Hacking...

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Moggy in Manolos

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Well as my mare seems very happily sound I have been able to ride a few times over this weekend.
Went out alone for first time in months on her yesterday and she was so spooky, it really unnerved me, well I was practically pooping myself at points but managed to take her out for a full hour.
I have ridden her out for years and years on her own but as we have not done it in ages she is being an idiot. I know she can do it, and I know I can do it, but she did make it very hard and I kind of feel like I don't want to do it because I am rather scared.

She feels like a coiled spring to ride of late, thing is I cannot risk trotting or cantering with her, if the ground is very soft we may have a tiny canter but due to her foot I do not tend to risk it.
A real shame I cannot trot her along the road to take the edge off her as that would be ideal but its not an option.

Anyway, my point is of all this, do you hack alone or do you never hack alone?

I have ridden happily alone for the last 17/18years with a few breaks in between but I feel like I have really lost my nerve this last year, my car accident did not help my nerves either back in June.

Anyway, to the poll *cookies* for reading and listening, if you have any pearls of wisdom for me they would be much appreciated
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I haven't had a chance to hack Scooby out in company yet, so I want to do that and make sure he behaves himself before we go out on our own. I'm sure he will though, I've taken him out in-hand in traffic and he's been fine, so hopefully we will be able to hack on our own once we've had some practise. There are plenty of people at the yard I could hack with but I haven't got round to asking them yet, I'm so flipping shy.
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He has napped once or twice when we go down the track (round the edge of the RS property) alone, but it's nothing I can't deal with (unless he backs up into the road
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When I first got my mare in 2008 she was great to hack out alone or in company. When hacking alone we went for canters along the sides of the fields and everything. We had an accident one day when hacking with a friend though. Tia spooked left while we were having a canter and I ended up carrying straight on and hitting the ground. She galloped off home. It knocked both our confidence so we didnt hack in the fields over the winter then started again in the spring. Shes still not got her full confidence back. She is mostly fine now in company but on our own she does do some big spooks so I tend to stick to a walk or gentle trot.

She is fine on the road but if we go alone she tries to nap a bit. I think she has got worse since she knows which way home is now. I can go on a circular route around the fields and somehow Tia knows where halfway is and tries to speed up the walking pace to get home.

I wish I had transport so we could go other places to hack.
 
Hacking alone is what I like best. I do occasionally ride out with others and enjoy it. But to me, very early mornings, just as the sun rises, just me and my mare is heavenly.
 
Mine is better in company but I do take her out on her own sometimes. However due to the flippin' snow and ice which is forecast to last another 3 weeks here we have not done any hacking for ages. First time out after the thaw could be 'interesting'.
 
I put sometimes.
I love hacking on my own and used to all the time. In my new job i don't hackout on my own so much i am a nanny/groom and have to take the kids riding. Lucy loves hacking on her own but my new pony Herbie is a nappy little watsit and doesn't like going without company so at the moment i don't hack him alone. I still take Lucy alone sometimes although she is only doing 10 - 15 min walking at the mo so the kids don't want to come with her.
 
I probably hack on my own 90% of the time, not many people at my yard that go anywhere other than 2 short hacks... when I had a sound horse I would go off for about 4 hours on my own, lots of all paces, it was great
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Hope to have another horse to do that with eventually
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I ticked 'always' although occasionally I ride out with someone from the yard.

Get your hands on a good book about riding confidence - when I lost my nerve jumping I got a horse magazine with a free 'boost your confidence' booklet and it helped so much. I still need to go over the exercises now and again but that sort of thing really does work and I jump happily now.

When you are getting nervous [ QUOTE ]
I was practically pooping myself at points but managed to take her out for a full hour

[/ QUOTE ] your body will be tensing up and she will feel this and it will make her more tense. When you work on calming exercises it stops that vicious cycle.

Can you do some trotting in the school before you go out at all?
 
I said sometimes. The big spooky mare is always hacked in company so OH now has her. I also have a cob and just love it in the summer when I get up at 4.30 and go out for 2-3 hours before work I take the dog with me, last summer we met two cars and the year before we didnt meet any, and there are no tractors at that time
 
my advice would be to hack out little and often in order to get your confidence up, and sounds like it would benefit her too. Just keep going and don't give up.

If it makes you feel more confident then always go out with somebody else. I seem to feel nervous whether i'm by myself or with others but luckily my horse is a bit of a donkey out hacking.
 
Mostly on my own. Lace is brill in company but the only other horse I would hack out with at the yard is ridden in the day, when I'm at school. The other horses are either too stupid or are only allowed to walk on the roads and at 4 I don't want to be hacking out with stupid horses who may knock her confidence.
 
