Should I feel guilty about not hacking out?

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bambar

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In the past 3 weeks around where I keep my horse, there have been several near misses between horses and cars. The one horse in question was pretty much bombproof until an idiot came along doing at least 60, refused to slow down and missed horse by inches. Since the incident poor horse is a complete nervous wreck and wont even let a slow car pass without freaking out so they've decided its too dangerous to continue hacking her and now shes a field ornament.

Several people have stopped hacking out because of this and there are one or two with nerves of steel that still do it but I feel sick at the thought of hacking out.

Which has made me think that's it - I'm never hacking out again I'm just going to ride in the field....

I feel a bit sad about it but at the same time I cant stop idiots driving at 60mph down the lanes so I don't think its worth the risk to me or my horse.

The question is - will my horse suffer because she isn't getting hacked out? Will she be sane/content with just being ridden when the ground in the field is dry enough?

I am planning to box up a few times next summer to a school and some off road hacking but other than that it will be field only....

I cant move her elsewhere so that's not an option unfortunately.

Thoughts?
 
It's not ideal but I'm sure she'll be fine.

The most important thing is that she has access to exercise and field mates.

If she were being stabled 24/7, it'd be a different story.
 
You can do other things other than hack - schooling, going to competitions, agility type things, or if you have a trailer make an effort to go out for a long ride at the weekend.

Look round for some Forestry Commission woods, they often have miles of off road hacking, even if you have to pay for a permit.
 
yeah she has a companion so won't get lonely and they are both out 24/7 with access to a barn/stables with beds if they want it...
 
Orangehorse said:
You can do other things other than hack - schooling, going to competitions, agility type things, or if you have a trailer make an effort to go out for a long ride at the weekend.

Look round for some Forestry Commission woods, they often have miles of off road hacking, even if you have to pay for a permit.
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Yep theres a forest about 10 miles away with lots of offroad hacking but unfortunately I don't have a trailer or a license so I would have to hire one every now and again rather than every weekend...
 
I would go down kicking and screaming. Get on to the council, get into the local media, get on facebook and make a big fuss about it. The roads are for all, and everyone deserves to be safe.
 
I've stopped hacking some of my horses as the lane outside our yard has become scarily dangerous and I've had a couple of near misses on a bomb proof horse and the ones I have now are not so experienced. They all go out in the fields each day and I try to vary their work between going in the school, jumping and having a walk and trot round our fields.

I used to love hacking and would happily go out for hours but now I think it is just not worth it. I can't say the horses are any the worse for not hacking although I would like to be able to hack.
 
equi said:
I would go down kicking and screaming. Get on to the council, get into the local media, get on facebook and make a big fuss about it. The roads are for all, and everyone deserves to be safe.
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^^^^^^^^^^
This in spades,
I love everything I do with my horses but hacking is the best bit!!
If its that bad I would lead the horse until its safe!
Good Luck
 
Could you not go out at quieter periods of time? If I hack on the roads I go before 8am or after 6pm so they are quieter (Wearing hi-viz and a head torch obviously) and there are less selfish people on the roads. If the roads are quieter, this might help overcome the fear initially.
 
Can you persuade someone to accompany you on a bike? My OH now does this with me. He tootles along companionably beside us but will spring, ninja style, into action to calm any idiotic drivers if necessary.

I used to hack out alone for hours on the same quiet country roads, without a care. Not any more, drivers are so fast and distracted, it's just not safe or enjoyable any more without my 'outrider'.
 
equi said:
I would go down kicking and screaming. Get on to the council, get into the local media, get on facebook and make a big fuss about it. The roads are for all, and everyone deserves to be safe.
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This. Irrespective of whether or not it's fair to your horse, it's not fair to you to be confined to the field. The roads are for everyone, not just motorists.
 
I dont think your horse will mind, I would be more worried about you getting fed up. We have exactly this situation at our yard. I am extremely lucky and have a box so I box up 3-4 times a week so that I can hack off road, fortunately within 5 miles of the yard are several options for parking and hacking. The other 3 owners only ever ride in the field, we have individual turnout but no school so the only option is to ride in your own field. I dont know how they stay sane! None of the horses seem to be at all bothered, all live out and look content. 20 years ago I kept a horse at the same yard and would have ridden anywhere at any time, 5 years ago I was happy enough to go out weekend early mornings but within the last couple of years even our country road has become a racetrack 95% of the time and when you factor in low sun and slippy tarmac plus I had a couple of near misses on a bombproof TB, I just decided it wasnt worth the risk. Options were to move or get transport. There were no other yards within a sensible distance and I figured if I bought a box I could go further afield and do a few shows as well. It really is more about you, personally if I couldnt get out and about I would go stir crazy. Someone else mentioned lobbying the council didnt they? I did do this and our local council were very good. We did have some "horse warning" signs quite close by and I persuaded them to re site them and change the 1 mile to 2 miles to go either side of our yard entrance. I dont honestly think they make any difference but at least if the worst happened you would have a bit more recourse for insurance purposes :(
 
I'm afraid I disagree strongly with everyone saying it won't bother your horse. It may not, but I see a lot of owners with problems because they don't hack their horses. I'm afraid I'd be kicking up a huge fuss with the highways agency and the police and/or moving my horse. I can't imagine how bored both myself and my horse would be with little hacking. I used to be at a yard where we could only really hack out a couple of times a month and my horse got totally fed up. Variety is key to a horses mental wellbeing IMO.
 
My horses enjoy varied work, of which hacking, plays a significant part. If the motorists near you are driving dangerously, contact the police, council and highways department.
Or, ride at quieter times. Like someone's suggestion of having a cyclist to ride with you.
Or move to another yard. There is always another option if you do some research.
 
