'Just' a happy hacker??

It amazes me some of the people who look down their noses at those described as happy hackers. The fact that they couldn't do it because their horse isn't well mannered enough and they aren't fit enough often makes me smile. Someone once said to me that doing endurance is just happy hacking. They said the horses who hack weren't schooled enough. They never did hack out with me, mainly because they couldn't get their bad mannered yak down the drive. I don't ever dismiss what someone does with their own horse but I do expect the same in return. For me I horse I can take anywhere is going to give me a far nicer ride and is more likely to do well competing than one that never leaves the arena.
 
Two of mine are field ornaments and one off work currently. They still get regular dentist/chiro/farrier and have decent rugs etc. They aren't any less deserving because they don't win me rosettes. I'm happy to do my best for them knowing that they are the happiest and healthiest they can be. Enjoy your horse, there's no such th f as 'just' a happy hacker. It's a descipline that not many are good at.
 
Yep but some of those people that compete can't even hack their horses out coz they are too spooky, so how dare they say "just a happy hacker" horses experience so much more going out and about.
 
my loan horse is treated as well as any competition horse, whatever she needs, she gets....i am sure us happy hackers can take a pride in turning a horse out to a high standard and making sure they get all of the necessary supplements etc that they need. my old cushings mare was not ridden for the last 6 months of her life but her care stayed exactly the same ...surely, for alot of us the looking after is part of the joy of owning a horse...if people think they should only be looked after if they are competing i am afraid they are not true horseman or women!!!
 
As above - hackers have to deal with so much more. Some of the most dismissive people are that way cause they're scared to go out. Once recent hack started with a tractor cutting hedges, followed by a bus opposite a construction site, followed by another bus, then a bin lorry and then an artic lorry. All of which were passed with only a slight increase in tension. This is why a good hacking horse is worth their weight in gold. To be able to safely negoiate all of those you need a horse who listens to seat, hands and leg - have the ability to push forward as needed, hold in as needed and go sideways as needed :-)
 
mynutmeg said:
As above - hackers have to deal with so much more. Some of the most dismissive people are that way cause they're scared to go out. Once recent hack started with a tractor cutting hedges, followed by a bus opposite a construction site, followed by another bus, then a bin lorry and then an artic lorry. All of which were passed with only a slight increase in tension. This is why a good hacking horse is worth their weight in gold. To be able to safely negoiate all of those you need a horse who listens to seat, hands and leg - have the ability to push forward as needed, hold in as needed and go sideways as needed :-)
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This^^^^ I will never forget a number of rides I had on a huge borrowed four year old Clydesdale cross - he had never seen road work or anything outside the yard really, yet he walked on, and when we saw something that he had not encountered before - a caravan, road works, dustbin men, Harley Davidsons - he quite clearly paused, looked, and then waited for the reassurance of leg and voice which he used to get him past whatever it was. Once past, he was calm yet alert and interested in his surroundings. He went on to make an amazing gentleman's hunter and hack.
 
jojo5 said:
This^^^^ I will never forget a number of rides I had on a huge borrowed four year old Clydesdale cross - he had never seen road work or anything outside the yard really, yet he walked on, and when we saw something that he had not encountered before - a caravan, road works, dustbin men, Harley Davidsons - he quite clearly paused, looked, and then waited for the reassurance of leg and voice which he used to get him past whatever it was. Once past, he was calm yet alert and interested in his surroundings. He went on to make an amazing gentleman's hunter and hack.
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sounds brilliant - it always amazes me the number of people who can't get their horse to walk past something. I've recently started doing some low level endurance when I can scrounge a lift and one ride recently they had removed a hedge section to make access on the route and several people couldn't get the horse through. Roo looked at it but went forward when reassured and asked......having said that she was a madam to canter today :D apparently it was all too exciting
 
*smiles*

I've lost count of the number of horse owners who can't/won't hack out their horse because ... usually 'qualified' by something that suggests they are 'beyond hacking', ability-wise somehow. It's just so much BS. :)

Go back not too many years and the majority of horses and ponies had to get you from A to B to do 'stuff'. Visiting, shopping, going to work etc. They were your power and your transport.

Can you imagine saying today that you need to go to Tesco, but your car is only manufactured for Grand Prix and therefore refuses to cross the traffic lights by Lidl, stalling every time? I suspect you'd shoot the car before too long.

