I HATE hacking

i too hate hacking- but i think its because of where i live mostly. i am terrified of cars (a result of actually being run over by one about 4/5 years ago- some silly cow tried to squeeze past me and horse spooked and ended up on her bonnet)- now i get scared anytime a car comes past- even if really slowly and on a country lane... main roads are a big no-no for me now when they used to not bother me... we have a couple of motorway bridges near us and all the kids on my farm laugh at me because i won't ride double file across them- i insist on inching across the middle in complete concentration and silence :rolleyes:
the only hacks that i like involve fields and cantering and jumping- so give me a good old farm ride anyday! i find walking along for hours just boring!
 
I 99% HATE hacking! My grey is an utter nightmare to hack anywhere (he struggles with walking back calmly from dressage arena to lorry!). He can just about manage it if he's doing a circular route but a go-out-and-turn back route is asking for trouble (I've had to be rescued several times as he's been too dangerous to ride back/handle).

My chestnut loves hacking as she's such a nosey horse so she loves going out and about seeing the world!
 
Bet that was damn scary that happening on a motorway bridge - I cant imagine hacking over one of those full stop!

I gave up hacking years ago, too many incidents with past ponies. One of my last horses (a dumb-blood) refused point blank to hack (would nap horrifically, which was a shame as he was actually totally bombproof and brilliant in traffic!). I had one bolt through a barbed wire fence with me, one dump me and gallop off up the road and the last thing which finished me off was a little sweetheart of an anglo arab I had, she was the best hacker I've ever had and I really enjoyed taking her out but a pheasant flew out right by her feet one day and she literally stepped sideways which unfortunately was off a huge vertical bank down into a field with a rusty barbed wire fence at the bottom - we fell off it landing in a heap at the bottom ON the fence. She thrashed around for a minute and ended up with a huge gaping wound on a hind leg which took months to heal and a very bloody nose. It scared me so much I have only hacked a handful of times since (in company). My quiet back roads are now just too dangerous nowadays :( To think I used to merrily hack for miles when I was 10 on my little pony all on my own...

I have to admit I do miss hacking though, schooling gets terribly boring for me and the horse. I actually envy those who do hack happily. So ridiculous, I'll gallop round a XC course no problem but hacking sends shivers down me! So I totally understand!
 
i can never get an outline from my horse out hacking:o he is too busy looking at things and being interested in his surroundings:D Tbh, we tend to be either slopping along on the buckle or tearing up the stubbled fields:cool: As soon as we go into my field and start going in circles though, he clicks in and goes "ahh, ok, work time"
 
I love hacking (tbh I am probably about 60% a happy hacker :D) but hate motorway bridges with an absolute passlon as I am frightened of heights :o We have a few bridges over the M50 around us and I cannot ride over them :o

However we did go for a lovely 8-miler today including an awesome straight blast down a sandy track alongside a wood :D Sometimes my ickle horse remembers he is a TB :D
 
I have no choice really, as don't have a school. Sometimes I find hacking boring, but I just change which route I go on and on most hacks will make an effort to do some schooling.

I get to talk to people, and I get to look through their windows when I walk past :D

Plus, you never know when they're might be a new stubble field around ;)
 
If you think motorway bridges are scarey then try a canal bridge! makes motorway bridges seem like a walk in the park!!!

having said that I think hacking and 'liking' is very much to do with the horse. Used to hate it but my 'new' one is so laid back it makes it a pleasure to enjoy the coutryside -even with the tractors/milk tankers ...
 
Eeek that would give me the gitters.
I grew up hacking on my 1st love and pony Tommy country roads most of the time riding bare back. He didnt mind anything. Fast cars or big lorries.
But recently since i have started riding again its changed for a couple of reasons.
My 1st horse went down on road and I was fine I evn hacked out alone on him after having him a few days and he didnt bat an eye.
Lost my nereve with my new boy after he ended up in opposite direction a few times. No drama but was a new experiance for me. Then his last owner was in a hit and run that nearly killed her whilst out a hack!
I have been out twice on him with yard manager and friend and he was very quite and laid back. Bit uncomfy of stupidly fast cars and big rumbly lorrys etc but a real sweetie.
I still hate it though. I have bought loads of high vis gear with flashing lights too. So i I gotta go hack now or I have wasted my dosh
Even in clear days folks it only gains us a 3 sec in visability. Sun popping behind clouds or riding under trees. Cars etc do NOT expect us And we have a responsability to make sure we are clearly seen.

Do I think they should be schooled durung hack. In part yes. To keep them alert and in control ie not focusing on there the next dragon may be :rolleyes: Whilst they enjoy a different environment and I think it can help in discipline and getting them used to responding in any environment to the best of their ability.
A horse should enjoy being ridden and can do so more the fitter and better they are doing. That is to say I dont think they mind working hard on a hack as opposed to in the school. We all know our babes and Im sure we can tell whats fun for them whilst still an enjoyable challenge
Happy hacking folks Il keep trying
 
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I love hacking and would quite happily spend all day riding along lanes and through fields rather than 40 minutes in the school.

