Hacking new horse for the first time!

J

justjoules

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Hi all

Hope you are having a good evening.

Have just taken on a new horse who is fanastically sensible and sane but have not yet hacked him out due to time restraints. Just wondered what your top tips would be for the first time I do go out. Obviously go with a sensible person, hi-viz, tell someone where you are going etc but any other little gems of wisdom you have would be gratefully received!

Thanks :)
 
If you can, try and do you first couple hacking off rode, so you can really enjoy the horse and get to know him and trust him, you wont think twice about going hacking along roads and lanes and stuff then! :) Good luck! :)
 
How exciting good luck but you sound like you need to just go...take phone too etc

I reckon you will enjoy yourself and so willl the horse....let us know how you get on.Took me a year to get to know mine!
 
You've said it all really. Definitely go with someone, take a phone and make sure someone knows the route you are taking. Take it steady. Just walk if you arent confident to go any faster just yet. And have fun!
 
I just got on my new horse the day after I collected him, put on my hi viz, put my mobile in my pocket, told the YO how long I was going to be and where I was going and just got on with it. I've always been a bit like that with new horses, its the best way to see what they are like. I'm usually at my first show within a week or two also. Its all very well going out with other horses for the first time but I like to start as I mean to go on, which usually means doing everything on our own. I felt that if I had ridden out with others on our first time my horse wouldn't become very independent and be reluctant to hack out on his own when the time came. By starting off on day one with hacking him on my own i managed to avoid this scenario. I'm quite an independent person anyway and I'm always going off on my own on fun rides and to shows, and quite honestly I like it like that - most of the time anyway.

I suppose it depends how confident you are. I had no fear of my new horse as I had no expectations at that stage of our relationship, either good or bad and as it happens he didn't let me down. I think I knew as soon as we'd gone out of the gate that he'd be okay, he was very chilled at the time. TBH seven years on from that first hack and my horse is no longer chilled and good hacking on his own but I rarely have anyone to ride with so have little choice in the matter although I don't venture out much these days mainly for that reason. I know he will never rear/bolt/buck on the road but he is by nature a very 'wary individual' (even in the menage he acts as if I am about to offer him as a sacrifice to the devil) so our hacks are usually spent looking/spooking and snorting which isn't very enjoyable for either party.
 
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