Rachael42
Well-Known Member
Does anyone have any exercises to improve my horse when out hacking? I don’t have access to a school currently so trying to get the most out of him on hacks.
Thanks!
Thanks!
Hacking out
- Thread starter Rachael42
- Start date
Mule
Well-Known Member
Transitions definitely. Leg yield and shoulder in are good on a straight stretch of road.
JFTDWS
+++ Out of Cheese Error +++
I like to parallel park in the village when it's quiet. Rein back, controlling direction, full pass, halt, move off. There's lots of eccentric schooling games you can play if you're creative ?
Obviously you don't want to get too close to any parked cars esp if you're not in full control going back, or hold up traffic. That would be rude...
Obviously you don't want to get too close to any parked cars esp if you're not in full control going back, or hold up traffic. That would be rude...
Leandy
Well-Known Member
Pretty much all the things you can do in a school, you can also do out hacking.
MiJodsR2BlinkinTite
Well-Known Member
I've got a youngster, and she's never, ever, until this last weekend when we did a TREC training day, been inside a school! Ohhh the shame of it!!
She was hacking solo through a working quarry when she was just-backed at 4yo, and we've done all of her "training" out and about hacking.
The best advice I've ever had (from a certain female Devon Olympian eventer!) was to firstly concentrate on getting the horse (especially a youngster, but any horse basically) going FORWARD, then get them going Straight, then aim for Levelness, and then Suppleness and Flexion. The "Forward" thing is the most important and everything else springs from that.
Also don't underestimate using walk to build up condition and also as a means of encouraging forwardness and impulsion. So many people are anxious about "the canter" but really the basics must be concentrated on in walk, then trot, and working up.
I find it helps to have a single thing to concentrate on when you're out on a hack: for instance, my little'un has tended lately to want to tank when she's in trot, so we've concentrated on getting her trot nice and even, and let her experience the difference between working trot, collected trot, and extended trot. Also we've been on a couple of pleasure rides and experienced other horses doing daft stuff around us; as well as using leg yield and lateral work when opening & closing some gates! We'd started out on a hack with doing a serpentine and having to put her into a gateway for passing traffic. All good practice.
The next time out we might concentrate on, for e.g. lateral & leg yield stuff, doing serpentines and using natural features such as gateways.
Hacking is an excellent opportunity to bombproof your horse! When you've been out there and faced some pretty scary stuff, it will really help your horse/rider partnership to bond. As I've said, we went to a TREC training day at the weekend, and because little'un is an excellent happy hacker, there wasn't anything there that phased her!! She performed creditably amongst other horses who've got the use of a school!
(Edited) sorry meant to say that it helps enormously to have a riding companion with you; I have an excellent riding companion in that she points out stuff when I'm riding, that I don't notice!! This is invaluable, and has been a huge help. You need a good riding-chum who is able to critique what you're doing, but in a positive way, and can sit back and tell you what they see happening with you and your horse. Also to video it so you can both watch it later and discuss.
She was hacking solo through a working quarry when she was just-backed at 4yo, and we've done all of her "training" out and about hacking.
The best advice I've ever had (from a certain female Devon Olympian eventer!) was to firstly concentrate on getting the horse (especially a youngster, but any horse basically) going FORWARD, then get them going Straight, then aim for Levelness, and then Suppleness and Flexion. The "Forward" thing is the most important and everything else springs from that.
Also don't underestimate using walk to build up condition and also as a means of encouraging forwardness and impulsion. So many people are anxious about "the canter" but really the basics must be concentrated on in walk, then trot, and working up.
I find it helps to have a single thing to concentrate on when you're out on a hack: for instance, my little'un has tended lately to want to tank when she's in trot, so we've concentrated on getting her trot nice and even, and let her experience the difference between working trot, collected trot, and extended trot. Also we've been on a couple of pleasure rides and experienced other horses doing daft stuff around us; as well as using leg yield and lateral work when opening & closing some gates! We'd started out on a hack with doing a serpentine and having to put her into a gateway for passing traffic. All good practice.
The next time out we might concentrate on, for e.g. lateral & leg yield stuff, doing serpentines and using natural features such as gateways.
Hacking is an excellent opportunity to bombproof your horse! When you've been out there and faced some pretty scary stuff, it will really help your horse/rider partnership to bond. As I've said, we went to a TREC training day at the weekend, and because little'un is an excellent happy hacker, there wasn't anything there that phased her!! She performed creditably amongst other horses who've got the use of a school!
(Edited) sorry meant to say that it helps enormously to have a riding companion with you; I have an excellent riding companion in that she points out stuff when I'm riding, that I don't notice!! This is invaluable, and has been a huge help. You need a good riding-chum who is able to critique what you're doing, but in a positive way, and can sit back and tell you what they see happening with you and your horse. Also to video it so you can both watch it later and discuss.
maya2008
Well-Known Member
Shoulder-in down hills stops you slipping as much in the wet!
Orangehorse
Well-Known Member
Variations within the pace, walk, trot (not too much extended trot on the roads!). Serpentine, shoulder-in, half-pass. Mix it up with some free walk on a long (not loose) rein.
I once had a VERY spooky horse - throw yourself in front of a car because the leaf was a different colour - so when I heard a car I made her halt. She had the very best, responsive halt of any horse before or since.
I once had a VERY spooky horse - throw yourself in front of a car because the leaf was a different colour - so when I heard a car I made her halt. She had the very best, responsive halt of any horse before or since.
Carrottom
Well-Known Member
Be wary of doing this, my friends horse always walked down hill on three tracks, it was almost impossible to ride her straight. we were fairly sure she had taught to do it.