I used to have to cross a bridge over the avon ring road which was fine on one of my ponies but on anything else was very scary, I'd hate to go over a motorway, esp 17.2hh up in the air with only 3ft sides, you're much braver than me!

Siennamum if you want to go off road hacking with Coco we should meet up. Lacey is a very good nanny for hacking. She is also very good at forward if that's what you want ;)
 
I have always LOVED hacking, although agree that sometimes it's just not safe. I have a bombproof horse but was involved in an accident a few years ago when someone 'wasn't looking' and drove straight in to us! Wrote the car off but luckily horse walked away with just a few scratches.. It took a little while for us both to get our confidence back after that.

Where I am living now the hacking is fabulous; just been out for over 2 hours and only met 2 sheep! Pics to make people jealous:
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I dont really ride any more but we have fantastic hacking around here, however i still ***** myself a little everytime my daughter takes her 17.1hh warmblood out for a hack. Its not the horse i worry will be a pillock, its the general public!
 
JustMe22 said:
Hahaha nobody in SA hacks ever, because we have crazy drivers who NEVER slow down, and..I don't know..just very very very few people hack. I find it quite boring too, the few times I've done it, I tend to find myself ambling along on a long rein doing nothing productive. OR, I find myself on a horse that's going sideways, upwards, backwards, spinning and freaking out in general.

So..I avoid it :P
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Similar to Canada. Most farms/barns/yards have some off road hacking around the property and there are people lucky enough to live next to forestry preserves or similar but we don't actually have much common land in the way there is here. Not to mention that horses don't figure AT ALL in the highway code so far as educating people etc so you're taking your life in your hands to go out on any sort of major road. (You think I joke but one of the Canadian event team that just went to the WEGs was struck and her horse killed riding down a relatively quiet dirt road near her farm.)

I don't mind it, I've had some horses that were great to hack and had real fun on them. I think it's something horses have to learn to do on some level to be good citizens but I know lots of top competition horses that do not seem to enjoy the experience at all and if it's not in their job description I don't see the reason to press the point.
 
Not a fan. Once in a very blue moon, say a lovely summer's evening after work, I will go out and de-stress and enjoy it, but that's probably 2-3 times a year at most. My horses all do hack out, they're all safe, I'm not scared and the traffic's fine but I just find it pretty dull.

I can nearly cope with 'exercising', which is probably more focussed than hacking - you're out there for a point, improving fitness etc. because the horse needs it, not because you want to. It's usually 40mins trot/canter work and I'll probably be riding and leading.

I've long-reined the 3yo round the village today, if you can call that a hack! He'll learn to go out and potter round the lanes as it's an important skill to learn, will make him independent and improve his 'world' education and he can't go in the school every time he leaves his box. He'll learn to do gates and to stop and stand whilst I chat to people.
 
I enjoy hacking if it's not all roadwork, and if it's not dangerous. In terms of the horse, if a hack is mainly roadwork/walking, I find it more interesting if the horse is more of a challenge to ride, but if it's a faster hack I love going on something that's sane and just lots of fun! Youngsters do need to learn that the world isn't scary, as it helps at comps etc too, and I like them to learn that they have to work and concentrate whatever is going on around them - but I'm reluctant to hack a youngster solo down main roads unless it's a complete saint. In company no probs, and I happily rode a sane one and led a spooky baby today round quieter roads. Hoping if I do enough of that, baby one will settle a little and realize that dustbins don't eat ponies!
 
I love hacking until last yr I was at a yard with a mile till you hit the bridleway the rd wasnt busy but it was just never ending! Now I have the whole of 10 m to get to the bridleways if I go one way, My mare so so scared of everything when I got her and I used to rub her hair out as she refused to hack nicely in company! Now she is a little star and I love taking her out exploring we did about 3 hrs the other week, and didnt see more than 2 cars!

It has really improved her dressage as she now trusts me! I can understand how annoying it can get if u dont have good off rd riding and a safeish horse, as much as I love competing if I couldnt hack Im not sure Id have a horse!
 
LEC - If I lived where you lived I too would hate hacking!

When I was a kid my mum watched the Exorcist, after she saw Damian make the horse rear up on the bridge and chuck the dad into the river we were banned from riding over bridges, we had to get off and lead them over.

Where I live now hacking is rubbish, but we do end up with bomb proof horses.
 
Another one who loves it but where pesky pony is stabled I have zero road work which is probably why! Not easy though as she'd a nappy little thing but I still enjoy it. Just a little taster:

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With the other ponies, they tend to go better when they're out and bar about 5 mins worth of roadwork, it's worth it for the other end of the Downs and endless paths :)

I use to absolutely loathe being the front escort for RS hacks though as the off-road rides weren't suitable (in terms of gallop tracks/logs) for the riders I was taking out. So road work used to not only bore me but having to do blind junctions with 5 kids behind you made it 100 x worse. So I can see both sides :)

I wouldn't want to do a motorway bridge at all, let alone on a 17.2 *shudder*
 
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roo2012 said:
I have always LOVED hacking, although agree that sometimes it's just not safe. I have a bombproof horse but was involved in an accident a few years ago when someone 'wasn't looking' and drove straight in to us! Wrote the car off but luckily horse walked away with just a few scratches.. It took a little while for us both to get our confidence back after that.

