is it asking for trouble hacking out for first time in 6 months on my own?

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clairefeekerry1

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my horse has had nearly 6 months off due to injury. he is due to be brought back into work 2 weeks time. cant lunge him so apart from some long reining i'll just be getting straight on for a few weeks of quiet (hopefully) walking out. is it silly that i am thinking of going on my own? he is quite sensible and was very used to hacking out for hours on his own tho he is quite young. i just feel if i go with another livery might get him too excited. plus all the other liveries horses are quite new so he has never hacked out with them before. my yard think i'm mad to get on and go on my own but i think it will just keep things nice and calm! what do you think?
 
I say go for it. You say he hacked out well before, and will have been walking out anyway, so if you take the attitude that you're just going for a little calm hack, he will prob be fine. He is bound to be excited but you can always go home or jump off if things get too hairy. Don't worry about what other people say! you know your horse best.
 
if he's used to it and you think he'd be excited with other horses, then I don't see why it should be a huge problem. Though perhaps someone could walk out with you (on foot!)?
 
Why cant you lunge him?

If it were me, I would want to lunge first before getting on, just to make sure that when he goes into a trot or faster he doesnt have a bucking fit as the saddle/girth squeezes him in the middle. Better to be already on the ground if that happens.

Other than that I would quite happily get on, but have a safety back up plan, telling someone where you are going, mobile etc, and be prepared to get off and lead if things get hairy
 
I took mine out on his first solo hack in 6 mths recently. I took him out in company with one very sensible horse and just did a walk ride prior to that though. The next time I rode out alone and did a normal ride on a different route. If you can go offroad preferably somewhere quiet and enclosed for your first time then I would say go for it but I don't think I would chance going out on a relatively young horse alone that had been off work completely for 6mths on a road.
 
I'm in a similar position to you - or at least I will be in a few weeks. Haven't ridden my mare since June due to illness and then another injury. She is on the huge walker twice a day at the moment, but then I'll have to just get on with it. And she isn't great hacking out either. But as hardly anyone on my yard hacks out I've just got to get on with it. Sometimes it's better to just get on and go rather than worry about what "might" happen. Something "might" happen every time you hack out, but if you thought about it too much you'd never do it. I have to say, I will have hard had, body protector and lots of reflective stuff on though! Good luck!
 
Has he been in box rest or field rest? If it's box rest I would be very careful and even get some sedative from the vet.

Can you ride him somewhere safe like a school first, even if you do 10 boring minutes of walking around just to check what mood he is in? Are your hacks off road? I'd be more cautious on a road just because of the greater potential of an accident with a car.

If you think another horse would upset him can you get a friend to cycle or walk with you for the first few times just to make sure you are safe? (be careful he may well be fine for the first time or two and then get more excited).
 
all my hacking is off road, based on an estate, although its all mainly fields (not sure this will help!!) i will be limited where i can go as he'll have to start off with short hacks. cant lunge him as that may cause a problem with his injury, have to start off slowly in walk and in straight lines on hard ground. he is a pretty sensible chap most of the time and normally if he's going to play up its in company. i prefer hacking on my own so he is used to it. he's been on field rest (stabled at night though) so he's been turned out for 10 hours every day after his box rest finished in December. my only two possible hacking out companions will be an x racer who rarely hacks out and a cob that is prone to tanking off!!!
 
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