I'm starting to dislike hacking!

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oldie48

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Our lanes are getting busier and busier, yesterday met a recovery vehicle on a narrow country lane with flashing lights and car on board who accelerated towards us when asked to slow down. Friend's horse took exception to newly arrived pigs and was close to taking off for home and although Mr B behaved very well, just lit up a bit, I find these incidents are chipping away at my confidence. I've solved the head waving and wanting to rush home that we had and he's a much nicer calmer ride but every time we go out there seems to be something! He's great in traffic, not spooky and very sensible and these issues should build my confidence because he copes well but at the moment they are not. I'm 68 later this year and I do feel a bit vulnerable do you think it would help if I bought an air jacket? Any other advice? I don't want to stop hacking him but currently I'm really only happy hacking out with one friend whom I trust, although she often is riding a youngster!
 
I stopped hacking 20 years ago, just not fun and steadily becoming more and more dangerous. The horses were all rock steady in traffic, no problems there, but the drivers on our supposedly quiet country lanes drive like lunatics. No point in subjecting ourselves and more importantly our horses to the danger. I ride in the fields, in the arena or out and about at various off-road venues, not on the road.
 
Me too sadly. Our lanes used to be so predictable, the locals going to work, foragers going between farms and the tanker. Everyone knew everyone and respect was was always there.

Now we are on a rat run despite many parts of the lane being single track. It is frightening and impossible to ride 7-9 and 5 to 7. There have been accidents, one a very nasty one with a tractor and commuter, yet the idiots still scream past and are totally stupid.
 
Part of me wants to give-up but the defiant part of me wants to stick two fingers up at modern traffic/road issues and carry on as if nothings changed... I totally get that it's dangerous. Nearly every week there's a post on fb that makes me shiver. I live on the outskirts of a city and our hacking is 50% suburbia and 50% nice bridleways.

We hack in pairs and quite often have to "pretend" we're riding loonatics - it certainly makes people stop! :D:D Not that I actually have to pretend, as I do actually ride a loon-ball. I quite like to scare people - makes it more fun.

We have a really nasty person who likes to take photos of the horses pooping and sending to council. All-sorts of signs have popped up "no-riding" etc... makes my blood boil over and steam comes out my ears so I deliberately carry on riding and spreading poo as far and wide as possible!!! Grrrr... making me cross just writing this... I might go for another hack later and do one outside Mr. DH's house.

Stay safe whatever you do, but my feelings towards hacking is "carry on - don't let the bustards take away our freedom".
 
tallyho! said:
Part of me wants to give-up but the defiant part of me wants to stick two fingers up at modern traffic/road issues and carry on as if nothings changed... I totally get that it's dangerous. Nearly every week there's a post on fb that makes me shiver. I live on the outskirts of a city and our hacking is 50% suburbia and 50% nice bridleways.

We hack in pairs and quite often have to "pretend" we're riding loonatics - it certainly makes people stop! :D:D Not that I actually have to pretend, as I do actually ride a loon-ball. I quite like to scare people - makes it more fun.

We have a really nasty person who likes to take photos of the horses pooping and sending to council. All-sorts of signs have popped up "no-riding" etc... makes my blood boil over and steam comes out my ears so I deliberately carry on riding and spreading poo as far and wide as possible!!! Grrrr... making me cross just writing this... I might go for another hack later and do one outside Mr. DH's house.

Stay safe whatever you do, but my feelings towards hacking is "carry on - don't let the bustards take away our freedom".
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I agree entirely with this- I refuse to be driven off the roads by cars, although I appreciate who will come off worse. Our lanes are narrow and people drive at the maximum speed limit, no notice of the "due care and attention" law. I tend to ride towards the middle of the road, not tucked in on the verge, and have a hi-viz coat etc on (not a sheet as I find it flaps around too much when cantering/jumping).
I did actually have an accident with a lorry years ago, I was riding past a public school and 3 lads came out and up behind on scooters and my horse jumped about, leaving a gap to the inside, which they shot through, sending my horse into an oncoming lorry. I jumped, was ok and luckily the horse was just grazed and fine after a couple of months off. The poor lorry driver was in an awful state, and it wasnt his fault at all. But that did make me nervous for a while.
Dont let them drive us off the roads, the more of us that hack out, the more drivers will expect to see horses on the road. If people stop hacking, the drivers will look out for us even less.
 
