How many people on here don't hack...?

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Superstar

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And what are your reasons not to...?

Through my horsey years I have always done a fair mixture of hacking, schooling, jumping, dressage etc.

But my most recent horse has a problem hacking....to start....

On his own he naps real bad, but in company he throws himself around so much he can fall over....this can be on the road bridle paths or round a farmers field...its getting silly....it makes no difference who is on board even professionals have the same problem with him....

He doesn't seem to have any regard for where his puts his feet/legs or that bothered if he does go down. Needless to say its very dangerous....he gets himself so wound up that he fly kicks, canters on the spot and leaps etc (even down hills :eek:). At first I thought it was high spirits, but now I am starting to wonder if its a confidence thing as he is doing it as another form of napping...? he seems to be so scared of losing the horse he is with that he panics and messes about even in walk.... he will do it if he goes out once a week or everyday..!!:rolleyes:

Fine in the school and jumping, but can be a tad napping when competing.....not the stopping going backwards sort....but backs off the leg a little, making me work harder to keep him going etc....

Anyway....anyone else have a horse that doesn't like hacking or that they don't hack as its safer not to is the horse that is happier that way...? in an ideal world i would but I can't risk him falling on me again.

Hot chocolate and buttons for those still reading.... :)
 
we dont hack :)

she lives on a main road and is an utter tool for spooking!! so we jsut dont! we mix up lunging/jumping/schooling and wrongly i do treat her when riding as it keeps her happy and i get brilliant results with her

i have tried going in-hand/long reining etc shes just stupid (jumps/spins and bolts) so in summer we got round the field (small field) and school

safety every time!!!!!
 
noodle_ said:
we dont hack :)

she lives on a main road and is an utter tool for spooking!! so we jsut dont! we mix up lunging/jumping/schooling and wrongly i do treat her when riding as it keeps her happy and i get brilliant results with her

i have tried going in-hand/long reining etc shes just stupid (jumps/spins and bolts) so in summer we got round the field (small field) and school

safety every time!!!!!
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Thank you for your comments.....it is an interesting topic - I think....and love to hear peoples experiences.....

I have almost been Institutionalised into thinking that we have to hack horses for their own well being.....

But what if they hate hacking or are so dangerous that it would be better for a horses 'well being' not to...??

I know this is a case by case thing, but when your trainers think its not safe then you have to have a rein check..?

thanks for your comments.... xx
 
I will be interested to see what others say about this. I make myself hack, my boy is absolutely fine out hacking and in the summer we can use the yards fields and go for a good 40 mins without turning back on yourself and I enjoy this, but in winter its just a fairly busy village and I hate it. I know my boy is good but you just cannot predict the traffic and he might just spook at the wrong time into a car.
Make myself do it occasionallly and am always just glad to get back, although I feel it is a risk I would rather not take but everyone always tells me my horse will go sour if just schooled.
 
I used to hack out anywhere and everywhere, there was no place safe from me! On my old horse I would just saddle up and we would go wherever, through housing estates, cane fields, creeks, along highways and train lines, he truly didn't care where we went, he loved exploring as much as me.

However, on my current boi, our version of hacking out is to saddle up and see if we make it through the front gate. Providing we do, we will walk until he can take no more - usually we go about 50-100m down the road and I will let him pick at grass until he decides it is a far too scary world and we must go home - straight home - IMMEDIATELY lmao :D

These rides generally take no more than 15 minutes but as any ride for me is few and far between I am quite happy to sit and watch the world go by for a short period of time!

For me it totally depends on the horse, the boi's paddock mate (and love of his life) is a little pony mare. I got bored one day and decided we would go for a ride. We did all the things I used to do on my old fellow. I would never dream of attempting it on the boi.

Superstar - missed your post. People tend to generalise horses too much, some horses simply cannot cope with what the world has to throw at them. My horse is only 11 yrs old and pretty well retired in terms of the work he gets yet he is a pretty happy chappy compared to some horses I know where the riders are specific about doing what they consider to be the right thing for the horse.

Swamp donkey - if you don't enjoy it that completely defeats the purpose of doing it!!! I know of quite a few horses whose owners rode them as show horses and also rode them out hacking to 'keep them fresh'. Both horses went sour, one needed 6 months off, the other one the owner stopped hacking and showing and jumped instead, no time off but a brand new attitude from the horse! Do what suits you.
 
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my horse does EXACTLY the same as yours. And I find it terrifying to be on board not because i'm likely to fall off but because he has every chance of falling over!! He tends to do it more when he gets to know the route so i'm thinking its a form of napping.

I have to admit that because of this I rarely hack (once every few weeks and only for max of 45 mins in walk only). Simply because I don't enjoy that! I enjoy schooling him, he enjoys being schooled, so that is what we do.

