Should sports horses hack out?

Lolo said:
Some horses can, some can't. And a lot of people really don't enjoy it either! Ours need to hack because we have no other way of keeping them fit really, although Smokes does most of his canter work in the paddock because he can get a bit whappy.

It's perfectly possible to not hack for whatever reason though and to keep them fit and performing despite it. Lots of people see it as the be all and end all but really I don't think it matters either way. If a horse's primary job is to compete and perform, their ability to hack doesn't change that. If the horse is destined to be a low level RC all-rounder it does really need to be able to go out I think!
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this completely, it really does depends on what job the horse is destined to do. Ideally they should all be able to at least go for a plod round the block in relative safety, but if the horse has the talent to go to the top in any spehre and doesnt really hack well, i dont think that matters a jot. Pick your battles and all that.

amandap said:
I don't have any Sports horses but I believe doing a variety of activities, especailly hacking, is good for mental and physical health. A horse doing the same or similar things all the time will get sour surely?
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not always. My dressage horse doesnt hack much, he can walk round the block (20mins approx) on a warm, still,quiet day but doesnt do any more than that and doesnt hack at all Oct-April as is dangerous to himself and other road users.
He does go for canters round the field and does basic polework instead but he's got a funny mind and much prefers to be given *dressage equations* to solve-he likes to do what he's good at and is perfectly bright and happy.

martlin said:
I can sort of sympathise/see where they are coming from. Not that a ''sports horse'' (whatever that might be) shouldn't hack out or be good in traffic or whatever it is that the buyer would like it to do; but it can become really frustrating, this whole selling malarkey...
Years ago, when I thought that dealing horses was a good idea, I advertised a nice mare as exactly what she was - a very talented, sharp young jumper, she had plenty of scope and quite good attitude to work, but was rather reactive; the number of calls I received asking if she would hunt, teach husband to ride, be suitable for a child coming off ponies, would she event etc, was mind numbing... I started to just reply ''I don't know, she's a SJer''
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also agree and i think this is where a lot of people go wrong now that its so easy to buy a fancy WB from germany/holland etc. The horses are bred to be the most electric, reactive, uphill,forward thinking,fancy moving etc NOT to be safe for your novice hubby to take for a hack, to take on pleasure rides, to hunt, to ride and lead your daughters pony off etc. wrong tool for the job for people who want something safe as houses and a good allrounder IMO.

Lolo said:
I would also hazard what they mean is the horse isn't an easy or pleasant hack so please don't phone if that's what you want.
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yes,just could have worded it better!
 
I love hacking as well as going out to competitions with my Belgian sport horse. I don't think the seller is implying that sport horses don't hack, just that this one doesn't. Hacking isn't important to everyone & i think it's honest of the seller to advertise the horse as what it is & not what it 'should' be.
 
Tiffany said:
I think hacking is a change of scenery for any horse no matter what it's job is.
Anyway, as much as I liked the look of the mare, the owner needn't worry about me asking any questions because I won't be picking the phone up :)
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Well quite... why would you when you might meet with an attitude like that! :D
 
To be honest then the advert looks like it's done a good job- people who need a horse who can hack won't bother, and those who don't will!
 
Lolo said:
To be honest then the advert looks like it's done a good job- people who need a horse who can hack won't bother, and those who don't will!
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True!

I'm with PS, I'd much rather people buy the right tool for the job than try to teach a pig to sing. ;) At least the seller is being honest!
 
I require all my horses to hack but some horses don't it's not because they are sport horses it's just because they have never been taught to or have an issue with hacking .
However if you buy a horse produced to do dressage from say holland it's safe to assume it won't have or will have done very little hacking that does mean you can't teach it .
This horse probably has an issue with hacking .
Shame for the horse but it's not a deal breaker for some people .
 
