Should sports horses hack out?

ozpoz said:
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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So true. I live in a city and I don't know what the DVLA requirements are here... but one of them must stipulate you have to be blind to drive a car.
 
I read the ad as an awkwardly worded way of saying that the horse goes bananas when hacked out in traffic, but with the seller attempting -- and failing -- to put a positive spin on it, saying it's a "sports horse." On one hand, it's kind of honest, but on the other hand, it puts me off because it makes the seller sound like a little bit of a tool. My first reaction, like the OP's, is, "Being a bloody sports horse doesn't mean it can't hack."

Less weird, perhaps, would have been for them to write, "Talented horse with potential for experienced rider to bring on in [insert discipline here] but very sharp and spooky to hack out."
 
Prince33Sp4rkle said:
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.
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This. I have a little TB who is in no shape or form a true dressage or SJ horse, who will I not hack on anything other than the narrowest roads where it is impossible for vehicles to pass us ( In this situation I can trot on to a gateway/ big bank etc). Reason? He dropped me on the road trying to launch himself through a wire fence/hedge when a low loader passed up slowly, with as much room as poss, despite being on the bridle, and in shoulder in, with another steady in traffic horse. (He's pretty miuch okay with cars, can manage to keep feet on the floor with vans if I have him hemmed in. )I have no desire to do that again, and it's not fair to other road users. The horse spent time in a long narrow paddock adjacent to a dual carriageway as a 4yo, is used to farm traffic around the yard/working farm, and I can lead him from a quad bike. How should I procede in training this horse without risking my neck/ the horse's/ other road users?
 
Darremi said:
It may sound a bit funny but at least they are being honest about the issue.

Maybe the horse is nappy and the owner cannot get it out of the yard to go for a hack!!
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Then why not just say, not good in traffic rather than 'don't ask if it will hack out it's a sports horse'

Most horses can hack out if introduced to roads traffic in a good way and not had a bad experience.

It doesn't matter to me anyway because as much as I liked the look of her, I also hack out on road and go for a gallop across fields :D
 
Caol Ila said:
I read the ad as an awkwardly worded way of saying that the horse goes bananas when hacked out in traffic, but with the seller attempting -- and failing -- to put a positive spin on it, saying it's a "sports horse." On one hand, it's kind of honest, but on the other hand, it puts me off because it makes the seller sound like a little bit of a tool. My first reaction, like the OP's, is, "Being a bloody sports horse doesn't mean it can't hack."

Less weird, perhaps, would have been for them to write, "Talented horse with potential for experienced rider to bring on in [insert discipline here] but very sharp and spooky to hack out."
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^^^this^^^
 
loobylu said:
This. I have a little TB who is in no shape or form a true dressage or SJ horse, who will I not hack on anything other than the narrowest roads where it is impossible for vehicles to pass us ( In this situation I can trot on to a gateway/ big bank etc). Reason? He dropped me on the road trying to launch himself through a wire fence/hedge when a low loader passed up slowly, with as much room as poss, despite being on the bridle, and in shoulder in, with another steady in traffic horse. (He's pretty miuch okay with cars, can manage to keep feet on the floor with vans if I have him hemmed in. )I have no desire to do that again, and it's not fair to other road users. The horse spent time in a long narrow paddock adjacent to a dual carriageway as a 4yo, is used to farm traffic around the yard/working farm, and I can lead him from a quad bike. How should I procede in training this horse without risking my neck/ the horse's/ other road users?
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My mare has never enjoyed hacking out alone and used to spin and leg it but she's a superstar with company and will even take the lead.

My point in opening post was that the reason a horse doesn't hack is not because it's a sports horse IMO. There is usually another reason so why not say.
 
blitznbobs said:
That's a gross overstatement... I'm not sure my little cob could jump round badminton even if he was willing
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Bet he could pop round a suitable cross country would you really want him to jump round badminton. Like I said if you want him too most horses can within their capabilities do what the owner wants them too regardless of breed or type. I personally wouldnt buy a cob if my ambition was to go round badminton so a spurious comment anyway
 
windand rain said:
Bet he could pop round a suitable cross country would you really want him to jump round badminton. Like I said if you want him too most horses can within their capabilities do what the owner wants them too regardless of breed or type. I personally wouldnt buy a cob if my ambition was to go round badminton so a spurious comment anyway
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and I wouldn't buy a hot competition horse if I wanted to hack out in heavy traffic...
 
EstherYoung said:
So it's not the hacking, it's the traffic. In which case, the ad should state that the horse isn't safe in traffic.
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One of my horses is not spooky and is not worried by heavy traffic but he is just not safe to hack as he has no sense of self preservation.
 
I'll bet this was an Irish seller. I've bought three from there, and when having a conversation with the transporter, who was a SJ'er, he said "if you want to hack, buy a cob"! This came to my mind when I discovered that my latest purchase really gets upset hacking (firebreathing dragon type). She has a pedigree to die for, but she's not going to make an eventer which is what I bought her for. I'll have to find a jumping home for her, as she's fine in an arena.
 