Sorry, I just don't get this attitude. Reality is that cars dominate our roads by a factor of millions to one, it's completely unrealistic to expect drivers to creep around just in case they may meet a horse. The modern moterist is not going to know how horses may react. Riding horses is dangerous enough without having to take your life in your hands due to external factors. I'm pretty plucky, but you couldn't pay me enough to ride on our roads.
 
Sunday mornings used to be the time I'd ride on the roads but now massive trucks are out 24/7 now so I just don't. My horse isn't good with big vehicles and I don't want to put anyone at risk.
 
I used to love hacking and would happily go out for hours at a time either on my own or in company but I basically stopped hacking a few years ago as I began to feel that it was just a nasty accident waiting to happen and I wasn't prepared for it to be either me or my horse.

There is actually some very nice hacking around me but I have to go a mile up a country lane to get to it. Unfortunately the lane is wide enough for two cars to pass and it runs parallel to the A road which has a 40 mph restriction on it. Guess which road the motorists prefer - yep the one without the speed limit. I do hack the horses around the fields at home just to give them a change of scene but with only 17 acres it doesn't take long!
 
It's an attitude that we have had to adopt or become prisoners in our own yards. I don't think it's a tall order at all to ask motorists to creep around in a 20mph zone with two schools or indeed in a NSL lane with blind bends every few yards. Four people have died on our 20mph zone this year alone so those millions of drivers need to learn to creep around a bit more!

You may be plucky Cortez and I couldn't do half the things you do, but perhaps not as plucky as us city riders :D:D if we didn't ride around here, we wouldn't ride at all as to get to the bridleways, you have to ride up the main road. I may as well just sell the horses and take up cycling with the rest of the Wiggins'-Wannbe's - who in fact are doing us riders a huge favour!
 
Cortez said:
Sorry, I just don't get this attitude. Reality is that cars dominate our roads by a factor of millions to one, it's completely unrealistic to expect drivers to creep around just in case they may meet a horse. enough without having to take your life in your hands due to external factors. I'm pretty plucky, .
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I dont expect drivers to 'creep around' but the law actually states they should drive with due care and attention, it may not be a horse they meet, it could be a person cycling, or a pedestrian, or there might be a slow-moving farm vehicle around the blind bend. I am sure you are meant to drive at a speed drive at a speed where you can stop in time should something unexpected occur.
I dont expect them to stop, or slow down unrealistically, but I do expect them to be courteous and polite.
 
stormox said:
I dont expect drivers to 'creep around' but the law actually states they should drive with due care and attention, it may not be a horse they meet, it could be a person cycling, or a pedestrian, or there might be a slow-moving farm vehicle around the blind bend. I am sure you are meant to drive at a speed drive at a speed where you can stop in time should something unexpected occur.
I dont expect them to stop, or slow down unrealistically, but I do expect them to be courteous and polite.
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Totally agree.
 
Unfortunately I'm heading down that path too which is a real shame. I love hacking but cannot get to any off road areas without riding on a 60mph road. Generally a lot of cars and traffic are respectful but lately theres been a huge increase of boy racers tearing down the roads round here. My mare is a nappy b*gger this time of year and id hate for her to spin round into the path of a car going that fast... Really desperate for my arena to be built.
 
I live on a busy A road but must say a majority of people do slow down and pass wide and slow for me. I do now go out dressed like a christmas tree though, all flashing lights and full on hi viz so they can't really miss me. Most of the lanes are very quiet around me so it isn't too bad at the moment but you do get the odd nutter. There is only one guy locally who I have had a real run in with about his driving at 60mph through the lanes and funnily enough every time I see him he now slows right down.
We have very limited off road hacking around me and the land we own/rent only amounts to about 10 acres so not enough to 'hack' around without just going round and round in circles.
 
Me too. I enjoy it once we are safely back home.

I think mine is down to having the luxury of being on a yard with fab off road hacking for about 10 years so road riding is quite new to me.