I find it very bizarre. For me it's paramount that horses are hacked out as part of their very early education. Infact mine never even saw a school until he was already cantering in a controlled manner on a hack.
 
el_Snowflakes said:
Hacking isn't important to everyone & i think it's honest of the seller to advertise the horse as what it is & not what it 'should' be.
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Lolo said:
To be honest then the advert looks like it's done a good job- people who need a horse who can hack won't bother, and those who don't will!
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TarrSteps said:
True!

I'm with PS, I'd much rather people buy the right tool for the job than try to teach a pig to sing. ;) At least the seller is being honest!
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This x 3.
 
Whilst I'm pretty sure the majority of people and horses would like nothing better than a nice relaxing hack, sometimes not always possble. Yard I was on, you would be taking your life into your own hands if you attempted to go out hacking, the roads were simply too busy.
 
While I appreciate that some people or even horses don't want to go out for a pootle around the block I do think its important that a horse sees at least some traffic and behaves reasonably around it. I cant imagine ever breaking down and god forbid have an accident in a vehicle and face the possibility of a horse having to be transferred to a new vehicle with cars bombing past when a horse is happy with traffic let alone one that rarely sees outside its own yard or an arena
 
RunToEarth said:
FFS when I was a tot we used to pass Milton out hacking - and he was a bigger deal than your average sports horse.
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With a bigger deal of a rider on top, though. I don't know how nice a hack Milton was, but generally, top horses have top riders on them, which means that even if not great to hack, they can be hacked out.
 
All horses should have an all round education. Any horse can hack. If the roads are too unsuitable, bung it in the horsebox that it travels to compete in and take it somewhere else.
Even Red rum used to do his training on Southport beach and so did the olympic horses at the yard where I rode a few years back . I used to own a horse that had competed in 4 star events and had never hacked in his life before he came to me. Initally he'd go into melt down at the prospect, but he soon learnt to love hacking. It proved to be his salvation, mentally and physically as he grew older.
 
Tiffany said:
Just seen an ad for a lovely mare for sale (not on H&H website) I liked the look of her but ad says 'don't ask if she's good in traffic, she's a sports horse not a hack'. Does that mean sports/competition horses shouldn't be expected to hack out? Valegro is a top class dressage horse but he hacks out.
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I would say that it's the wording of the ad that's irksome. As if 'sports horses' (whatever that actually means - which is something that could probably be debated at great length) are somehow unable to be good in traffic (or whatever reason they don't hack safely) because it's beneath them. Well that's certainly how the ad read in my head.

If someone buys a horse that doesn't hack, but they don't need the horse to hack, then that's all fabby - the right home for that horse.
 
martlin said:
With a bigger deal of a rider on top, though. I don't know how nice a hack Milton was, but generally, top horses have top riders on them, which means that even if not great to hack, they can be hacked out.
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I think that I recall reading that Milton was a spooky prat to hack. The sort to do a bambi impression at a leaf blowing along the road :eek3:.

Imagine the responsibility.....
 
Tiffany said:
Just seen an ad for a lovely mare for sale (not on H&H website) I liked the look of her but ad says 'don't ask if she's good in traffic, she's a sports horse not a hack'. Does that mean sports/competition horses shouldn't be expected to hack out? Valegro is a top class dressage horse but he hacks out.
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No not at all, but depends on how they are managed, if they are in 24/7 and likely to explode at the drop of a pin then no lol.

In theory I think its nice for them to have some down time and relax
 
Tiffany said:
Just seen an ad for a lovely mare for sale (not on H&H website) I liked the look of her but ad says 'don't ask if she's good in traffic, she's a sports horse not a hack'. Does that mean sports/competition horses shouldn't be expected to hack out? Valegro is a top class dressage horse but he hacks out.
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I hate hacking out. Absolutely fills me with horror, but if you saw the traffic round here, you'd understand my POV ;) I actually think that hacking out is a valuable experience for ALL horses.
 