I go alone and in company, depends if anyone is around to ride with. Horse is much more of an idiot on her own, which can sometimes make me tense. I try and sing as this makes sure i keep breathing and daft though it sounds, if she is spooking/napping I imagine another horse in front of us behaving perfectly and sometimes it has the desired effect of making her believe the same.
 
Thanks to you all of you with your replies.

I think your right, I just need to keep doing it, she has been a dream horse to hack out alone really on the whole over all our years together and I don't want that to stop.
She has always been a bit nappy but nothing I feel I could not handle but she made me really doubt myself yesterday.
I honestly tried to keep relaxed and calm, at times I was not, but on the whole I managed to keep the most of my body soft, but there was tension somewhere for sure.
I cannot always rely on having others to hack with and feel I must conquer this.
I have always loved just being out, me and my mare and before this last year have always loved it and rated it, but I think I am thinking too much about what if's, so perhaps a good horse riding confidence book might be an idea.
Thanks again all
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[ QUOTE ]
I go alone and in company, depends if anyone is around to ride with. Horse is much more of an idiot on her own, which can sometimes make me tense. I try and sing as this makes sure i keep breathing and daft though it sounds, if she is spooking/napping I imagine another horse in front of us behaving perfectly and sometimes it has the desired effect of making her believe the same.

[/ QUOTE ]

Lol, yes I whistle and sing, as I did yesterday but her neighing the whole way round stopped me at times.

I was going to take her out today to prove to myself and her that we must do this and she needs to stop being silly and go back to how she can be, but it was too dangerous out there so we passed.
 
95% of the time I'm out in company, usually with my sister. My mare is the lead mare of the group so happily takes the lead on hacks. Every now and again I will take her out alone and she's a bit different. I know she's brave, but she tends to go silly, especially on a circular hack which keeps our field with her friends in within earshot. Lots of jogging, which apart from being bad manners, is uncomfortable if she keeps it up for an hour. We're most on country lanes and the occasional byway, which you can't really go faster than a trot on.

Stick with it, it's difficult for me to advise as even though Saf can be an idiot I've had her for 8 years and can trust her not to do anything really stupid, so never scared to ride her.

If you can, stick with it, you'd think she'd improve as she gets used to it, or go out with someone else, I personally love hacking with friends
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[ QUOTE ]
Tried twice to reply now and it's not posted so stuff it, not bloody typing it a 3rd time
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[/ QUOTE ]

Before you hit continue, highlight what you've typed and copy it (Ctrl + C), then if the site buggers about you can just paste your post back into the box.
 
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Lol, yes I whistle and sing, as I did yesterday but her neighing the whole way round stopped me at times.

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Is she neighing back to her mates? Maybe take her on a hack well out of earshot of her friends. I find Saf is quieter and less frantic if she can't have a conversation with her herd.
 
I used to hack alone all the time and never bat an eyelid, even on my big, spooky, nervy ex racer. I then (eventually) ended up with my grey who, through no fault of his own, had massive issues with nerves in traffic which were exacerbated by kissing spines (didnt know this at the time), so when he tensed as a car approached, he felt terrible pain and used to go up, buck, screw, twist, throw himself into the hedge or just take off. I lost my nerve hacking, and it took me ages to get it back.

I forced myself to ride alone on my new mare, just on short circular hacks to start with. Lessons have really improved my general confidence in my abilities which has really helped my attitude when hacking. Porridge is better alone with spurs, they keep her going forwards and focus her attention on me as opposed to whatever other nonsense she notices.
 
I can hack for hours on my own on my old pony, he is great. New pony is spooky on his own, doesn't actually do anything but I don't enjoy it half as much. But he makes up for it in other ways.

It's hard trying to get them used to it during this rubbish weather, my Spring/Summer project is to hack him 5 times a week until he chills out more.

Hopefully you will find it easier in the Spring too
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Thanks all, yeah this weather is rubbish to try and get out and enjoy it, but I feel a bit more empowered by reading all these replies to carry on and get my nerve back and thus she will hopefully, she can be so very good.
I can do this, I did keep trying to tell her this but with the conditions as they are I think I felt a bit worried about that also and its effects on a very spooky horse.

I said to my mate perhaps we could share some lessons in the warmer weather, I don't like schooling much but I think we need a little something to get us working as one again.
 
Sometimes. I find that although it is nice to go out in a group with friends, it is also just as nice to go out for a peaceful ride alone with my pony.
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Lol, yes I whistle and sing, as I did yesterday but her neighing the whole way round stopped me at times.

[/ QUOTE ]

Is she neighing back to her mates? Maybe take her on a hack well out of earshot of her friends. I find Saf is quieter and less frantic if she can't have a conversation with her herd.

[/ QUOTE ]

No, its just her, no one is worried about her being gone! She has done this very occasionally over the years, its when she is really stressed that she neighs, like she is calling for help!
 
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