Just looking to buy a lorry so I can box to off road hacking as well as getting back out competing
 
I hack but luckily I can get out without having to go on a road at all, the lane I live on is very narrow and although I don't expect drivers to crawl along I really think any speed above 30 is very dangerous as in parts you won't fit 2 cars either side, yet I regularly see cars doing 40 or more I heard one yesterday coming along and then I heard him skid to a halt as another car was coming the other way, and what also makes it worse is the road has a lot of gravel on the surface so braking at speed will cause you to skid on the road. This is the reason I will avoid riding along it if I can it's just not worth the risk.
 
Our yard is on a narrow, twisty B road and we have become a rat run joining 2 fairly large towns. Between 7 and 9am and again from 4 till about 630pm its just not a risk worth taking. Even during weekdays and weekend mornings you need to be very aware of whats going on and when you take into account other risk factors like low sun your opportunity to ride out is very restricted. We have lovely bridleways within half a mile of the yard but the road to get there is awful!! Im very lucky in that I have a small lorry so I can box up and drive somewhere a bit safer, sometimes it takes me longer to boot him up to travel than it does to get somewhere, ridiculous but at certain times, so much safer. Im very confident at controlling traffic, asking them very firmly to stop or slow down but you do get those drivers who either dont understand or dont care and completely ignore me. A couple of years ago I managed to get our local council to erect "Warning horses" signs about half a mile either side of the yard, they have little effect but my reasoning is that if an accident were to happen, you would have a little more weight to the "driving without due care and attention" argument.
 
We ride on the roads regularly, a mixture of busy village and quiet lanes - no A roads, thank goodness.

I don't mind HGV's/bin lorries/shoots/traction engines and cycle races. I love to have a bit of colour out on our hacks, and the horses like it too! Everything new is a training opportunity, and it's rare I find something they react to these days.

There will always be the odd car that drives dangerously. We ride defensively by:

- Riding in the middle of the lane on approach to blind bends, to prevent 'courageous' overtaking.
- Kicking on once on the blind side of said bend (although having built up the queue behind you on the approach helps a bit!)
- Taking up the road and/or 'bigging up' the horse to slow nonchalant traffic (such as those on single track lanes who think they can nip past you at 30mph with a 1' gap)
- Rattling a schooling whip down the side of any vehicle who passes close enough without good reason. If I can do this by simply rotating my wrist, it's a helpful 'advisory' to the driver. :)

The only serious near miss I have had was one of the local school buses, so I feel blaming 'boy racers', at least in my neck of the woods, is very unfair. Actually it's more often middle aged women who feel that their need to get to their hair appointment is more important than a child's life.
 
Everyone knows my hacking views, but either people are getting worse or I am just noticing it more, hence the Go Pro for on the road, and switched on when required if I see any "possible" situations arising coming towards me.

I think peoples driving has got worse and their attitude, so many not indicating for starters, then phones and texting, driving up your arse when your doing the speed limit, list goes on, poor state of society, rubbish thrown out of car windows, people think they can park anywhere they like and clear off for hours, farmers gates/field entrances being one. Basically we live in a NOA.

Lets face it, unless we all re name our horse's "cyclist" we can rule out any real backup from the law.
 
If I ever get another horse, I plan to specifically look for a yard with direct access to off-road hacking.

Some of the liveries on my yard are going out in the dark too and I can't help but think that OK they're lit up like Christmas trees but there are hedges and bends and narrow roads all around us. I would never say anything as it's not my place, but I do worry about them.
 
I have lost a lot of confidence hacking out due to traffic. Our lanes used to be wonderful but these days frankly it isn't worth the stress. A great shame.
 
This is the very reason I'm not replacing my last horse. I used to happily hack over twenty miles a day, including some busy roads along with country lanes and off road.

By last year I. Was definitely not as confident on the road, not to do with my mare, as she was totally unfazed by traffic, but the terrible attitude of drivers, some cyclists and on the odd occasion the rogue quad bike or dog walker. I couldn't just pick my tack up and amble out without a load of planning to try to pick the quietest route.