Just as a pointer- what I do when I do eventually hack out is just jump off when he's throwing a temper tantrum. This tends to disrupt the cycle, we continue walking for a bit until he's chilled out and then I get back on and continue. Controversial as some say he's 'winning' but I think he just gets into too much of a state and it doesn't mean he gets out of the work because we keep going the way we were going.

ultimately if you don't feel its safe and you don't enjoy it and the horse doesn't seem to enjoy it.....why do it? As long as its getting some form of exercise in the school then forget what other people say. Why not take a break of a few weeks and if you really really miss it give it another shot.
 
I dont hack at all my horse Moose hates it he will not even walk down the track to meet his mates he would rather stand at the top and wait for them. I have tired to hack him on company but it is far to dangerous as he is 17hh and almost put us both in a dyke. I hack around the house and around the yard but he is a complete spanner to ride outside the school so I just dont. I lunge jump and school him and he is very happy with that arrangement!!!
 
I hack but one of my horses doesn't. He hates it, rears, spins and naps a lot, hates going out in company and won't go out alone. He has never really done it so does not understand and now is just simply totally set against it. He has an excellent work ethic and never asks to stop when schooling, but no hacking.

Fany hacks and loves it but she hates schooling.
FDC
 
My mare doesn't hack on the road unless in company...she's a wilful madam and if she decides to have a tantrum doesn't really care if there is a lorry coming towards her. I'm lucky that I can tootle around the paddocks, up and down the bridleway that comes straigh off our yard ( only takes about 20 mins there and back and you have to turn round, but hey ho..) and if someone is hacking out on a sensible horse (pretty rare at our yard) I will go with them. I'm hoping to get my youngster so traffic proof (he's very calm in general) that he will be a good influence on her, but I wouldn't trust her to help him out if he was scared. Frustrating cos the mare is fabulous off-road, planning to win the lottery and buy a big estate with lots of hacking LOL!
 
I hack, I love it!!! My horse also events so it's incredibly important for him to hack. I'm not stupid out hacking, my horse is young and can be sharp so i'm sensible with what I do and where I go but he goes out at least twice a week without fail, in company or alone.
We do a lot of hill work up and down the steep lanes around me and we do canter work in the fields. Despite having an arena I also school in fields reguarly. Doing dressage on grass at events is very different to surfaced arenas so its good practice. Great for his balance as well :).
I wouldn't have a horse that couldn't/wouldn't hack, or I would train it to hack. Nothing nicer than a good hack I say!
 
Phil is stabled on a main road, near an industrial estate and a supermarket so we get lots of arctic lorries and skips etc, as well as construction vehicles as there is a construction site set just back off of the road! For this reason I hack him out at the weekends. He is foot perfect in most traffic but the big stuff just gets to him, and I don't see the point in risking his, mine or any member of the public's life when we can hack out safely at the weekend.
 
My boy is volitile, one day he's perfect and the next he'll nap and bolt for home, in the middle of the road oblivious to danger.

I don't hack him much, though once he is more refined in the school I will resume hacking again!
 
My pony will not be hacked on the roads. When it comes to the time, I will let him be ridden around the fields, but not the road. After our accident, I would never do it again!
 
I don't enjoy hacking, but I think that it's because we don't have off-road tracks, the lanes are very narrow with high hedges and skip lorrys have a regular route through the area. Combine that with a sugarbeet convoy and local shoot, schooling seems a doddle!!!
 
We don't hack much (even though I love hacking :()

This is purely because there is no hacking near me, unless we go out on to a main road, and with the way some people drive, it's just not worth it!! I'm not prepared to risk him or me, so occasionally, we pootle down our quiet lane to the end (until we get to the main road) and turn around again. It takes about 30-40 mins.

He seems a happy chap though. Loves to school and jump!! :D

Wish I could hack more though, I'd love a bridle path close by... Oh to dream!! :rolleyes:
 
Havn't gone hacking in years, it's just too dangerous (not the horses, they're good on the roads; it's the drivers!). Also boring, boring, boring, don't like wandering around in a disorganised manner. Why on earth would you hack a horse that is plainly either trrified of it, or so unenthusiastic it was prepared to fight you?
 
I find this very interesting as I have always and will always hack my horses out - christ we used to go off for hours when we were kids on our ponies, no mobile phones back then, just 10p in our pocket for the phone call to come pick us up when we got back! Lol

I also compete showjumping and eventing (low level) but I couldn't bear to only be able to ride my horse round an arena or round the same old field day in day out. We have a fair few decent hacks round us and some good galloping stretches although we do also have to hack on roads but, in the main, save for the odd kn*b driver, the roads aren't too bad and all our horses go out alone or in company without trouble.

I do wonder if it's a sign of the times and more and more yards being in busy areas where there's not the opportunity to hack out or maybe people who start the horse off just do not take them out on the roads or any hacks at all so it doesn't get any basic hacking ideas/etiquette! I think it's sooo important for ALL youngsters to get out hacking as soon as possible. I just think it's such a crucial part of their education.
 
