Should you school your hacking horse?

[Tihamandturkey]

Oh Dear God every time I hear the term "happy hacker" I want to scream 🤨

Hacking is not an easy discipline and as previous posters have said when riding out we are constantly educating our horses and ourselves.

We teach them to be brave and forward going by being responsive to seat and leg and we use "dressage moves" such as leg yield, shoulder in, turn on the forehand to navigate scary or spooky situations, traffic, natural obstacles etc.

I school my predominantly hacking horse because I love it and she benefits from being well balanced and supple.

 

[scats]

A well trained horse is nice to ride, regardless, whether that’s pootling around out hacking or riding in the school.
I school Millie 2-3 times a week either in one of the fields or the manège, and then hack her around the Farm tracks and fields the rest of the time. We generally just have a chill out when we hack, but I do insist on straightness at all times, as she has a tendency to pop onto her left shoulder. If she’s feeling a bit sharp, we do a bit of lateral work down the tracks to focus her brain. That’s about it. I don’t insist that she works into a specific frame out hacking, but equally I don’t let her slop along on a long rein coz she’s a sharp and spooky little bugger who’s prone to teleporting given the opportunity.

 

[ZondaR]

Edited to add that I misread the post, so here is a different answer.
I backed the pony I ride now and, in my ignorance, to me "backed" meant can be tacked up and ridden, and together we have ridden miles and miles. He is a very good hacking pony in that he will go anywhere and is reasonably well behaved. However, we were unable to do a decent walk, trot and canter in a school!
Now, with him aged 14 (and me nearly 57!), I have got a good instructor and we have gone right back to basics and I am actually schooling him (along Philippe Karl principles) and it is an eye opener. I am getting glimpses of a completely different pony and it is very exciting!
I do not have access to an arena so all my "schooling" is done out and about, whether in the corner of a field, in the farm yard (in hand mostly), or on a quiet road.
I only wish I had done it years ago!

I could have written this post, the only difference is I was about 47 when I started proper schooling but horse was about 14. Ten years on, he has retired this year and we are now only hacking and I no longer school him in the arena but do small bits when hacking, as previously said, leg yielding, a bit of lateral movement, transitions. Truth is he enjoyed the schooling and the improvement in his deportment. So yes, do some schooling even if you're not planning on competing. It is beneficial to how your horse moves and carries himself.

 

[Pearlsasinger]

I know we have had disagreements in the past about whether schooling can be done out hacking PAS but that was about schooling (as I would use the word for dressage flatwork) rather than general training to make a nicely educated horse to ride. I agree with your para in post 15.

I completely agree that you can't practise a dressage test on a hack unless you happen upon a 60mx40m space along your hack but here is no reason *at all* why you can't teach/practise each movement at some point in a hack. A dressage test, after all, is merely the putting together of a series of movements to make the horse a more responsive/better mannered ride.

 

[milliepops]

It absolutely depends on your hacking 😉 and the level you're training at. I don't have anywhere to canter safely let alone ride tempis or pirouettes out hacking 😝

 

[be positive]

I was going to say much the same mp I cannot see it feasible to school more advanced movements for numerous reasons, we do have some canter fields, the going is safe enough for a decent canter or gallop when conditions allow but I wouldn't expect to be able to do any proper lateral work because you need to build up to it, have the horse working correctly in order to benefit from doing each movement and most are not for riding round just going from a to b, it could be good for expressive tempis though!
You are in the minority though as most of us are at a much lower level and should be able to do most of out flatwork moves somewhere on a hack, it is often where mine really learn to leg yield/ shoulder in and one of the fields we use sometimes is uphill so perfect for medium trot/ canter without the confines of an arena.

 

[milliepops]

Yes BP I do agree really, things like LY can be easier to teach when out and about because the horses stays thinking forward instead of getting overwhelmed with the sideways. Often get the penny dropping for medium paces when out hacking too. But at the higher level where I am located (hacking is all slippy lanes on the side of steep hills) I'd struggle to get the stamina for intensity of performance (because of using different muscle groups) as well as any of the actual "movements". definitely useful cross training even so.

I used to have access to a huge reasonably flat field that was great for schooling in so def not wedded to the arena for schooling, but sadly those days have passed

I do train responsiveness and make sure I can access proper acceptance of the contact, bend, etc on the baby horses when hacking so they still have to be nice rides, but other than that it's pretty limited where i am, in terms of what can be achieved when hacking from a schooling POV. It's very useful for developing character and confidence though, we are mainly village based so there is always something going on plus traffic, cyclists, livestock etc which provides opportunities for a different kind of training.

 

[pansymouse]

Oh Dear God every time I hear the term "happy hacker" I want to scream 🤨

Hacking is not an easy discipline and as previous posters have said when riding out we are constantly educating our horses and ourselves.

We teach them to be brave and forward going by being responsive to seat and leg and we use "dressage moves" such as leg yield, shoulder in, turn on the forehand to navigate scary or spooky situations, traffic, natural obstacles etc.

I school my predominantly hacking horse because I love it and she benefits from being well balanced and supple.