EstherYoung said:
But if that's the case then surely he has no sense of self preservation at a competition too?
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No, he understands that job and is confident in the arena. He events, show jumps and his main forte is dressage. All my other 'sports' horses hack out with no problem.
 
Its just the wording of the ad that is silly. Better just to say not a good ride hacking out. Otherwise it just sounds snotty!

I can't imagine a horse that wouldn't hack out. I've never met one in 35 years of riding. That said, I've never kept a horse, nor worked on a yard where there hasn't been superb hacking, mostly where you don't have to touch main roads or experience heavy traffic. In my opinion, yards on really busy roads with heavy traffic are not ideal places to keep a horse. If I lived in a city or large town I wouldn't have a horse. I've had great fun competing, but hacking and unwinding is part of riding for me (and my horses).
 
My event horse has to hack out, he might be a bit of a div at times but it's the best way to get him fit and take an edge off him so he can produce his best work in the school. Win/win situation!
 
EstherYoung said:
But if that's the case then surely he has no sense of self preservation at a competition too?
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No, competing is a very different kettle of fish to hacking out!

As an example, Al had a very talented little mare last year. And she was not a pleasant hack- they had battle after battle about every blessed thing, she was nappy and headstrong and genuinely hated it. It bored her and no matter how hard Al worked at keeping her occupied by schooling it was always a battle of wills. In the paddock and at shows she still was quirky and opinionated but she loved working and relished the challenges of it all. She was literally a different horse. So Al did hack her but if she'd have needed to be advertised it would have undoubtedly been with the phrase "for an experienced and competent home only. Not a safe hack"! She was fine with traffic, but you could spend an hour with her refusing to move past a random point before she gave in with no rhyme nor reason...

Some horses don't hack and you just have to accept it and move on. Some battles are just not worth the effort of fighting.
 
I think hacking is vital to de-spooking a horse. Especially an eventer - it gets them used to different sights, smells, terrains etc. My boy is an ex racer (even they hack out!) and he's 100% bombproof with traffic, it's the little things that scare him. For example; the curb - when you walk straight up to it, he has to have a sniff every time, but he's fine walking next to it. Daffodils, took me 5 minutes to get him past this one bunch, all the others he's fine with? Differently coloured tarmac (though to him, this could be a gaping hole rather than new tarmac). White rocks and SOME wheely bins - though not all. But he is a TB with some of their stereotypical traits! haha. He gets better every time and it's improving his XC no end. We've even got to the point where he's now kept in a different paddock and he leaves his best friends and hacks out in a place completely new to myself and him - before, he'd only go out in company. Small progress, but progress none the less!
 
i dont think its vital.

mine rarely hacks (see earlier in thread) and yet is the most un-spooky horse at shows.

sharp and opinionated but never even peeps at flowers, banners, etc.
 
Prince33Sp4rkle said:
i dont think its vital.

mine rarely hacks (see earlier in thread) and yet is the most un-spooky horse at shows.

sharp and opinionated but never even peeps at flowers, banners, etc.
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Whereas Fig is fine to hack, but a spooky little wotsit in the ring/at comps!

Hacking isn't for every horse. Or every rider. Not something to be pushed... Not every horse jumps... Not every horse likes XC... Not every horse schools!
 
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I attended a talk by the Team GB Event Physio,shortly after the 2012 Olympics.He said that the best thing you can do for performance horses was take them hacking and hunting.He reckoned it was the only way to get them thinking ahead and to be able to deal with the unexpected.
 
I think in theory all horses should be able to hack out in case of the need for a rehabilitation program, however this is not reality and as long as there are methods for making a horse fitter, i.e interval training in a field then there's no issue. It's down to the owners choice whether to persevere with the hacking or to focus on schooling.

However being a sports horse is no reason for a horse not to hack. That's as silly as other equine stereotypes.
 
I have to say, I do most of my XC schooling on hacks - popping logs, walls and streams, going up and down steep hills in various paces. Must be hard to do if you never hack out, I guess you'd only get the experience of farm rides and XC schooling fields.
 
I rarely hack mine out purely because I head straight out onto a busy main road with tight semi-blind bends within seconds of leaving the driveway. It's at least half a mile on this busy main road before you can get off of it. All of mine are more than capable of hacking out by themselves and with company and the ex-racers - it's not the traffic that's the problem it's the scary stuff at the sides of the roads that's the problem lol!
 
Sooooooo.....

Basically.... if you can, you do. If you can't, you don't.

Sorted.
 
Honey08 said:
I have to say, I do most of my XC schooling on hacks - popping logs, walls and streams, going up and down steep hills in various paces. Must be hard to do if you never hack out, I guess you'd only get the experience of farm rides and XC schooling fields.
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That's hard to do even if you do hack out :) I don't know many people who have access to that kind of hacking.
 
I have a sports horse I can't hack, she did hack and then some blithering idiot overtook way too close and when she jumped at something else unrelated(a dog jumping up and barking at a gate) her back end was caught by the car.

Now she hates hacking with a passion and after trying several times and with several different people I've given up. She's dangerous and I never enjoyed it anyway, each to their own.
 
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