There are some horse who have now been so highly bred that temperament-wise, they may win rosettes but are too brain-fried to go sensibly from A to B, but I strongly suspect they are in the minority. And it's not the horse's fault. Yes, hacking out is scary - much more so than when I was a kid. There are too many fast cars on minor roads, with too many people at the wheel who have a sense of entitlement and no knowledge of how to pass horses or walkers or cyclists on the road.

BUT. I'd much rather riders admit they are worried about hacking out (totally understandably) than default to an inbuilt superiority complex ;)

In summary OP, you just carry right on with looking after your horse as you do. i.e. properly.
 
DabDab said:
Of course it's an ignorant attitude....most horses that people do a bit of competing on arent competition horses, but they still want the best for them.

My horses are just glorified, expensive pets, as are many people's, but it doesn't stop me wanting the best for them. Enjoy your hacking
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This, absolutely.

I mainly hack with my horse but do a few low-key dressage competitions but first and foremost, he's my friend and pet.

His physical, mental and emotional happiness will always be the most important thing for me.
 
My horse and I mainly hack, the odd lesson or clinic but nothing really in the way of 'competitive riding'. Our yard is literally a stones throw from a big 70 horse plus yard where everyone competes. I never see any of them out riding as 'the roads are too busy' or 'he's not great in open spaces' or 'she can't handle being ridden in a group'

'Happy hackers' are horses hat I believe are the happiest, they learn to trust their riders in various situations, tackle gates, logs, ditches, pedestrians, buggies, dogs, horses in the distance, and a while host of other things that are 'scary'.

My horse may not be going out every weekend coming home with rosettes, but I trust him, he trusts me, and 99.9% of the time given a situation he is nervous about will look to me to guide him through it. That means more to me than a rosette so happy hacker I am proud to be.

I do admire people that can jump 3ft, ride a dressage test beautifully or hate round a XC course at warp speed as there is a lot of skill involved, however should this be deemed more respect worthy than a horse happy to go anywhere/do anything and enjoy it? I think not

Tell them to jog on :)
 
It's people like that who end up on the front pages of the news having been done for animal abuse because they value animals by what they can do for them not what their obligation is to the animal.
 
My ultimate aim is to get my boy to be a happy hacker! I have no desire to compete at all but I would love to be able to mooch around the countryside with him - all relaxed and enjoying ourselves.
 
What nonsense! My horse is retired and still gets supplements and regular physio etc to make sure he's as comfortable and happy as possible.

Other horse is hopefully going to be a "proper" competition horse one day but he still hacks and to be honest it is ridiculous how much work goes into making a calm, polite hacking horse - we definitely are nowhere near it yet!
 
Happy hacker = Urban Cross Country ��. I'm a happy hacker any day of the week, over a 'Merry go round rider' (circle after circle in the school). ��.

Keep going x
 
in my ever so humble opinion All horses should be happy hackers before the ever set foot in a school or competition. It refreshes their minds, relaxes them and improves their reaction to things but as I said many times I think it is the duty of every owner of a young horse to make that horse suitable for as wide a range of activities they can in the unfortunate event of the owner having to part with it, a well rounded content individual is far easier to rehome than a wild eyed monster who freaks out if anything new happens to it.
should probably add that sometimes the happy hacking has to be done away from home with the current state of affairs on roads but it should be incorporated in every horses initial training where possible
 
Looking at it from another point of view, a few weeks ago I started teaching a lovely lady - she'd been hovering around the school while I taught some others and finally gathered up the confidence to ask for a lesson. When she got on, she said to me "I don't really know what I want to acheive, I'm just a happy hacker"

Firstly I said to her there's no "just" about it... and that her horse requires a lot of confidence as a herd animal to go out without his friends, not to mention all the scary things he comes across whilst out. I said to her do you ever have to move him sideways to do a gate or get around an obstacle? Go backwards? She said yes to all these things. So in our lesson we worked on some really basic things to help her and him balance, and finished with some very basic turn on the forehand, rein back etc to help her out hacking. Also that there's no reason she can't do a little schooling out in the fields and on bridleways if she wishes, it doesn't have to be in the arena where the other liveries can "see" her which is what she worried about.