Amen. I find the term "happy hacker" deeply offensive. My disciple is hacking and I'm damned good at it.

 

[Tarragon]

Absolutely!!!
Another one proud to be a "Professional Hacker"

 

[jj_87]

I school when I hack, horse will do lateral work etc

 

[Skib]

When I shared a horse to hack, it was said on the yard that I schooled her when hacking. I hadnt a clue what they meant. I was making sure the horse was safe for me and listening. If one doesnt ask a horse to do things on a hack how would one know? Or the horse know?

I agree about disliking the term Happy hacking - It is a riding skill like any other, But the truth is that I do sometimes feel very happy out hacking and am not altogether sure why. Riding out in a landscape with the view and the little changes in the track as the seasons pass, or riding canter trot transitions on a horse that is totally in tune with me, does make me excessively happy.
I once read in an essay on the painting, Mrs and Mrs Robert Andrews by Gainsborough, that it is in our genes to like surveying a landscape from an elevated place - So horseback would qualify? But we draw on a whole cultual tradition - Tolstoy and George Eliot. That sounds bonkers to the girls I ride with.

 

[hopscotch bandit]

When I shared a horse to hack, it was said on the yard that I schooled her when hacking. I hadnt a clue what they meant. I was making sure the horse was safe for me and listening. If one doesnt ask a horse to do things on a hack how would one know? Or the horse know?

I agree about disliking the term Happy hacking - It is a riding skill like any other, But the truth is that I do sometimes feel very happy out hacking and am not altogether sure why. Riding out in a landscape with the view and the little changes in the track as the seasons pass, or riding canter trot transitions on a horse that is totally in tune with me, does make me excessively happy.
I once read in an essay on the painting, Mrs and Mrs Robert Andrews by Gainsborough, that it is in our genes to like surveying a landscape from an elevated place - So horseback would qualify? But we draw on a whole cultual tradition - Tolstoy and George Eliot. That sounds bonkers to the girls I ride with.

I find that I am in a carefree place, at peace with myself when it is just me and the horse. I am sure people must think I am rude when I say I'd rather hack out on my own but I enjoy this much more. I also note more wildlife and my ears are more attuned to far off noises, like sheep ba-ing, or cows mooing or birds singing. I just love looking at the countryside and the animals within it.

I often think how sad it is that there are so many people sat at home in front of an x-box or watching trash on TV rather than experiencing the lovely hacks I go on most evenings. And I get to catch up with trashy TV when I get home lol.

 

[SpringArising]

I think about this quite a lot actually as there are a few people at my yard who only ever hack. And then once in a blue moon they want to go in the school for a flat lesson or to jump, and their horses look stiff and stuffy because they're not used to the restrictions of an arena. I hack as much as possible - in the summer up to about five times a week. In the winter once or twice due to the light. While I think you can do some schooling on a hack, you can't replicate the same things. There are pros to doing both for sure.

 

[pansymouse]

Don't get me wrong I'm rarely anything other than happy when I hack, indeed it's the best thing I can do to maintain my well-being and de-stress. I just don't like being patronised because that's what I choose to do with my horse.

 

[cblover]

I’ve always found a little schooling really improves hacking. My cob Kinzzy was a great hack, very calm and bold but could loose manners a little without schooling sessions. I found doing transitions, teaching her to keep her feet still (and mind still), moving hind quarters around and other slow but precise activities improved our hacks and made them even more pleasurable. I’m no speed freak, never have been so hacking was mainly walk and trot. But a good solid stop in place at road ends ect can be a life saver.

 

[Pearlsasinger]

I’ve always found a little schooling really improves hacking. My cob Kinzzy was a great hack, very calm and bold but could loose manners a little without schooling sessions. I found doing transitions, teaching her to keep her feet still (and mind still), moving hind quarters around and other slow but precise activities improved our hacks and made them even more pleasurable. I’m no speed freak, never have been so hacking was mainly walk and trot. But a good solid stop in place at road ends ect can be a life saver.

I agree, but all those movements can be taught/practised on a hack, you really don't need a school. I don't understand those riders who do not insist on good manners while hacking, they are not doing their horses or themselves, never mind those they meet, ant favours.

 

[Skib]

I will confess - I did go to the school. And ride dressage tests. I wanted to ride a flying change before it was too late. The YO expressed some admiration at my cantering. May be people dont believe one can ride if one is "just" hacking?

 

[Pearlsasinger]

I will confess - I did go to the school. And ride dressage tests. I wanted to ride a flying change before it was too late. The YO expressed some admiration at my cantering. May be people dont believe one can ride if one is "just" hacking?

If you want to ride a dressage test, that's fine but it's equally fine if you don't and some of us don't but it doesn't mean that we don't want well-mannered, capable horses.

 

[sbloom]

Rider-carrying muscles require schooling at the very least unless you're somehow managing significant thoracic sling lift out hacking, which is very unlikely. Many people, probably most of us, only manage it very minimally when schooling, hence in hand work to lift the sling is probably desirable for all. We're just not quite at the point yet where this is accepted more widely.

