Happy hacker horses

SatansLittleHelper

SatansLittleHelper

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After a few unsuitable viewings and Several horses being sold before I've had chance to view (one over the phone while I was half way there..!!!) I've come to the conclusion it may be better to buy rocking horse and be done with it 🤔🙄🙄🙄🙈
What we have found is a couple of very cheap and tough happy hacker types that might fit the bill for a while until I've got a better budget. A friend has just bought a super little cob for £700, passed a 2 stage vetting and now she's cheerfully trundling around the countryside on it with no bother. Her reasons for doing this are different to mine but it seems like it might be worth a thought?
It would also help with the weight loss, as although I've lost a few lbs (go me) not riding isn't helping.
Anybody done this, bought or loaned a "stop gap" horse??
 
In the defense of Happy Hackers everywhere the Happy Hacker horse is normally a pleasure to own and a pleasure to ride. I expect my Happy Hacker of a pony to be able to ride anywhere, jump natural obstacles, open gates and generally be a friend who likes going out for long rides :-)
You might find that your "stop gap" becomes your friend for life
 
Tarragon said:
In the defense of Happy Hackers everywhere the Happy Hacker horse is normally a pleasure to own and a pleasure to ride. I expect my Happy Hacker of a pony to be able to ride anywhere, jump natural obstacles, open gates and generally be a friend who likes going out for long rides :)
You might find that your "stop gap" becomes your friend for life
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Apologies, I didn't mean mean to offend. I wasn't using the term in a derisory manner 😳😳😳
Simply that I will eventually like to go out and do much more than hacking if you see what I mean??
 
One of my little horses could only have been described as a happy hacker when I bought her for very little from a riding school. She was a bog standard, albeit very pretty, cob.

She wasn’t easy initially, but went on to hunt with the Glamorgan and The Curre, did pleasure rides and hunter trails. And whilst I’ve had a few horses that were very well bred, and bred to event and race, she was the one who enabled me to do anything I wanted.

Best £500 I ever spent. And despite being offered £4K for her, she stayed with me for life.
 
I could probably loan a stop gap horse on the understanding it was due to go back on a specific date but no way would I buy one, unless I was happy to be stuck with it forever! Once they've arrived, they don't leave even if entirely unsuitable. I am, in hindsight, very grateful for my parents refusing to buy my 13.2hh loan pony. I was 5'8" at that point and feet were round her knees, although I was a complete string bean. She was only 8years old I think so would have not been suitable at all longer term as we could only afford one horse.
 
ester said:
Unless they are hacking only due to injury I think most can go and do more when you want to them.
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This.

All mine have been stop gap horses, ONE DAY i will be able to go shopping for the kind of horse I really want but in the meantime my stop gaps have been very enjoyable rides that just needed a bit of development :)

If you find something sensible and sound with a good attitude then there's no reason why it won't go out and do a variety of things, even if it has only hacked before.
 
18yrs ago I bought a stop gap horse he hadn’t done anything other than being backed in a school. He’s now still here and we have competed endurance and hacked all over the country.

A good happy hacker is worth its weight in gold imo. People mock hacking but you have to have a brave horse to go alone riding for miles not knowing what your going to encounter
 
I bought my horse as a happy hacker, all I wanted was to be able to go out safely on the roads alone or in company, maybe canter across a field and pootle round the arena in the winter if the fancy took me.
It turned out I got my horse of a lifetime. In 9 years he has taken me from first time owner to sponsored dressage rider (with wins at ODE, county level showing and working hunter along the way)! A good sensible hacker will turn its hoof to anything far more easily than a fancy type will drop down to sensible hacking. I just wish more people could be convinced of this.
 
You sound as if you want all rounder, but I don't know why a happy hacker can't be that as well.
You don't plan on doing Badminton so most horses can do riding club type things, dressage is just schooling with feedback, most if not all horses can pop a pole, log or ditch.
My cob wouldn't be able to jump a 90 course, she's the heavier type with short little legs. The fun is more important than the height but I didn't get her to go off competing with.
 
