Motivation when hacking alone!

Pedantic said:
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"
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^^ this is spot on what i like to do!!! mine, literally, goes everywhere i get the whim to go haha :)

of course, if anyone is really having problems getting motivated then you can always sit there thinking about what a cracking arse you'll be giving your horse when u go out :D:D mine looked like a tank til he broke ;) (the breaking was unrelated to the all day hacking lol)
 
I'm struggling at the moment as hardly any one rides at our current yard and I dont know many off road routes and theres no one to show us any. I have found one but its a good 2 hours ride for one grassy track but it will have to do he is starting proper work again on tuesday (:D) so we will be motivated. Where we were it was never a problem there were 3 of us that used to hack out all the time together and if not we could just plod round the fields of the yard so it worked well.
 
My "different riding route's" started at the first yard I was at with the ginger sausage, everyone else seemed to have tunnel vision when it came to hacking and stuck to the same routes :(, I used to go off exploring Sat/Suns for hours and found lots of different places to go, I did occasionally get some of the other riders to accompany me, but not a lot, then I moved to the second yard, and I was off exploring again.

Some of my riding routes are down to pig headedness, as I will not be treated like a second class citizen, some people are full of "misinformation", I have had to give one or two lectures on rights of way to certain individuals ;).
 
Have mostly hacked alone as most the people on the yards I have been on where not interested in hacking out. Used to go sight seeing in London on horseback i.e Oxford Street, Regent Street, Picadilly Circus, Trafalgar Square, Buckingham Palace and then have a ride round Hyde Park and then back back to North London where I kept my horse.
 
Got lots of inspiration from all you hackers! You've had some fab rides out! I really need to think outside the box!
 
Haven't time to read all the replies so apologies if this has already been suggested.

I take an OS map!
Since starting TREC 18 months ago and getting in the habit of practising with my map out hacking my area I am really enjoying hacking again and have got to know my area much better.

- for starters I go much further and explore more than i used to.
- it's fun challenging myself to hit a certain speed for a stretch of the route,
- I sometimes set a route to follow before going out, sometimes just have an idea, take the map and adjust it as i go.
- interesting using compass to check which direction i'm going in,

along with all the other ideas might help.
 
icyfreya said:
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.
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I don't enjoy hacking alone because Rosie spooks and leaps all over the place. But I have no school, so no choice especially now it's wet. So, either hack out on own, lunge, box out if we have time or don't bother.

More and more of the time I just don't want to ride at all, and so I don't. Bit sad really but my keen-ness is on the wane :(
 
PeterNatt said:
Have mostly hacked alone as most the people on the yards I have been on where not interested in hacking out. Used to go sight seeing in London on horseback i.e Oxford Street, Regent Street, Picadilly Circus, Trafalgar Square, Buckingham Palace and then have a ride round Hyde Park and then back back to North London where I kept my horse.
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What??? You have to tell me tell me which yard you were at. It's got to be Mill Hill-ish....
 
I love hacking on my own ... It is pure me time! And time to bond with the neddies, get to know them better and have a bit of an adventure! :-) we see the world and all that is in it ... Glorious! As much as I like schooling and competing ... Hacking is the reason I keep the horses ...
And yes, I second everyone on the TREC - simply brilliant and a great crowd!
 
I actually prefer to ride on my own, if I'm honest.

No one to dictate my speed, direction or length of hack.

Just me, the horse and nature. Perfect.
 
cblover said:
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!
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I hack alone 90% of the time & really quite enjoy it, quite like my own company. Time to think, to school if I want, to have a blast if I want all without putting up with someone elses wants, selfish of me I know. It's just me & my boy, great. I sometimes hack out with others but prefer like minded bods who also like to gallop now & then or chat, so I need someone with the same interests & roughly same age group. Fussy or what.
 
Im in the same boat as op. Ive always been on livery yards, but ive been on my own for a couple of years, I just have no motivation to ride, my mare is now pretty unfit and I really have to do something about it.
 
Thanks for the replies. I love looking at the wildlife too and the ever changing scenery as the seasons change.

Maybe we should set up a motivation club and report back to each other on how our solo hacks have been.......our mood, horses mood, distance travelled, memorable moments, motivation levels, goals (and of course we're all gonna reach them) etc. Could be really good for us solo hackers! Anyone want to join?
 
PeterNatt said:
Have mostly hacked alone as most the people on the yards I have been on where not interested in hacking out. Used to go sight seeing in London on horseback i.e Oxford Street, Regent Street, Picadilly Circus, Trafalgar Square, Buckingham Palace and then have a ride round Hyde Park and then back back to North London where I kept my horse.
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Excellent :)
 
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