How do you hack?

AShetlandBitMeOnce

Well-Known Member
Joined
25 January 2015
Messages
6,671
Visit site
Just wondering how you guys hack?

I see hacking as 'down-time' or 'fun-time' of sorts, compared to when I need his full concentration and for him to really work in the school. I therefore allow him to meander a little, I also let him walk along like a llama horse.

Now, due to recent spooking issues, I have begun to retain a good contact and ask him to be more forward, when I have the contact he then rides 'on the bit' as I have been working really hard lately on getting him to work properly, so this is great.

However, I cannot help but feel a little bad that I am asking him to work and concentrate during the only times he gets off the yard.

But then again, I would like him to be fit enough to do the hunt season next year. I currently school 4 times a week (weekdays, flat work, he works up a sweat) and 1 hack at the weekend (between 5-8 miles, hills, short gallop, 30% roadwork). I can do a 5 mile hack after work when the clocks change, but I can't help but feel that this isn't going to be good enough.

What would you do for the best?
 

frostyfingers

Well-Known Member
Joined
10 May 2011
Messages
459
Location
Herefordshire
Visit site
Re getting fit for hunting, it really depends on how much hunting you intend to do. My horse is having a month off after a busy season and then I'll get him going slowly and end up doing a few fun rides. I also hope to do the odd Hunter Trial and some XC - I'll have to play it by ear as I don't know how much fitness he'll lose or how quickly he gets fit as I've only had him since December and he came to me very fit.

For hunting I make sure they're fit enough to do a fair amount of trotting and some short canters before we go autumn hunting twice a week - that in itself gets them fit as they start off pretty slowly and as the time goes on do more work. By the time of the Opening Meet I would expect the horse to be 95% fit - I take each day accordingly, heavy going & lots of cantering = shorter day etc, until I'm confident that he's properly fit.
 

AShetlandBitMeOnce

Well-Known Member
Joined
25 January 2015
Messages
6,671
Visit site
I see what you're saying but don't think I'll be hunting enough to do it that way. I will be going perhaps once a fortnight, it's all transport dependent.

I mainly want him to just be fit, in good shape, good amount of muscle, able to progress his schooling.
 

huskydamage

Well-Known Member
Joined
23 October 2012
Messages
1,008
Visit site
I dont ride everyday and i only hack,no schooling. mine is fine doing afew hunts. When i hack i do 10miles normally. sometimes a 20mile one here and there. Yesterday i did 15miles left my pony in my garden and hacked her remaining 5miles home in morning. My hacks are pretty steadyish but before hunting i try to up the gallops and canters a bit rather than the milleage.
 

FfionWinnie

Well-Known Member
Joined
20 July 2012
Messages
17,021
Location
Scotland
Visit site
I ride them as if I am schooling all the time. I don't have an arena and am short of time with two to keep fit and schooled. They have another 22hrs a day to spend having down time ;)
 

Annagain

Well-Known Member
Joined
10 December 2008
Messages
15,834
Visit site
One of mine doesn't really like the school so I school him a bit out hacking - not every hack and not all the time. Nothing major, just a bit of leg yield here and a shoulder in there - enough to keep him supple and listening as he can be a bit of a thug. The other works a lot more in the school so we just hack for relaxation. They're both 20 though and I don't need them hugely fit for anything in particular so in your case I'd probably make him walk out properly etc but not worry too much about outline provided he's properly muscled from the schooling. If he needs to develop / maintain correct muscle I'd be more inclined to work him in a correct outline with regular breaks. I tend to choose one particular route as my "schooling hack" -it's all (fairly quiet) roads so it makes a dull ride a bit more interesting.
 

Bernster

Well-Known Member
Joined
14 August 2011
Messages
8,140
Location
London
Visit site
I'm a bit like you mostly, I tend to see it as relaxation and a stretch out for us both. But I'm not sure that's right as really we both get PLENTY of non riding time to do that and otherwise he's only working in the school a short amount of time, which isn't going to be enough to build up the muscle and fitness that he needs.

I got some replies to a thread that got me thinking I needed to up my game. So lately I've been doing a bit more light schooling whilst we hack as well - transitions, transitions within the pace, leg yield - still with a light contact so he's getting a stretch out (he can tuck BTV so I feel like we need to be on a longer rein) but at least some semblance of making him work!
 

