How far do you hack?

blitznbobs

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Just wondering how far people like to hack if it’s a nice day or you box up to go for a hack? I wonder what the longest hho hack is?

If you could hack off road would you go further ?
 

JFTDWS

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I hack 3 most days so don't routinely do more than 12km / horse, and often less. Will happily do 20-25km if I'm just riding one. I have a lot of off road hacking where I currently am!

Dafthoss and I were once out for 9 hours in the snow :p
 

Jess+Murphy

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I only hack out as don't have a manège on the yard. On my 2 weekdays (I part loan), I will ride about 4 miles (some bridleways, some roads) and on my weekend day, I usually do at least ten miles, sometimes fifteen, depends how much time I have. This is usually quite slow due to being on the roads a lot. Again, this is a mix of road and off-road. If there was more off road, I would absolutely be out for longer.
 

ester

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I'd happily go out for most of the day when I had good off road hacking, though more frequently 3-4 hours.

I was the only person people checked with 'how far' before they suggested they join me and we did get lost in the dark once :p.

At 'Home' I'd do 3ish hours on occasion but that would be all roads so less inspiring.
 

Gloi

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These days I rarely ride more than about 12 miles or 3 hours or so as my joints get too stiff. I don't go fast, I like to look at wildlife. In my youth I'd ride all day, poor pony used to get hacked 12 miles to a show, do several classes and then ride home.
 
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Mule

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I spend the majority of my hacks in walk. I like strolling along and looking at things. My usual hack takes a couple of hours but as it's in walk it mightn't be that far.
 

rara007

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I find it pretty boring (and most days don’t have much time!) so do 3-9km in 35min-1hr in normal
Circumstances. 97% roadwork. 75% trot at about 14km/hr.
 

Mule

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I'm curious about this now. I think I'll measure the distance next time we're out.
 

Snowfilly

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I had one particular horse who lived for hacking and I was still in education so we had our summer holidays to hack out. We'd average 20 miles a day, our longest was approx 40 miles and took a long time! This was always with a lot of trotting and cantering involved, by early August he'd look like a racehorse and have quarters like rock.

I regard 4-5 miles as the minimum to count as a 'hack' as it never feels long enough to be a workout, and 12 miles was my weekend sweet spot with normal horses.

Mooching around the countryside is really the best thing about riding!
 

ycbm

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My normal exercise hack is 2.6 miles but includes several hills, one a one in five that is a real haul. I think it is the equivalent of at least fifty per cent more on the flat.

My standard leisure hacks are about an hour, but even more hills.

I used to enjoy longer hacks but these days I prefer to ride two horses for a shorter time.
 

teddypops

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I have 5 ponies to exercise everyday, so my hacks are usually only about 5-7 miles but my 28yo mare just loves hacking and some days we just keep going and can do up to 20 miles in a ride!
 

tda

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I've just started riding again after some time off, I've downloaded Endomondo to monitor miles and also joined Hack1000 miles.
My short route is 2.5 miles, next up is 4.5 miles, just building it up 😁
 

gryff

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Anything from a quick round the block of 4km to about 25km. All very hilly and a mixture of open hill, road and woodland tracks.
 

albeg

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Sometimes I box to a friend's, we have done anything from about 11 to 25km depending on where we've gone.

From my yard, I currently have 4 definite planned routes varying from the 5km mooch to the 24km for when we're both a bit fitter. I have my eye on something that's almost 36km, but I need to check part of it to make sure it is still a right of way as there are a few tracks around us that are now blocked off. Having said that, they are visible as complete tracks on the ViewRanger map, which has the ends of the blocked ones identified, so I'm probably ok.
 

Sussexbythesea

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I tend to measure in time rather than distance. Usually at weekend up about 1.5-2 hours but not at fast paces. Mainly walk some trot and canter when we find the ground good enough. I’d like to go a bit further now I’ve a younger horse but I need a suitable hacking companion as he and I are not confident yet on our own especially on less familiar routes.
 

Gift Horse

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I hack about 4 times a week.
The 6am before work routes I take are about 3 miles, when I have more time I go out for longer. it’s unusual for me to do more than 10miles at the moment.
 

JFTDWS

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How on earth do you manage that and hold down a full time job? I'm exhausted even thinking about it!

Self - employed - I set my own hours. If I'm short of time, I ride and lead (and lead, sometimes) and do them all in one lot.
 

AngelaWB

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I normally hack at weekends, around 1.5 to 2 hours on lanes up near the mountains where I live. The furthest I've ridden is 22 miles, mostly over moorland and stopping at a pub for lunch where the horse could graze, then returning over more moorlands, but that's only when my horse is fit.
 

