How important is hacking alone to you?

SarahThomas said:
Argh pressed reply before I'd finished, stupid phone. Yeh, so it's important because I have nobody to ride with since my dad had his hip op and I can't tow a box. So I just pootle about on Big Ears and we have a lovely time :) she actually prefers being on her own I think!
Click to expand...

I'm pretty convinced my girl prefers being on her own too, I love that I can sit there and just point her in the right direction and pootle off! She likes nothing more than a good gallop round the hayfields too, but tends to race other horses if in company unless she's in front!

The scary thing is, when I bought my other horse (the one that wouldn't hack alone) I then realised that I had forgotten how to ride because she is just so easy!
 
I'd love to be able to on our own! H was advertised as able to go on his own but (foolishly) didn't try him on his own. He was hacked over to the yard (they only lived up the road and it was snowy - didn't think the lorry would make it up the lane!) and the guy brought a friend with him then. Should have rung alarm bells, I suppose!

He is great in company and will be the escort for others, but I CANNOT get him out on his own. His very first attempt was not with me and he dumped his (very experienced) rider in next-door's garden!! (the only time he has ever dumped anyone!)

I have been working on it and can now come home, leaving his friend half way. He had started to be very reliant on one particular friend, so I have started going with anyone who'll have us!! He will take the lead now and even doesn't seem to mind leaving whoever it is a long way behind. It is the actual leaving the yard that seems to be the problem (maybe as we have to go through that 'evil' garden??)

However, I don't know that it is enough to have put me off buying him - he is practically perfect in every (other) way! ;)
 
It was the main reason that I brought my current horse, he will do everything without company, turnout, travelling, hacking etc. Previous girl was a nightmare, wouldn't even come onto the yard alone without making a fuss! Found it made everything far more stressful than it should have been and took most of the pleasure of hacking alone away. I've always been on quiet yards where I rarely have company, so it was a big issue for me.
 
Depends entirely on the horse. I have a mare who will be sold next year, she will be at the lower end of the market, sold as a hack/riding club horse, and yes, hacking out alone will be vital. On the other hand, if my dressage horse doesn't fancy hacking out alone, I really won't care. I understand that it adds value, but personally I'm not at all bothered either way - I only really hack out in company, and then only when I feel like I have to for the horse's sake.
 
It's important for me, I compete at trec as an individual, so pony needs to be able to leave a group, meet horses and leave them again without kicking up a fuss.

However, a year ago he didn't hack out alone, and six months before that he didn't like going in front, so I think with time, most can be taught. I did the same as Kat to get him out on his own, we hacked with a walker, then progressed to meeting them halfway, then we went out alone. He was noisy the first few times, squealing and neighing when he realised he was a good bit away from the yard, now he only calls out when he has to leave the others.
 
i love hacking on my own but do enjoy going out with others. i'm lucky in that all my 3 will hack out alone or in company, go in front, behind, middle and not get worked up if others do or if we go for a canter i know mine will stay calm, stop when asked and not try to 'race' the others.
 
I'm looking for a horse at the moment and it's the first question I ask. If it won't hack alone and pass farm vehicles quietly then there's no point asking anything else.

I don't have the luxury of a school, nor can I ride straight onto bridle paths and have to go out onto a country road which can sometimes be packed with tractors, buses, lorries, quad bikes, as well as the "normal" traffic you would expect to see.
 
My Po is better on his own, will go anywhere do almost anything, when it's just me and him we have a great time, but in mixed company he can be very different, and can be real hard work, we can get away with one friend depending on their horse's way of going.

Rode yesterday morning and this morning alone, lovely canters and small gallop, last week very different on the Halloween ride, too many other horse's and too much excitement, one badly behaved chestnut behind us really set him off, we were almost getting to the broncing stage, I wouldn't dare have tried to canter him, hunting is out of the question.


Some examples of us on our own going anywhere-

http://www.youtube.com/my_videos?feature=mhee
 
Miss Bean said:
extremely, think I would go mad if I couldn't just tack my horse up and go out when I felt like it. I wouldn't even entertain looking at a horse that wouldn't hack out on its own.
Click to expand...

Ditto hacking on our own is wind down time .....I couldn't cope if none of mine didn't as I work full time etc i couldn't be tied to riding with other people, I like to just tack up & go don't even plan the route just hack for hours aimlessly seeing new things all mine are good at this and i fully appreciate how lucky I am.......it's one of the things I personally couldn't compromise on ...
 
For those that say it depends on the horse's job, the thing to remember is what happens if the horse can no longer do its job. If it hacks sensibly alone or in company then it is far more likely to find a new job as a happy hack and therefore have a secure future.
 
I'm always alone with no other option so yes, I need one that will hack alone but it annoys me greatly that horses now are not taught from the start that they will be expected to go alone; it's such a basic requirement but I blame the emphasis now placed on being in a school and working in an outline before it is taught to hack sensibly, safely and alone. Hacking out seems to be the last thing on the mind when a horse is being broken now in spite of it being the greatest schooling ground possible. The excuse of busy roads should not have a detrimental effect to schooling on them.
 
It't vitally important to me. My last horse would hack alone or in company - never napped, but was spooky in a funny way - he would never ever do anything when there were cars around - it was like he had some sort of self-preservation instinct! I could tack up, head in any direction and know that I wouldn't have a problem.