AShetlandBitMeOnce

Well-Known Member
Joined
25 January 2015
Messages
6,671
Visit site
They have another 22hrs a day to spend having down time ;)

That is a very good point, I hadn't thought of it like that!
I don't tend to ask for the outline, he has learnt that when I have a good contact, that that is what I would like from him (finally, yessss!) but he does have a long way to go re: muscle building/fitness so I think the general consensus is that he should be working really. I'll just have to bear that in mind now to not feel like a meany
 

southerncomfort

Well-Known Member
Joined
29 September 2013
Messages
5,927
Visit site
Well mine is a bit of oldie now so we are both quite happy to bimble about on a long rein! :) However, on days where she is feeling rather chipper then we do have to work properly to keep her attention on me and not on imaginary things in the hedges!
 

Woolly Hat n Wellies

Well-Known Member
Joined
1 April 2014
Messages
482
Visit site
I use my hacking as schooling, as I don't have a proper arena, and the field is often too wet. He can still find working properly tiring, so I insist he's either carrying himself correctly or stretching long and low. I make sure he gets lots of chances to stretch, but slobbing along on his forehand like a sack of spuds isn't allowed. He's gradually building up the right muscles and is able to carry himself for longer periods before he needs to stretch.
It is hard work, but when he's listening and working we can have a lot more fun. If he's doing his giraffe impression then he's not going to be under control when we canter or when we go somewhere new. I've worked too hard on curbing the bogging off habit to get slack about it now! Knowing I have him concentrating on me and responding well gives me the confidence to go further or faster, or try out new routes, which is far more enjoyable for us both than pottering slowly round the same tracks, waiting for him to do his 'runaway train' impression.
 

lindsay1993

Well-Known Member
Joined
3 February 2016
Messages
241
Visit site
I do a little of both. Happy to go on a long rein if she's settled. If she's having an off day then I have no option but to do lots of leg-yielding, walk-trot transitions. This tends to settle her. I never had an arena or any idea what schooling even was growing up, so I just bumbled about the countryside for hours on end and my hunting ponies were fitter than most of the horses! My current horse was previously a dressage star and I've had to learn very quickly all about schooling and how to work her correctly.
 

NZJenny

Well-Known Member
Joined
9 August 2013
Messages
1,793
Visit site
As an ex endurance rider ..... I found it very difficult not to "train" when I retired and just go for a ride!

For nearly 20 years, I didn't "hack", I trained - which meant going out the gate and getting going. It has taken me several years to break the habit! However, I still hack on a lose rein (on the buckle mostly), I still do it bitless and leave the whip and spurs at home. I do still use it as means to increase the horses fitness but I like to let them stretch, relax and find their own rhythm and balance, which I find has lots of benefits when we get back in the arena.
 

Pearlsasinger

Up in the clouds
Joined
20 February 2009
Messages
48,402
Location
W. Yorks
Visit site
It is. So is to quote my instructor "riding on a sloping field instead of *******y slapping around in an arena". Bit rude but completely true!

Indeed! I sometimes (well quite often, really) think that horses were much better off in the" olden days" when artificial surfaces were unheard of!
 

Maesfen

Extremely Old Nag!
Joined
20 June 2005
Messages
16,720
Location
Wynnstay - the Best!
photobucket.com
Indeed! I sometimes (well quite often, really) think that horses were much better off in the" olden days" when artificial surfaces were unheard of!

Amen to that!

If you ride with purpose then your horse will soon be muscling up and working correctly without ar$$ing about schooling as you go. Take time to smell the coffee, relax, watch the wildlife, say hello to whoever you meet and generally have fun; that's what we have horses for isn't it? Don't make every time you ride a chore, take pleasure from it; you'll be surprised how much your horse will buck up too and enjoy the rides out, working without realizing it rather than the boring circles all the time.
 

milliepops

Wears headscarf aggressively
Joined
26 July 2008
Messages
27,531
Visit site
Mine are expected to march out with purpose, stand still when asked, and negotiate obstacles - other than that I don't do any actual 'schooling' on hacks, more like maintenance of a positive frame of mind ;)

TBF When Kira was first coming into work, I did find it beneficial to keep her on the bridle a bit more and doing lots of transitions, sideways etc just to stop her going back to napping and switching off. But it's long reins all the way now.