I loathe the term happy hacker - I find it usually used in a derisory manner by people that think they better than those of who choose not to compete and make hacking their riding activity of choice. Rant out of the way. I bought my mare after a nasty riding where I sustained serious injuries and a total crash of confidence. She is a older retired completion horse who has matched my confidence step for step from a potter round the block to a gallop full pelt across wide open stretches of Salisbury Plain. I suppose I got her as a safe stop gap but she has turned out to be an absolute horse of a lifetime. Now I'm back to full confidence she is sharp and lets her Welsh overdramatic streak have full rein.
 
Follysmum said:
18yrs ago I bought a stop gap horse he hadn’t done anything other than being backed in a school. He’s now still here and we have competed endurance and hacked all over the country.

A good happy hacker is worth its weight in gold imo. People mock hacking but you have to have a brave horse to go alone riding for miles not knowing what your going to encounter
Click to expand...
Hacking to me is like trec. You don't know what obstacles you will get to encounter.
You can ride over varied terrain depending on where you are.
You might need to turn back if the road is closed ahead and you didn't know.
It's never boring.
 
I think there's some valid points here. Although I think it sounds like a lovely idea (get you fit, give you more of an idea what you finally want, etc) I think there's a very good chance your stop-gap horse may become your forever horse, whether or not it meets all your requirements! You may end up 'settling' for one reason or another - it would be much easier to do when you already have a horse, rather than while you're unhorsed and searching for The One.

Also, I would suggest that having a horse and improving your finances are two things that rarely occur in tandem :D
 
I'd rather save the money spent on livery bills and then buy the horse I really want. If you can ride to a decent standard, there are plenty of free rides available in the meantime. I always think it's a bit sad when a genuine horse is bought as a stop gap and spends its life being sold on through no fault of it's own. The exception, is when people take on an unfit, green horse and bring it on to ensure it gets a chance of having a great permanent home. I'm a bit soft really.
 
The thing is, a decent happy hacker is not an easy find or necessarily cheap - a horses that will go out alone, in traffic, pass various scaries, stay sound, be reasonable to handle is a rare beast and will be many peoples holy grail. Yes, there are cheap horses out there - they are usually young so inexperienced/an unknown or older but potentially broken or small so suitable for a lightweight adult.

A safe, sane, sound weight carrier even if it only 'hacks' is worth good money because it will be in demand. I think you would be better off looking for a loan, something that needs to step down a bit and can go back if it doesn't work out.
 
I must be lacking in understanding, for me a tough happy hacker for someone needing a biggish weight carrier, is not a cheap purchase. Surely if the horse passes all traffic alone and is safe, sound and of good manners/outlook it is not a couple of quid ? Unless it is a deformed ancient moose maybe.
 
it sounds very risky to me
if you really feel your budget won't get what you want then you are better off saving and coping without
as others have said, you may then find a 'bargain' stop gap who turns out to be the one you wanted all along. which would be a win-win
but you may end up with the wrong horse, spend money keeping them, anything can happen and they may lose their value and you have even less to buy 'the one'

yes, there are some cheap green cobs with a steady head out there. an old horse friend of mine got a small one who she still has 9 years later, as green but steady. he has done plenty of riding club stuff. but he also has not been straight forward and has had numerous vets for one things or another over the years. but she never planned to part with him. he has done a great job, but if he was her stop gap she would have struggled to sell him.
 
Thanks for all of the input.
I'd like to clarify again that I am not saving money on livery by not having a horse. I rent land and, as contracted, I pay the rent for the space, horse or no horse. The only real money I'm saving by not having one at the moment is insurance as I've rarely had anything needing shoes etc so costs are generally minimal.
It's just a case of throwing ideas about really, mostly this year I'll be hacking out to be honest.
The whole thing is really putting me off buying a horse at all...no matter how much time, money or viewings etc it's never enough. For the sort of money I'm looking to spend I'm unlikely to get something with perfect conformation, perfect schooling etc. With the best will in the world I'm not going to have the money to buy exactly what I "should" buy. I'm trying to go with gut feelings as well as being sensible. My friend is pulling her hair out with me as she knows what I'm capable of dealing with etc and feels I'm being very overtly cautious. I also feel that I'm scared to get it wrong...3k might seem like a drop in the ocean when it comes to horses but it's alot to me personally.
 
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