I dont hack. I stopped hacking about 10 years ago after one too many incidents with project ponies out hacking. The last straw was a lovely little mare I was riding - bombproof as they come, a pheasant flew out from underneath her in the verge, she simply stepped sideaways but unfortunately that was off a huge drop with a rusty metal fence the other side. We landed sideways onto it in a heap, I managed to roll free but she got caught in the fence for a while until finally she got free. She ended up with a bleeding nose and a very large gash on her hind leg. The hind leg took months to heal as it was in a joint and couldn't be stitched. Never again, it was such a simple thing for her to do (she didnt even spook, just stepped over to avoid stepping on the pheasant!) but ended up horrid. I cant risk that anymore with my other horses, especially my competition horse who is worth a bit. I dont live on a busy road but its certainly busier and faster than it used to be when I used to plod about the roads as an 11yo on my first pony (on my own)! Would love to be able to hack though, but will only ever consider it if I have access to immediate off-road hacking (I am looking for a property such as this as we speak!).
 
We don't hack any more. Our yard is on a single track lane, with some passing places. We have had many incidents over the years, been up on top of the banks, OH getting swept off a young horse by a van, a car drove into my mare as she was backing away from a scaffolding lorry and she sat on the bonnet!:eek: For the last couple of years the lane has been a sat nav route between the 2 nearest towns, we get every type of lorry you could imagine, crazy.

We're hoping to move before we get too decrepit (sp) to ride! :o
 
life would not be worth living without hacking!!! i agree it can be dangerous but i just dont see the point in having a horse you just go around and around in a school with- wheres the fun in that? ive had lots of horses but they have to hack .x:D
 
Thank you for your updates and experiences....I had a quick scan and will go through them all later, although someone pointed out, why hack out my horse if he is clearly terrified and that is a very good point....i think he may well be!! This is the only time that I get any silly behaviour from him...and i did wonder if it was a front as underneath he lacks hacking confidence.

everyones views are different - You get some people saying - Operator error - its your fault or he will have to get on with it and get over himself, but what if he is genuinely terrified and i need to listen to him before he kills us both!!


He fell over on the road with me last week (thought it would be safer to hack him on a flat road then uneven farm land when he pratts about) luckily no cars involved and only bruises for us both but it really hit home that it could have been a lot worse!!.

Thanks XX
 
I can well understand the point of view of not hacking out a horse which is not safe in traffic as there is no point in hurting the horse or anybody else.

However, in many cases when bringing back a horse from an injury this may involve some weeks of gently hacking out the horse so a horse that does not hack may be more difficult to re-abilitate.

I also suspect that too many young horses these days are not given any training or exposure to the roads and this in itself causes the horse to have problems in it's future life when asked to hack out.
 
I don't hack alone as I'm worried, if I came off, I could be laying around somewhere and nobody would know where I was! Also, when I do hack (2 or 3 times a month), I only go with certain people.
Markie is fine with all traffic, not spooky at all, apart from cows! He would go through anything to get away from them. Luckily, 99% of the time, hacks can be arranged for cow free routes.
I have a friend who rides him out 3 or 4 times a week, doing exciting stuff like going over the downs and cantering in open spaces!
 
I'm very lucky, my boy is 150% spook proof. Quite happy to go wherever, up hills, down dales, up the duel carriageway and round the roundabout. Doesnt even care about airbrakes.

I couldnt have a horse that didnt hack!
 
This is very interesting, and I guess this is why I am finding it so hard to buy a horse that is a straight forward hack. We live on a BP, and over the years, less and less horses ride past our house. I think its very sad.
 
I can really really understand that some horses and riders should NOT hack out for thier safety, other peoples safety and for their peace of mind. If I had a horse that was that unhappy ( rather than just uneducated) it was napping / rearing and spooking ll the time then I doubt I would go out either.

I believe in doing with a horse what it is happy to do not making it do what I want it to do when it clearly is unhappy. I guess where there is a problem is if the horse gets bored / unhappy and unfit if there are no facilities to give a bit of variety / space and its the rider that is the one that is keeping the horse form doing something that is of benefit to it.

Where ever possible I think a horse should be educated to go out if there is a likelhood of it ever moving on to another home for whatever reason...... much improved "skill base".



Also boring, boring, boring, don't like wandering around in a disorganised manner
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you do have a low opinion of riders who hack cortez :mad: ;) ...... I do not do stressage / competitive stuff but I sure as heck can get lovely sidepass into small spaces, lateral work on the roads with soft flexions and do collection and extension if I want. We can chilll or we can work and definately not "disorganised! ;)
 
I like hacking, although I dio think the roads are getting so busy and dangerous, I can totally understand why people choose not to.
My old horse was dangerous to hack, really dangerous but was a dressage schoolmaster, I sold him to a non-hacking home a few years ago, he is still there and is happy not hacking.
 
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