Where I am living now the hacking is fabulous; just been out for over 2 hours and only met 2 sheep! Pics to make people jealous:
DSCN3241.jpg

DSCN3246.jpg

DSCN3262.jpg

DSCN2942.jpg
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Aaah, you're near Bowhill then! Used to hack up there with OH when I had a sane connie x event horse! Stunning views from the top of the hill, aren't they?
 
Noodlejaffa said:
Aaah, you're near Bowhill then! Used to hack up there with OH when I had a sane connie x event horse! Stunning views from the top of the hill, aren't they?
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Yes, at Bowhill stables :)

Views were stunning though today was the first time I have seen them. Tried the Duchess Drive ride twice before - first time the mist came down half way up and then last week got caught out in horizontal snow!
 
MerryMAL said:
Sorry to hijack this thread, but there's not much point starting a new thread on nearly the same subject:

i believe that you shouldn't try to school or teach out hacking, as its the horses down time. Unless it was very young and you were doing more hacking than schooling, IMVVHO I just don't think it's fair on the horse to be concentrating all the time they're ridden... opinion anyone?
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I agree, I don't hack them in an outline, I like them happily in front of the leg but balancing themselves in front, I'll often have them going along totally off the bridle. I'll practice leg yielding on them, and maybe a bit of extended trot, and make sure the walk to canter transitions are sharp, but that's about it schooling-wise. I like them to chill out and take it all in (as long as they're not looking for dragons, in which case they get put to work!)
I can't stand people trying to make a horse go "on the bit" on tarmac - surely the horse will be concerned about slipping so won't step through properly, leading to bracing and a false outline? Onto a nice contact is one thing but in an outline is another imho.
 
LEC although the motorway bridges ARE scary around you, your hacking is actually rather good! I have spent 7 years hacking around the same farm, it is not a big farm, and it is deathly dull, but needs must and we are lucky we have private off road hacking. Go onto the B roads surrounding us and it is scary and there are absolutely NO bridleways around us either :(

I don't hack my horse alone, he hates it, it winds me up that he is such a git, and so we just don't do it...hacking him up to the school, all of 200 metres, is traumatic enough for him!

ETS: I loved hacking in Spain - I would go down to the beach or up into the mountains, the views were always amazing and there was seldom any road work :(
 
I love hacking on my HW cob as she is the safest horse ever, but forward going at the same time......................HOWEVER I hate it on my Welsh D as he can spook severely at the drop of a hat. So he now just hacks by being led off my cob............and he loves it :)
 
I absolutely love hacking my boy around our forests :D Our country rodes are relatively quiet and there is a motorway bridge nearby but we so far have not ventured over it.
 
I love hacking, I really like going for a nice gallop and it helps to get the pony fit too my favourite places atm are a nice long hill and woodland track area or taking them to the beach in the lorry the only problems I have are crossing the A66 (which I think I have perfected now :)) and making sure I can find my way as my map reading skills are pretty bad; I normally end up ringing my Mum half way :o!
 
I don't have a sandschool or anywhere to school, so HAVE to use hacks as a public schooling area! No choice, but I don't compete so not really a problem.

For the majority of the decent-ish hacks around here, you have to cross two A-road road-bridges, one on the way out and one on the way back. My animal has started a nasty little habit of waiting until he's about three-quarters of the way across, then starting to dance around and throwing in a bit of a buck. He's never done it before, up until about a month ago. I think maybe it started when we were crossing the bridge on the way home, and it was windy, and it was going through the metal grilles which are on the bridge, and it spooked him, coz it started then. Its not exactly the best of places to be having a problem up there, especially if some stupid git of a motorist decides at that moment that they can't possibly wait till you're over the bridge and goes past you!

So I've somehow got to get him over this problem: he seems to have lost his confidence about crossing road-bridges, such a pity as he was OK before. Blimmin horses!
 
I love hacking, but it does help that where I ride only has farm traffic and both Bronson and Wilby have been joys to hack. Bronson never napped - not once - and Wilby only tried it on once, got a yell and a kick and hasn't done it since - so what was this about hacking encouraging them to nap? Fair enough if you always hack in company, then they may not want to leave the others in a XC startbox, but I do think hacking can despook a horse a lot and teach them to go forwards and keep going :)
Also, because we have no school, I have to hack and pick a field to school in :p

Probably wouldn't fancy it so much if I had to go over the motorways though!
 
I mainly hack- downside of having no school or much turnout.

honestly, i do enjoy it 98% of the time- motorway bridges, A roads, railways, roundabouts, dual carriageways we do it all- adds to the fun surely :p you name it we've seen it (and waved and smiled at it)

i also have access to an estate (about 2 miles away) so i can canter for about 3 miles which helps, opposite direction to the above though.

fact is we can still show at county level, they are as well (if not more) schooled than the horses at local livery yards and they are also safe and sane "anyones rides"
 
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