugo out on his own over the Easter holidays (first 3 weeks of April) when I can ride him almost every day.

Advice I have been given includes not turning round and coming home, but going in a circular route if you can. Going out with a friend and leaving them half way, if your routes allow - I have done this once and we came home fine, so I am hopeful that we can do that again with success and build on that!

Having a walker or someone accompanying you on a bike (OH has offered to bike, but I don't think he realises how many hills we have )

I think a lot of my trouble is my own confidence, which I do have to work on.

Can you not get off and lead him over the busy road? My trouble is, I cannot get on again if I get off - unless I find a fence or log or something!!

Good luck

ETA: I have a grab handle, just for security! I don't think I have ever touched it!!

 

[CarolineJ]

im reading this with interest as im going through the same thing - what is a grab handle?

Mine's the flash strap off a noseband looped through a D ring

 

[paulineh]

I often hack out on my own. I also often ride one lead, one so as to get them fit.

I find that a lot of people do not want to do the knd of work I want to do so do end up on my own.

 

[Shantara]

Id love to hack on my own, its my favourite thing to do! I used to go for miles on archie :-( i love not having to ask if everyones ok for a canter, or that im stopping, i can just do it :-D

it used to not bother me that nedd didnt go it alone, as i had 3 friends i could ride with, or go out with the group, but my friends have moved on and since ill be loaning him, ill have to ride alone.

i realllyy hope ill be making another thread in the future with my own success story :-D

 

[BigRed]

personally speaking, I would tell you to loan a horse that IS happy to hack alone. Why take a horse that already is not capable of doing what you want ? If you need to hack alone, taking a horse that you already know is unhappy to hack on his own, is a bad idea.

You can improve lots of things in horses and teach a young horse that it is OK. It is much harder to re-train a horse who had already made up his mind that going out alone is bad news.

 

[Shantara]

personally speaking, I would tell you to loan a horse that IS happy to hack alone. Why take a horse that already is not capable of doing what you want ? If you need to hack alone, taking a horse that you already know is unhappy to hack on his own, is a bad idea.

You can improve lots of things in horses and teach a young horse that it is OK. It is much harder to re-train a horse who had already made up his mind that going out alone is bad news.

Because I've been riding him for 4 years and totally and utterly fallen in love with him.
I honestly would rather have no horse, than not get Neddy. I think I can get him out alone, I've conquered the school and the stable and he had a similar reaction to those as he does when trying to get him away from the others. He's a good boy and wants to learn now (He didn't used to, he just used to stand there looking at me like I'm stupid, or rear, but now he often snorts and really tries to take a step forwards)

I don't really /need/ to hack alone, I just really want to! I could always just go in the school when no one else is riding and latch on to groups when they go out.