My current TB mare used to be a gem hacking alone and I took her all over - then she started napping, rearing and spinning. We subsequently found out that she had navicular, spavin, PSLD and arthritis in one fetlock, so it could have been pain related - possibly in the front feet. But at this point she wasn't actually lame so it was assumed she was being naughty. I persevered but it went on and on and got worse until she frightened me so much that I didn't enjoy riding her. We then realised there were leg problems and she went to hospital where she was diagnosed with all the problems. After six months off I started bringing her into work with no shoes but because she had learned that rearing and spinning meant that I would get off and lead her, it continued. I have persevered again and I now can hack her alone - but only on two routes. Anything else I still have to do in company. She is getting better all the time and my confidence is improving slowly.
But if I were to buy another horse one of the first questions I would ask is "will it hack alone?" If the answer was "no" then I wouldn't take a further look at it. I don't care about blemishes, or whether it has ever been in a school, but I never want to have to deal with a serious nappy horse again.
 
it's the most important thing to me-no point in me having a horse that doesn't and it's a part of a horse's education (as is hacking in company!). But most people I know now don't hack or won't hack. I also agree that it can be a sign that something else could be missing in a horse's education-a bit like those horses who can't be left alone even for short periods of time, cope with small changes in routine etc.
 
Before the horse I have today I only ever had one horse that would hack alone and I never hacked alone because he wasn't very good with lorries and tractors. One of the horses I bought knowing he wouldn't hack alone but that was in the days before I had a child and had more time to fix it which I did. The horse I have now is jumpy alone on the roads but quite safe and will go where I tell him to albeit sometimes a bit faster than usual past scary objects but I don't think I help that but as we rarely do road work. It is useful being able to take him out alone on the rare days there is no one around to hack with but I could and have live without it. I guess if I ever had to move yards it would be even more important before I got to know anyone.
 
Maesfen said:
I'm always alone with no other option so yes, I need one that will hack alone but it annoys me greatly that horses now are not taught from the start that they will be expected to go alone; it's such a basic requirement but I blame the emphasis now placed on being in a school and working in an outline before it is taught to hack sensibly, safely and alone. Hacking out seems to be the last thing on the mind when a horse is being broken now in spite of it being the greatest schooling ground possible. The excuse of busy roads should not have a detrimental effect to schooling on them.
Click to expand...

Totally agree with you. I used to work on a hunting yard and we backed and rode away home-bred hunters. I didn't even think about it, but we backed them, and then we rode them away, on their own! Even the just broken ones were hacked alone straight off, not for long mind you, but to build up muscle. I broke my own horse years ago, and the day I backed her, I was leading her up the road (very quiet country track) on her own in a headcollar and leadrope. I got bored of walking, tied the rope round the headcollar, stood on a gate, slipped on her bareback and rode her home!

How very BHS of me!!
 
Last edited:
It is important but it hasn't been something I've asked about when buying horses, mainly because most of them haven't been backed very long and I've assumed I'd have to try hacking them myself and if it didn't turn out to be their forte i'd sell them, which I have done with some.

I'm careful where I'll hack my current horse on his own because he's not safe being passed by lorries yet and I don't want to spoil him or cause an accident. However he is naturally independent which was a big factor in choosing him in the first place and means that once he is established in traffic he should be a brilliant hack on his own, he's already brilliant off road. :)
 
Solo work is very important - I HAVE to ride out on my own 95% of the time so cannot be bothered with anything that faffs & wont go out the yard on its own or one that won't cope when out - particularly as I do not have an all weather arena, so its the corner of a paddock or out hacking only, unless I box out somewhere

Likewise, all mine HAVE to be equally as good in company too :)
 
for me it is important because i prefer to hack alone, i like going at my own pace. when i took on the big girl i was told she prefered company out hacking, i hacked her out alone and apart from being a bit looky,( a disadvantage of being 17hh is that she can see over hedges and see things that normal size horses can't lol:rolleyes: ) she was fine. take her out in company and she wants to hide at the back and is no where near as forward going!
The ginger one can hack around the farm alone but not on the roads, it's something we're working on;)
 
I love hacking on my own, in fact I prefer it to riding with others.

Up until Feb this year my old bag lived on her own so had no choice but to go it alone. Then I got a second horse and I normally ride 1 lead the other. The new one will happily goes on her own, but the old bag is nappy always has been. But i still make her go out on her own, have a few arguments when first leaving the field, have to just kick,kick,kick and when we are out of sight of the other horse she is fine. When i take the other off hunting the old girl has to just deal with it, simples!
 
I have just bought a young cob whose only good point was it's ability to pass traffic and be a hack. The advert actually said the horse will not go in the school.

I tried it on an A road, it had never been on that road before and as coaches and HGV's skimmed past the cob at 40mph I thought to myself, all the other issue's were of no real problem.

There is nothing nicer than an early morning hack on a safe horse, before going to work for the day. Three months have past since the cob came home and she is safe as houses, all her other problems have been sorted. All I need now is a kind winter to keep enjoying my hacking alone.
 
As I produce my horses myself and dont have hacking buddies where I livery, my young horses have to be very brave and hack out on their own from word go.
 
Very important to me. I like to go and mooch around alone, and there also aren't many liveries at the yard to go with.
That being said, I do enjoy my group hacking and can't wait to explore and visit the pub!

I'm not looking forward to teaching my youngster to hack alone next year though, he's quite attached to others and I can see us having some arguments! He'll have to get over it though, any horse I ride has to be able to hack alone.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Top