schooling whilst out hacking

E

enchanted_lady

Member
Joined
6 March 2008
Messages
14
Location
essex, uk
Visit site
It seems as tho every livery yard in my area is totally full right now, as a few places have closed down, so my next move might possibly be to a place where there is no schooling area and will litterally be a field. So, how can i school my green youngster. She is pretty "stale" as had been ridden by anyone willing to get on her, so she isnt really impressed with an arena anyway. Can i get her balanced and working on her education whilst out hacking, or do i really need to being circles etc in a menage? I am pretty experienced, but seem to have come to a blank here as ive never been in this situation before. I live near lakeside in essex and am finding it pretty hard to find somewhere that has a decent reputation for looking after the horses and also their owners as i just seem far too soft for this game and feel bullied off of yards by people trying to interfere and critizing the way i do things. Please help, what can i do to continue my horses education

Laura xx
 
Don't have an answer I'm afraid, but would be interested in the reply's as I'm in the same boat. I do supposedly have access to a school but it's always under 2ft of bloody water!
Also with you on the yard situation, I'm looking for somewhere else as I seem to share the yard with Pat Parelli's long lost sister, absolute nightmare.
crazy.gif
 
Of course you can school out hacking (perhaps not circles etc...), but can certainly work on straightness, upwards and downwards transition, leg yeild, shoulder in etc...
 
what i did as we had no school either was to go for a hack, and school while on the hack but also there are some nice little clearings along the way where we were able to do some circles etc which helped alot and saved the fields.
 
I have no school and have t make do with hiring someone elses if needs be but generally i 'school' out hacking - normally after a good 20mins to half an hour of 'warming up'. Depends how long the hack is though but mine work better and listen on the way home more than the way out to be honest.

I practice leg yielding, going in an outline, halting etc and also turns on the forehand whilst closing gates. All helps the horse listen i reckon which is the main point.
 
I school my dressage horses while hacking out on 1000 acres of open common land as I don't have access to a school. You have to be disciplined about circle shapes etc and also 'arena' size for things like half pass but if you can get a horse balanced, submissive, in front of the leg and soft in the land in less than perfect locations, when you get into a competition arena life become so much easier!
 
If you pick your ground you can do anything pretty well

I had a lesson at a stables without a school. They use a relatively flat bit of Dartmoor with strategically placed rocks and gorse bushes. The lesson involved things like walk to the gorse bush, and halt exactly in line with it, then sitting trot to the rock. 5 metre circle around rock, and halt in line with the rock. Then rising trot to the next gorse bush etc.

Leg yield and shoulder in can be done in walk and trot along tracks - leg yield from one side of the track to the other. Gates are also a good way to do turns on the forehand, rein back etc.
 
I don't have a school and cannot ride in the fields in winter. All of my schooling has to be done on hacks.

As someone else has said, lots of transitions, variations of trot, leg yielding across the bridlepath and back, rein back at gates etc.
 
I don't know if this helps, but I am on a yard with just fields and paddocks to school in, as well as direct access to the Ashdown Forest. I backed and now school my mare all without her ever having seen an arena. We used the fenced tracks around the farm to teach her the basics, and then began schooling in the fields. When I was confident of her safety I began taking her for short hacks on the forest with a friend and her bombproof pony. It's all worked out very well for us, and I have a pony who is adapting to consistantly going to new places, in contrast to the nappy and panicky mare that I bought last year. Basically I just choose a flat place approx 20x40 (treestumps make good markers!) and school in that. Yeah its more difficult because you don't have a track to rely on, but personally I prefer this it forces me to work and ride properly.
I also rebacked a horse I was terrified of in a paddock at the same yard, and went on to school him in fields and even hack him alone on the forest. I guess in my shoes I am forced to just 'deal with it' if you get me, and have to either ride in the fields or I can't ride at all. It's really helped my confidence as we encounter everything from herds of deer to suicidal moorhens! I use tracks on the forest to practice leg yielding, and theres endless obstacles to play with. With all this rain we've been having we've now got row of 'water holes' about a foot deep which are fantastic for getting the ponies used to jumping into water.

I hope that helps a little

xxx
 
I also school out hacking, and when you come across clearings or nice big stubble fields (when in season!) its possible to do a few circles to practise the 'bending' that you can't get when going in straight lines. Or if you can box to the beach? adds sme variety to the schooling!

Otherwise I hire different schools, which I also think is good as the horse has to get along with different arenas and distractions which i think is good for competition practise.
 
Just to add if you are intending to frequently compete on a surface it can actually be detrimental to the horse's legs if they are schooled on grass

xxx
 
it might be the making of her!

you can still expect obedience, and practice accurate transitions between and within the paces.

you can practice turn on the forehand at gates, and can start shoulder in along paths etc.

There is no reason that you can't further her education outside of a school. you might find her attention span is better, and that she becomes more forwards when you then do take her into a school.

good luck and keep us updated.
 
I bought a book on schooling whilst hacking and don't have use of our school when it is waterlogged, that coupled with the fact that I can't let him slop along because he falls over (clumsy arse that he is) means yes, you can school effectively whilst hacking, you just have to get creative! Every turn in the track can be ridden like a corner or circle, trees/bushes/landscape make good markers to test for accuracy, hills and slopes can do wonders for teaching your horse to balance themselves etc. a bit of time to set up fallen branches in an unused part of woods makes for trotting pole type exercises, likewise for jumps and logs etc.

Have fun!
cool.gif
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Top