I taught her weekly for a couple of weeks and they improved very quickly, she's much more balanced when going for a canter and is getting braver, and she's also now decided to enter her first dressage test "in public" as she calls it, and she's proud to be a happy hacker :)
 
Lollydog said:
So I've posted a few times about some baby issues with my young horse.

I, obviously, want to do what's best for him, give him the best food & best tack I can afford, making sure his back ect are good.

But today I got told to 'calm it all down, your just happy hackers' and I'm worrying way too much about something that doesn't compete!!

I'm a fully grown nearly 40 yr old woman, and i was gobsmacked!

So just because I'm not competitive I can't do the best for my horse?! Yes maybe next year we'll do some fun rides but for now we are happy.

Please tell me this a ignorant attitude!
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I totally understand; hacking is my discipline and I have chosen not to compete. I am a bold competent rider on a well equipped horse having a brilliant relaxing time; no stress, no politics, no bitchiness - that's what riding should be like if you're not doing it for a living (and hopefully even if you are).

We're right, they're wrong xx
 
How ridiculous! Ignore it!
I only hack out and I spent far too much money on my saddle, bridle and all sorts of gear as well as good food, supplements, rugs etc! I never plan on competing. Us "boring happy hackers" like to take pride in our horses, so what! :)
 
BeingKate said:
Looking at it from another point of view, a few weeks ago I started teaching a lovely lady - she'd been hovering around the school while I taught some others and finally gathered up the confidence to ask for a lesson. When she got on, she said to me "I don't really know what I want to acheive, I'm just a happy hacker"

Firstly I said to her there's no "just" about it... and that her horse requires a lot of confidence as a herd animal to go out without his friends, not to mention all the scary things he comes across whilst out. I said to her do you ever have to move him sideways to do a gate or get around an obstacle? Go backwards? She said yes to all these things. So in our lesson we worked on some really basic things to help her and him balance, and finished with some very basic turn on the forehand, rein back etc to help her out hacking. Also that there's no reason she can't do a little schooling out in the fields and on bridleways if she wishes, it doesn't have to be in the arena where the other liveries can "see" her which is what she worried about.

I taught her weekly for a couple of weeks and they improved very quickly, she's much more balanced when going for a canter and is getting braver, and she's also now decided to enter her first dressage test "in public" as she calls it, and she's proud to be a happy hacker :)
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This just made me smile :)

Good for her !!
 
BeingKate said:
Looking at it from another point of view, a few weeks ago I started teaching a lovely lady - she'd been hovering around the school while I taught some others and finally gathered up the confidence to ask for a lesson. When she got on, she said to me "I don't really know what I want to acheive, I'm just a happy hacker"

Firstly I said to her there's no "just" about it... and that her horse requires a lot of confidence as a herd animal to go out without his friends, not to mention all the scary things he comes across whilst out. I said to her do you ever have to move him sideways to do a gate or get around an obstacle? Go backwards? She said yes to all these things. So in our lesson we worked on some really basic things to help her and him balance, and finished with some very basic turn on the forehand, rein back etc to help her out hacking. Also that there's no reason she can't do a little schooling out in the fields and on bridleways if she wishes, it doesn't have to be in the arena where the other liveries can "see" her which is what she worried about.

I taught her weekly for a couple of weeks and they improved very quickly, she's much more balanced when going for a canter and is getting braver, and she's also now decided to enter her first dressage test "in public" as she calls it, and she's proud to be a happy hacker :)
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you sound like a great teacher, just what she needed.....it takes more guts to hack out on your own( if you are not confident ) than competing IMO....
 
Just ignore them. I'd be happy if my horse could actually have a job as a happy hacker. Unfortunately his OCD-ness about things needing to remain in the same place is a nightmare on a hack because everything is different the next time we go out, and dont get me started on his insanity about tree stumps. He doesnt do anything really, he's just tense the whole way and its not enjoyable. He might spook sideways a bit or refuse to go past an oddly shaped flower at first, but he'll do as he's told eventually, its just not fun. He likes routine, likes everything to be in the same place as it was before and if it changes or moves, thats just not right.

He freaked out just walking past another horses field because the yard owner had 'dared' to put a purple feed bowl in there that hadnt been there the previous two days. Because as we all know, purple feed bowls are horse killers.
 
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