 

[Pearlsasinger]

Rider-carrying muscles require schooling at the very least unless you're somehow managing significant thoracic sling lift out hacking, which is very unlikely. Many people, probably most of us, only manage it very minimally when schooling, hence in hand work to lift the sling is probably desirable for all. We're just not quite at the point yet where this is accepted more widely.

But you can school on a hack!

 

[sbloom]

But you can school on a hack!

I don't disagree, but equally I am addressing the wider population, not the really good riders that can. In hand will generally trump any ridden work, and schooling, wherever it is done, will beat the way most people hack.

 

[Pearlsasinger]

I do quite a bit of in-hand work and loose work but I would have thought that hacking over varied terrain would have made it easier for the average rider to develop the rider-carrying muscles than charging around an arena on the forehand, trying to pull the nose into 'an outline'.

 

[be positive]

I don't see how someone who rides badly out hacking will do any better in a school or working in hand, if they have no idea what they are aiming for the horse may be worse off than going for a brisk hack in straight lines over varied terrain, up and down hills on a long rein, at least it should be using itself relatively evenly, if it has no underlying issues, and developing balance, fitness and some topline.

 

[sbloom]

I can only speak of the horses that are struggling to lift and therefore build proper topline, the number that are getting KS, hind suspensories, hock issues yada yada, because carrying a rider, and especially a more novice one, makes it all much harder. And there are plenty of resources to help correct in hand work, even static lifts and stretches added to a daily/weekly routine will help immensely. From the ground you can learn what everything LOOKS like, which is so often much easier than teaching ho to feel and therefore achieve correct work from on board. Once someone is open to trying in hand they're more likely to be set up to learn it correctly, it's a whole new mind set.

 

[sbloom]

I do quite a bit of in-hand work and loose work but I would have thought that hacking over varied terrain would have made it easier for the average rider to develop the rider-carrying muscles than charging around an arena on the forehand, trying to pull the nose into 'an outline'.

And of course there is what people often think is in hand work but is in fact pole work, lunging, ie ground work of other kinds. The muscle building stuff can be pretty specific, and again this is not to you directly, but I have even seen photos of an "equine osteo"'s own in hand work and the horse is massively dropped through the back as it walks over some poles - it's so easy to allow the horse to have poor posture in any work you ask the horse for if you don't know what you're looking/feeling for, and look how many photos we see of horses with top line syndrome of varying degrees. So few people really know what a correctly muscled horse looks like

 

[be positive]

I get the point but the average novice often does not know they have a problem until it shows up as a real issue and then the vets are involved who rarely suggest even getting a physio involved, if they are interested and proactive that is great but once the horse has broken it tends to be looked at as rehab rather than conditioning.
Many of the novice riders with horses that have these problems probably spend more time in the school than hacking if threads started on here are a reflection of the 'average' first time owner are anything to go by some never hack at all because they are too nervous.

My most recent 'project' was being 'schooled' regularly before it came here for schooling, once the badly, professionally, fitted saddle had been replaced I spent the first few days doing groundwork, stretches and lifts, before she went home I got her owner hacking her round the school on a loose rein, sent her home to do more proper hacking and now she is going 100% better, there is still a long way to go but she is straighter, her topline has changed totally, she can now canter on both leads and can jump a fence out of her stride, she still tends to curl up at times but her owner is developing a better feel for how she should feel and stopped trying to get her 'looking pretty' her words for what she used to do.

 

[Pearlsasinger]

I can only speak of the horses that are struggling to lift and therefore build proper topline, the number that are getting KS, hind suspensories, hock issues yada yada, because carrying a rider, and especially a more novice one, makes it all much harder.

And struggling through a deep artificial surface is going to make it all so much harder for the horse. I do see some atrocious riding out and about, I must say - and I don't mean hacking necessarily. Some of the riding at affiliated shows leaves a great deal to be desired and I got totally fed up of the 'nodding dog syndrome' at BE dressage, although that does seem to be decreasing now. My instructor did say that judges like to see it - Gawd knows why!

 

[Gloi]

Yes I school on a hack. I school him to open/close the most tricky of gates, stand like a rock while waiting for the farm machinery to squeeze past, cross the river even though the path is half washed away, shoo the cattle away from the gate so we can get through without letting them out, go walk to canter and back on any handy bit of verge and let me drop the reins and stand while I get the map out and unfold it, then put it away again.

 

[Pearlsasinger]

Yes I school on a hack. I school him to open/close the most tricky of gates, stand like a rock while waiting for the farm machinery to squeeze past, cross the river even though the path is half washed away, shoo the cattle away from the gate so we can get through without letting them out, go walk to canter and back on any handy bit of verge and let me drop the reins and stand while I get the map out and unfold it, then put it away again.

And (not aimed at any individual on here) I would like to see some competition riders and their horses do all that.

 

[Gloi]

Yes I school on a hack. I school him to open/close the most tricky of gates, stand like a rock while waiting for the farm machinery to squeeze past, cross the river even though the path is half washed away, shoo the cattle away from the gate so we can get through without letting them out, go walk to canter and back on any handy bit of verge and let me drop the reins and stand while I get the map out and unfold it, then put it away again.

Oh and most importantly in the summer call in at the shop to do this