Hack4fun

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Rarely less than 3 miles/1 hour. Anything up to 16 miles and 4 hours. It doesnt seem to tire my 20 year old horse who has got used to going out. The most in a month was 140 miles. My time, not horse fitness, is usually the limitation.
 

Keith_Beef

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Just wondering how far people like to hack if it’s a nice day or you box up to go for a hack? I wonder what the longest hho hack is?

If you could hack off road would you go further ?

I've not really thought about it in terms of distance. I don't hack out alone, it's always an outing organised either by my riding school or by Anna, a woman I know who has a business running this kind of thing.

From the school, we'll go out for an hour, sometimes instead of having an hour's lesson in the arena, or we'll go out as an extra activity for between an hour and two hours.

With Anna, we'll go out for a full day, for example to the Château de Saint-Germain-en-Laye; we feed, water and rest the horses for a couple of hours while we picnic there, then ride back. I just plotted the route roughly on Google maps, and it looks to be about 15km each way.

On a three day ride, down to Versailles and back, it's more or less the same rhythm, about 15km a day.

Almost all of this is on sandy trails through the forest. We have to cross a couple of roads, a bridge over a railway line. On the longer rides we have to go on tarmacked roads with traffic for a kilometre or so, and once we're in the grounds of Saint-Germain or Versailles we're on gravel paths. We are met at the gates and are followed by somebody on a bicycle who has a bin back and poop-rake to clean up... this is a requirement to get the permit to bring horses into the grounds.
 

Orchard14

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I hack about 4/5x per week, during the weekdays I just do a quick around the block which takes between 20-45 minutes and between 3-4 miles. On country lanes mostly with a bit of track bridleway so mostly walk, little bits of trot and many, many hills (we are very blessed with hills). I too do a lot of riding and leading, I have 4 horses so go out twice. My horses are all super speedy marching horses so cover quite a few miles in a short time which is handy when you have been working all day and just want to go home.

Weekends are a bit different and that's when the young horses get to live out in the field and I ride my main horse for an hour or two, then I take one weekend day off riding to do other things. I have recorded our rides a couple of times and we go up to 15 miles, lots of cantering and trotting through fields and woodland. I might hack to the local gallops and pay to have a spin. This particular horse is fit and would happily stay out all day long but I'm getting old and feeble now that I'm a quarter of a century old ;) so that's plenty for me.
 

Leo Walker

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I find it pretty boring (and most days don’t have much time!) so do 3-9km in 35min-1hr in normal
Circumstances. 97% roadwork. 75% trot at about 14km/hr.

Me too. I do it because its vital for keeping the pony fit, but ambling round the lanes bores me! We are doing about 5 miles at the minute, mostly in trot. I'm slowly increasing it and will be at the 10miles mostly trotting stage by the end of the month. We try and do 3 to 4 times a week but as the distances go up that will drop slightly
 

huskydamage

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My hacks are generally 2 to 4 hours. The longest distance I do is 30miles, anymore is way too long for me! I did one the other day where I spent 2.5hrs hacking to a venue, 2hrs at the venue and then 2.5hack home again. So spent mostly all day riding, i don't do those more than once or twice a month, horse never seems bothered but I find them pretty epic!
 

crazyandme

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I normally do anywhere between 15 and 25 miles. But then again I have a very fit endurance horse (who is now having to drop the levels as we've found arthritis in his front legs), and only work part time currently. Normally out for 2-4 hours depending on ground, road work and time. Plenty of good hacking locally, mostly quiet lanes and bridleways once I'm up into the Chilterns
 

Follysmum

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I see a few have said that they find hacking boring. A friend of mine said the same thing, she says it’s pointless.

I on the other hand think (personal opinion) that hacking in the woods, beach, tracks and open fields is what it’s all about and is the basis for all disciplines. I can’t think of anything more boring than going round an arena most days (for me or my horse)

Welcome to hear views
 

teddypops

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I see a few have said that they find hacking boring. A friend of mine said the same thing, she says it’s pointless.

I on the other hand think (personal opinion) that hacking in the woods, beach, tracks and open fields is what it’s all about and is the basis for all disciplines. I can’t think of anything more boring than going round an arena most days (for me or my horse)

Welcome to hear views
It must depend on the hacking you have available to you. I’m Scottish and kept my horses on a 25000 acre estate where you could ride for hours, it was never boring as you could go anywhere and gallop for miles and there always fallen trees to jump & rivers to cross. Now I live in England and I have to stick to bridleways and lanes it is a bit boring!
 

Follysmum

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I understand some people have rubbish hacking but I’m just generalising hacking as a whole. I have pretty good hacking but after years of the same rides I do find it gets a bit monotonous so I box to other places.

I suppose it’s horses for courses, and certainly riding on the roads these days is not like it was many years ago.
 
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