I'm almost always riding and leading these days and it's been really good for Kira to go out next to Millie day after day. Millie is a confident, curious and nosey horse and I want Kira to develop the same attitude. If I kept her on the bit and focussed on me, she wouldn't be getting the benefit of being in the great outdoors and encountering different sights and smells :)
 

dibbin

Well-Known Member
Joined
12 March 2010
Messages
3,701
Location
Ayrshire
Visit site
We don't have an arena, so I school while I'm out. Jazz also has the attention span of a mosquito, so giving him something to do keeps his focus and makes him less likely to spook for entertainment!
 

madlady

Well-Known Member
Joined
3 October 2006
Messages
1,654
Visit site
Parts of my hack can be on the buckle end but I still make sure that she is forwards at all times and tracking up - buckle end doesn't mean sloping along as if next week will do :)
 

Crackerz

Well-Known Member
Joined
29 August 2006
Messages
1,802
Location
Wiltshire
Visit site
first 5 or 10 mins are relaxing, stretching, then it's hard work, lateral movements, transitions etc, then a 10 mins relax when almost home.

I don't have a school so all my fittening work until paddocks are dry is done on the roads
 

Auslander

Well-Known Member
Joined
13 November 2010
Messages
12,762
Location
Berkshire
Visit site
Mostly on the buckle, but with purpose. I stay alert, as the horse has lightening reflexes, and is a levitation grand master. Once he's warmed up, we have little bursts of proper work - mostly direct transitions between shoulder-in, travers and renvers as he likes doing them, and they can be done in a straight line. He also likes to work on his piaffe, passage, capriole and courbette - but that's always his idea, not mine
 

Arniebear

Well-Known Member
Joined
24 January 2012
Messages
1,449
Visit site
I am a very lazy hacker and thus spend most of my time with only 1 hand on the rein!!! If the warmblood is d!cking around which he is known to do then when i get annoyed enough i make him take a outline and work properly. My reasoning is i like to have a bit of fun with my horses, yes they need to work correctly but then i dont want to always work myself so whats the harm in a chilled out hack inbetween schooling sessions :)
 

RunToEarth

Well-Known Member
Joined
30 November 2005
Messages
18,549
Location
Lincs
Visit site
You can't get a horse fit for hunting by schooling in an arena. I school out hacking if I need to, they work hard, I cant remember the last time I used an arena.
 

Llee94

Well-Known Member
Joined
1 October 2014
Messages
597
Location
Devon
Visit site
Hacking is down time for my horses (unless they are doing hill work) and is mostly on the buckle. I don't let them slob along though, they must be moving forward. I only school mine in the field/school.
 

DD

Well-Known Member
Joined
12 August 2015
Messages
2,306
Location
Albion
Visit site
hacking is the only riding I do nowadays. No competing no schooling as no facilities. I love it
 

MuddyMonster

Well-Known Member
Joined
22 September 2015
Messages
6,012
Visit site
A bit of both. Ideally, I like a long rein and my horse to be moving forward, without taking over.

However, needs must and all that. My horse has been described a bit of a character and is quite opinionated (he's a native, after all .. :D ) so sometimes I need to take more of a contact and get him thinking with me instead of along his own trouble making schemes, so will ask for a bit more extended or collected paces or some lateral work to keep him checked in with me.

I never, ever pick do more than walk on our way home though - he has a history of running off with people and although he's never done it with me, I do insist we stick to this one golden rule.
 

Antw23uk

Well-Known Member
Joined
3 October 2012
Messages
4,057
Location
Behind you
Visit site
Its great to hear so many of you mention the fact you don't have a school and are still cracking on. It's making me feel much more confident about having my own place (stables and paddocks) although im surrounded by horsey families and stables with schools so im sure if I wave money at someone they will let me use the school once a week! As to schooling whilst out hacking, I tend to be an on the buckle but no slacking happy hacker!
 

Llee94

Well-Known Member
Joined
1 October 2014
Messages
597
Location
Devon
Visit site
I have no school and I compete to 1* level and break in my own horses. A school would be nice but if I need one I hack to one locally or box up to one. I normally do all my schooling in the field when weather allows.
 
Top