Motivation when hacking alone!

cblover

cblover

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This is just a wondering really! I've spent most of my horse owning and riding years on livery yards good and bad! I now own my own place and LOVE IT!!!!!! It's a dream come true but this does mean I have to hack alone!

How do all you solo hackers keep motivated? Do you have a great choice of routes to choose from? I don't have a huge amount but a couple I can manage time wise inbetween finishing work and school pick up time!

Whats the pro's and con's to you hacking alone? Kinzzy is fab in traffic and she's great (usually!) to hack anywhere, although I've probably not ridden enough lately and today she was very lively! So, what keeps you motivated if you have to hack alone, baring in mind the lovely weather we've got to come? Cheers!
 
I'm interested in responses to this too. I'm sitting in the shed by my field reading H&H on my phone or doing anything but ride.
I love being on my own and Harvey is good as gold to hack alone. I don't miss being on a yard with the politics and bitchiness that can go with it but I do miss having friends to ride with. Had a lovely 3 hour hack with a friend yesterday :) but she doesn't work, so usually gives her horse weekends off as she rides during the week :(
 
I LOVE hacking on my own. I have recently just taken on a share horse and can't wait to start getting out and about with her. I do like to have company sometimes but I think when it's just you and your horse it's so relaxing!!
 
Hi CeeBee, sounds like you had fun yesterday! I have a good friend who I'd hack with all the time if we lived closer. It's just too far away to ride regularly with her, but we think alike and ride when we can together! Are you suppose to be riding today? The weather here (Cumbria) is lovely.....might be our last good day! LOL

My mare is usually very good and I never worry about riding here, I just need to keep my motivation up! I can't ride everyday but a couple of times in the week and weekends is do-able for me. I have another two neddies at home too, so I need to use my time effectively! If you do go for a ride, I hope you have fun!
 
I love hacking on my own. I use my hacks to school my boy, so being by myself I can do that! My dear friend brings her bike over and comes out with me once a week, and I love plodding along and chatting, but find it a right pain when my horse tries to duck behind her on her bike to 'follow' - means I have to work harder then I do by myself lol :rolleyes:
 
i went from a livery yard with all the bitching to my own place and i loved hacking alone ! my OH didnt like it tho cos i was very remote . i rode much more by myself than i ever had before. im back on livery and most of the people there seem to prefer having a cuppa than riding -hmmmm im starting to get bored! going to start going out alone again i think! lol:rolleyes:
 
I always hack alone .... no choice really. Rides around here are limited bit there's plenty of time to think & I chatter to the horse. Should probably box up & go a bit further where there is more selection & better off road, but can't be bothered on my own ... what happens if i get lost? :eek:
 
alsxx said:
I love hacking on my own. I use my hacks to school my boy, so being by myself I can do that! My dear friend brings her bike over and comes out with me once a week, and I love plodding along and chatting, but find it a right pain when my horse tries to duck behind her on her bike to 'follow' - means I have to work harder then I do by myself lol :rolleyes:
Click to expand...

I am currently trying to persuade OH to come out with me on his bike! It is more that I am building up the courage to go out on my own again after my confidence bash! I used to do it all the time and loved it! I would go in that spare hour between work and starting tea as the sun went down! I was the only one around at the yard, and out in the countryside - I wouldn't see a soul!

Just had to say that those drawings are stunning! Did you do them, alsxx?
 
Thanks everyone, interesting replies! I'm not nervous to hack alone but sometimes lack the motivation to actually jump on board and go for a hack! I could be getting old! LOL
 
I'm able to ride 4 days a week - and have my own yard with no other persons there.
Have alloted myself 4 different routes for each of those days, tho occasionally we vary this according to weather/ground conditions or what 'we' feel like doing ;) This at least means I discipline myself to get a shift on & get on board sometimes:D such as when its really hot I make sure I'm out early or if its really muddy I then go out a bit later & we do a road hack. Sometimes we might just bimble round the block for 20 mins...... but thats more likely when its either bitterly cold or I only have short time after work.

I text my OH when going out & also when returned from a ride, just as a basic 'someone needs to know where I am' kind of thing. Now he's not horsey at all, but if I didn't text, he'd phone me (which he's done a couple of times when I've forgotten to tell him I'm back :o ) or if no reply then I've told him to get hold of either of my 2 horsey neighbours. I also let OH know if am going away from my usual riding routes.

Best I can do really for the safety side of things :)

As for the motivation? Well thats where the regular route planning comes in, eg: its Friday, therefore we usually go xyz route, so if not feeling motivated, then we do exactly that & do that route without deviation, tho I do find that I'm mostly very motivated to get out most of the time :)
 
I seriously seriously lack motivation to hack alone, because my boy can be so spooky and jumpy and tense, it can get really annoying! And he's so tense that we have no hope of schooling out hacking. I really don't enjoy hacking out alone anymore because I can't switch off or relax, constantly got to be reassuring & pushing M forward. He's much worse in the wind/rain etc, so not looking forward to the coming months. I'm on a DIY livery yard, which is a lovely yard, but it can be difficult to arrange to go out with others as we're all up at different times and everyone does their own thing so i've had to hack alone a lot recently :( Just sort of make myself.
 