EstherYoung said:
How do people who have horses that don't hack get their horses fit?
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We used to use interval training. you can do it in a field or in the school, 10 strides of walk, 15 of trot for an age then bring in the canter work on the same basis, if you can get this up to about an hour a day it's rather effective and mirrors what you'd do on a varied hack without the changes in surface or the traffic. It's a right pita and boring as hell but can be effective for getting basic fitness there.

lunging is good too, but interval training is key to getting horses fit without hacking.
 
I suppose it only matters if the horse isn't a good enough sport horse. I know people who compete seriously who don't hack, doesn't seem to affect their results.
 
I have one horse who literally falls to pieces if she's hacked out. She's an absolute wreck. She was a competition horse, working in arenas and competing, and hacking takes her totally out of her comfort zone. We could persevere with her if she were kept as a hacking horse and I'm sure, in time, she'd improve, but we don't because that's not what she does, or why I have her. For some horses, hacking is a chilling out period, for others it's their worst nightmare.
 
You're all mad as a box of frogs on an electric fence!
Obviously you shouldn't hack out a competition sports horse. What the hell are you thinking.
Next you'll be spouting things like cobs can do dressage and arabs can jump.
This forum gets crazier by the minute :eek: :p
 
I think the owner in the ad is trying to say that the horse is more than a hack as it has too much potential to be sold to someone who just plods around the lanes and fields however I think it could have been put across better as it just makes the owner sounds snooty.
There is nothing wrong with incorporating hacking to any horses training regardless of their discipline, if the horse or roads are safe to hack on.
Not all horses or owners like hacking and stick to the school.
I'd rather have a sport horse that doesn't hack than one that has never been turned out because it's "too valuable"
 
dogatemysalad said:
All horses should have an all round education. Any horse can hack. If the roads are too unsuitable, bung it in the horsebox that it travels to compete in and take it somewhere else.
Even Red rum used to do his training on Southport beach and so did the olympic horses at the yard where I rode a few years back . I used to own a horse that had competed in 4 star events and had never hacked in his life before he came to me. Initally he'd go into melt down at the prospect, but he soon learnt to love hacking. It proved to be his salvation, mentally and physically as he grew older.
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with some, its not safe to persevere and people shouldnt feel any pressure to do so just to prove a point.
from a personal POV mine is not good in heavy traffic and will spin and bolt at tractors, cattle wagons etc. Ive no way of carefully/safely introducing him to it in a contained environemnt and quite frankly as his main job is dressage, ive no desire to cause a huge ruckus trying to get him to accept it. I knew he was bad in traffic when i bought him so we only do 1 circuit which has gateways every 50 yards so i can tuck in out the way of big vehicles.

off road hes probably even more lethal and i can well see would end up going over backwards without meaning to but by being completely hysterical.
There isnt really a starting point to work forward from as he cant be lead out in hand as will rear then too.

again, his main job is dressage, he does very well at it, is easy to handle from the ground in all other situations,and it would be foolhardy to pick a pointless battle to prove a point.

EstherYoung said:
How do people who have horses that don't hack get their horses fit?
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i do interval training in the field or round the arena in the wet months.
 
I think it depends on the discipline the horse is intended for as well. In a pure show jumper or dressage horse I can see how you can work with a horse that won't hack. However personally I would have doubts about if a horse would go xc if it didn't hack at all. Now I'm sure some one will tell me their perfect eventer won't hack but if I were looking it would put doubt in my mind as to if it would go xc.

Personally my horses all need to hack as I have no surface to work on. But I do have direct off road hacking so can avoid traffic if needs be for the majority of the year.
 
PaddyMonty said:
You're all mad as a box of frogs on an electric fence!
Obviously you shouldn't hack out a competition sports horse. What the hell are you thinking.
Next you'll be spouting things like cobs can do dressage and arabs can jump.
This forum gets crazier by the minute :eek: :p
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Or they can live without rugs n shoes n eat nothing but grass!!! :D
 
I think most competition horses hack out, but not always in traffic. It is just too fast and unforgiving nowadays in many areas.
 
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