Everywhere is getting busier and busier, and unless I move to where I can hack for miles from my doorstep then I think I'll be remaining horseless.

I was inwardlycringing at the weekend when I saw two adults out with small children on ponies on a road that's notorious for speeding drivers and where I know a couple of horses have been killed.

I'm just not brave enough anymore.
 
It's not just in the UK things have gone sharply downhill. Things are pretty awful here too. Almost everybody speeds as a rule, they take the most stupid risks rather than slow down a couple of notches, they're on their phones, and they just don't care. Conversely traffic accidents are reducing all the time which is hailed as a great success, but they aren't making the connection that cyclists and pedestrians and everyone else are simply being chased off the roads.

I hack and some of it inevitably involves some roadwork to get to the interesting spots. I'm extremely lucky in that I can avoid roads if I must, but that's all about to change when we move yards soon. I won't be hacking as much after that and eventually I may give it up completely in favour of boxing out to places.
 
Thank you to everyone that has replied. I was feeling really wimpy and cross with myself. It used to be quite quiet here but I'm afraid satnav has opened up our lanes as rat runs and the increase in internet shopping especially for food, means we run the gamut of drivers on a busy schedule. I think I'm going to buy an air jacket as I am definitely worried about hitting the road from the top of my 16.2. I do have access to some lovely hacking which is quite near but I'd need to box and as I hate hacking on my own, would need to find a friend with sufficient time and a sensible horse to hack with. For those who still hack, Keep safe!
 
Air jacket is a good idea OP. Make sure you are trussed up like a xmas tree x bertie bassett for good measure. I really like the flashing lights idea...

... any one know where I can get a siren?

ETA... I've just remembered someone at another yard hacks with indian dancing bells on her horses fetlocks! OMG... I don't know why this never occurred to me but she is the White Lady Upon A White Horse :D:D:D
 
I could be wrong (relying on a very fuzzy memory) but I'm sure, many years ago, near where I lived all the local riders staged a protest and had what i think they called a 'go slow' or something like that, where hundreds of riders all rode a few miles down a main road to cause disruption to drivers. It was all well advertised, had press coverage and I believe police were there too. The aim was to make a point to the drivers to respect horse riders. As far as i know it was a success. I'm surprised more areas don't hold these go slows to raise awareness of horses on the road.
 
The danger with a go slow campaign is that it could have the opposite effect, instead of realising that they should pass horses carefully I can imagine it would just aggravate drivers. Especially if they are working to a deadline and held up by a group of leisure riders. I'm not condoning bad driving, but I do think a go slow would be counted productive.

Education has to be key, and harsher penalties for negligent driving, but I can't see that being high on the list of priorities with all the cost cutting going on.
 
Interestingly we find that if we take Sisters Draught mare out (who is rock like in just about all situations) all vehicles, particularly cars, give us a massive amount of space, they will however nearly take my leg off when I'm on the lighter built, much spookier Appy! The Appy is great with vehicles, not so good with odd flowers, etc. etc. and much more likely to end up denting their car than the draught mare.
 
While I respect people's decisions and understand some areas are bad I still happily hack. Yes you get a few but they are a few. Maybe I'm lucky where I am. I do not feel unsafe the majority of the time. I do not have a school, could not afford to put one in and would die of bordem in it , if I did and could get a school. I have found that some of the people I ride with seem to expect a lot from the genral public. Dogs not to bark, people not to mow their lawns and things to be completely horse friendly. I recently started riding with a friend who at first wanted everything prefect when she rode. Now with more confidence she is more relaxed, as is her horse , now she is getting used to stuff. I am getting a go pro but more to film my rides then to film cars. I do feel sad that people are now afraid to go out on their horses and that others seem to feel that's ok because it's the modern world. It's not ok.
 
I used to ride my horses up a tiny country lane. Narrow, very bendy and on a steep hill. It used to be used by locals and farm traffic, most of whom respected it for what it was - a tiny lane to be respected.

Ever since our local airport expanded, it has been used as a rat run by taxis, convoys of rental cars being raced up like rally cars and, worst of all, people from out of the area, often lost and usually running late for their flights, so driving in a blind panic.

I don't ride that lane any more.
 
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