I don't know, apart from just really enjoying it. Sadly I lost my wonderful mare two weeks ago, but I loved hacking alone on her.
I just loved the time with her, just riding the beautiful routes where I kept her, just felt at one with nature on horseback, I love the countryside and hacking is my favourite type of ridden activity. Not sure if my explanation helps make it clear. I just enjoyed it really. I suppose it stemmed back from where I grew up in Wales, parents had a small holding and I did sometimes ride with my mate who lived over the mountain, but we had to meet first, which was about a mile away! I had friends stay alot as they loved riding but most of my riding was happily alone, I just really enjoy it, always have done :D
I hope I can get another sensible mare to solo hack.
I am supposed to be taking my friends mare out for a solo hack this afternoon, she is not used to solo hacking really, not done it for 2-3yrs! So my motivation thee is to keep my confidence going inbetween buying another
 
TFF - I really like your idea of allocating different routes for different days. I'll have a think about that! I only really have a choice of two though, the one I do most is a quiet road which is great but its not a round route...I have to turn back and come home the way I went. The other smaller route is a round one but takes in a busy main road and I only tend to do it on a Sunday morning whenn its safest. I had a really bad riding accident 8 years ago, when I was hit by a car that was doing 70mph round a blind bend. As you can imagine, it's had a lasting effect and a negative one at that.

MIM - So sorry to hear about your mare, life can be very unfair! Good luck this afternoon on your friends mare!
 
I'm on my own after many years on DIY livery, and I too lack motivation. My horses are 19, four and two. The 19 year old is brilliant to hack, but he's got DJD and I really don't have the time to fitten him up, hence we doodle around the block. The four year old was broken and ridden on earlier this year, but has been turned away now until next year, and hasn't been hacked alone anyway. But I am logging off RIGHT NOW to go and ride!!!
 
I used to hack loads by myself, used to go miles but very rarely do these days. I really should get back into it. I do ride around the farm on my own but have so many more places that I could go
 
Hmm I've nearly always had my horses at home and I do find hacking alone pretty boring. During the eventing season I use my hacks for galloping for fitness but off season I do struggle so will find this thread interesting. I try to do plenty if fast work which I dO enjoy and usually end up schooling... Almost managed to leg yield into a cyclist coming up behind us a week or so ago!! ;)

I am having towing lessons at mo so once I get my test I'm hoping to ferry horse out to some mire interesting rides!
 
As most of my hacking used to be on my own, I tended to ride somewhere different to what others would, such as through town to places where horses are allowed but not the norm, this meant lots of different scenarios ie river, park, commercial area, city centre, bus lane, park again, cafe and loo, then back, took 3.5 to 4 hours, keeps it interesting for both of you and on your toes, I could chat to people who were interested and like to stroke him, and ask questions, plus it let people see we are not all snooty horse owners, or just kept in a field, good PC all round, now I am on a yard with xcountry course ect and others to ride with, my hacking has changed slightly as have done more jumping and shows type stuff, but it kept our hacking interesting, in the week I ride around our estate light or dark and still do, again keeps life interesting.

I don't know what your hacking or horses temperament is like, so maybe you can't do that sort of thing, but whatever, you need to challenge both of you a bit, set yourself a challenge of, "I'm going to do so and so today"
 
As I hack out on my own 99% of time I find it's best if I do it first thing in the morning. If I think i'll leave it until later I inevitably find something else to do or I think i "haven't much time to go far". Saying that, even when I not feeling very motivated, I always enjoy it once I'm on!
 
I prefer to ride on my own, though I have one or two friends I enjoy hacking with - we meet up between our yards. cba with the inane chit chat with people I don't really like and I definitely cba with some people's idea of hacking being a quiet walk with the odd trot. No problems with motivation as otherwise I wouldn't ride...
 
Thanks everyone, I feel more motivated already! I just need a plan I think and get out there and do it! I have my own transport, so visiting friends really should happen more often! I just hate riding on busy roads though.....all my hacking is on roads but some busier than others!
 
I ride with someone else once or twice a week but it is quite a long hack to meet so am normally stiffening up by the time I get home, other days I do a 20 mins round the block on my own which is OK unless my horse is in a silly/spooky mood (like today) when you are home just as she is settling down.
 
MrsHutt said:
I am currently trying to persuade OH to come out with me on his bike! It is more that I am building up the courage to go out on my own again after my confidence bash! I used to do it all the time and loved it! I would go in that spare hour between work and starting tea as the sun went down! I was the only one around at the yard, and out in the countryside - I wouldn't see a soul!

Just had to say that those drawings are stunning! Did you do them, alsxx?
Click to expand...

Oh you should, it is great for company having someone with you from time to time, and I can still do my walk-trot-walk transitions with someone on a bike :p plus although my boy has always been fine with bikes, it has made him slightly less suspicious of them now too. Also, yes I did do the drawings, thank you very much :)
 
When I hack out alone I try and plan my route and decide what I'm going to do.
Eg.
I always start off just getting him to go forward and to relax.
When he's relaxed I'll get him to work more and go in an outline.
I'll then think of landmarks such as farms, hills, crossroads etc and plan different movements at each one. i.e. at crossroads I'll have a long trot, at a particular farm I'll leg yield etc.
I then have breaks where I can let him stretch his neck out and I can admire the view.

I don't always stick to my plans but it gets me motivated. Once I'm out on him I don't really need motivating that much, I just need a plan to get me off my backside!
 
Well I motivated myself too and had a lovely hack for about 2 hours. Was so lovely and sunny. My cheeks (the ones on my face of course) are burning, not bad as November looms :)
 
I have two motivating factors. 1) A barefoot horse. I have to keep his feet conditioned for roads and stoney tracks. 2) Weak stifles. Hill work to keep his muscles plump to support his stifle joints.
I actually prefer to hack alone. My boy turns to 'vulcanite' horse in company and I have to ask for every step. He will also have a pop at another horse when he is being ridden,which is puzzling.
I have also had some complete numpties kindly offer to escort me and this young horse......I'd rather just be looking after myself and my horse!
 
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