An old gypsy friend of mine told me once never to ride (he actually said drive since we were talking about vardo's) tucked into the edge on a busy, dangerous road. Get right out there in the middle, where they can't get past you easily, and 'make the B***ers slow down'.

This has proved to be good advice, and I can add that making your horse look like a fiery monster (under your control, obviously) slows them down like magic. Suddenly they start thinking about how much damage your horse might do to their precious car!
 
pennyturner said:
An old gypsy friend of mine told me once never to ride (he actually said drive since we were talking about vardo's) tucked into the edge on a busy, dangerous road. Get right out there in the middle, where they can't get past you easily, and 'make the B***ers slow down'.

This has proved to be good advice, and I can add that making your horse look like a fiery monster (under your control, obviously) slows them down like magic. Suddenly they start thinking about how much damage your horse might do to their precious car!
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Fab advice and very true.
 
Disregarding the issue of dangerous roads, I would seriously look at getting your trailer license and then look into buying a box. Initially it seems a ridiculous hassle compared to tacking up and hacking but it really opened up opportunities for me to do things I'd never considered: me and the horse on holiday, beach trips, hacking in new, totally safe exciting places (even in the dark/ dusk with lights) . Plus if you have transport you'll always find a buddy!
Sadly roads are unlikely to get any better. You may need to plan with that in mind.
 
Poor horse that got scared :( how awful. I don't suppose the rider got the reg number did they? I wouldn't feel guilty - if she is happy then it's not worth it if the roads are that bad... if anyone at your yard has transport see if you can hitch a lift with them sometimes for hacks out etc.
 
My friend and I were out hacking today and had to go on a very short stretch of main road, not more than 50 metres. A huge tractor came thundering towards us towing a trailer which was rattling. Both horses are usually bomb proof but they were quite spooked. Rufty made for the pavement and the other horse nearly lost it but was quickly brought under control. I dread to think what would have happened with less experienced horses and riders. We signalled him to slow down but he completely ignored us. Luckily where we are we very rarely have to go on the road. If we did I think our hacking would be terminated. Rather a bored horse than a dead one.
I think I know where he had come from and I will tackle him tomorrow
 
Can really empathise with you on this, after a near miss which we reported to the police, who took it seriously, I moved yards to be able to ride on quieter roads. I've been riding for years and both of my horses are bomb proof as they come. Sounds drastic but can you move? I would hate not to be able hack out and I think horses need the variety and hacking builds up fitness.
 
Ruftysdad said:
I think I know where he had come from and I will tackle him tomorrow
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I live in Cheshire, too, and three times in the last six months big tractor drawn agricultural trailers have overturned on my formerly quiet country lane, within half a mile of home. All three times it was through excessive speed on inappropriate roads, luckily no one was hurt (the trailers rolled into the hedge, rather the road).

It's scary enough walking the dog along the lane now, never mind taking a horse out.
 
equi said:
I would go down kicking and screaming. Get on to the council, get into the local media, get on facebook and make a big fuss about it. The roads are for all, and everyone deserves to be safe.
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This. It works.

A horse near me was PTS in the road after being hit by a car. A few weeks later, another was hit- thankfully with no serious consequences.

We had a meeting with the local could cold and police, and they put in lots of traffic enforcements. We regularly had the police in the area (mounted and not) and now it's is LOADS better.

Get your council involved. Community support officers, BHS, local's etc. And report EVERY near miss with as much detail as possible to the police non emergency number. Get everyone on board and they will have to do something about it.

Ax
 
flirtygerty said:
Use a head cam to record reg plates, then report them to the police, especially if they are speeding
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As others have said, you need to make more noise about it. Motorists should not drive other highway users off the routes!
Unfortunately more often than not, traffic calming measures seem only to be brought in after fatalities. This needs changing! If you slope off quietly and don't stand up for what you have as much right to as a motorist then it will be lost which will be sad. I don't really advocate wearing headcams etc but, do you know what, if it works then blooming use them. Get the offenders reported, it may make them think again!
 
Another who wouldn't go down without fight (as I'm doing at the moment, actually!).

Hack with as much Hi-Vis as you can. Forward facing hat cam, rear-facing tail guard camera. Make it as obvious as you can that drivers are being filmed. Pass all footage onto the police, your council, and the BHS - the police can prosecute (or turn up on doorsteps and scare people), the council can use it to have changes made to the road, and the BHS can use it nationwide to put pressure on councils.

I always wear hatcams and have made it /very/ clear to drivers that they are being filmed and the difference in behaviour is incredible.
 
I stopped hacking on the roads about a year ago. Luckily I have direct access to masses of off road hacking where I am now but I think hacking on the roads isn't worth the risk. Kicking up a fuss is fine, but in reality is highly unlikely to make any difference.
 
I had a really scary experience last week. My friend and I were out hacking. We were along the bridleway which runs next to a highway. It's securely fenced off, thank goodness. A trucker decided to blow his horn at us, not a like a car's hooter, like a fog horn, and wave out the window shouting something about sexy girls.

I have been working non-stop to desensitize my neurotic mare to traffic. She is down right dangerous on roads so riding along the bridleway which is fenced off is the best I can do. To be fair, I was so proud of her. She reared and shook like a leaf but came right back and settled when I asked her to. The other horse- an old pro who is fine on the roads, was actually worse. We went home immediately. I could have cried.
 
About 8 yrs ago I stopped hacking on roads and moved to a yard with off road hacking. Although I appreciate that isn't an option for everyone

IMHO Roads just are not safe for horses anymore. Which is such a shame
 
I've just been watching bbc morning tv. They have been going on all week about how vulnerable cyclists are. Maybe we could all bombard their fb page to do something about raising horse awareness
 
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