VERY happy Hackers!!

Wow!
High emotions here!!
I have been reading these threads with interest. I'm not that interested in competing, I'm in the "don't need an audience" camp, as someone put it on the other thread.
I do school, hack, ride on the beach,in the forest, xc school etc.
Some people hack because they believe it it good for their horse's mental (and physical) well being. Schooling can get very boring for all those involved, no matter how you mix it up.

I love to hack, and I think the things that you meet while out and about are character building and valuable experiences for horses.
Only this morning we had a RAF jet fly past us VERY low, and a tractor come round the corner carrying a heston bale on it's forks. Our two didn't bat an eyelid at either thing (killer bags in hedges are a different matter!!).
I take offence to someone saying I am stupid and irresponsible to take my horse out and risk his life by hacking. How dare you?
He loves hacking, and so long as I take every possible precaution to be safe/ in control and be seen, then why shouldn't I?
I expect one or two on here would have a bloody coronary if they were expected to go for a gallop down here. There is a road at either end just to add to the horrendous risk ;)
Photo391.jpg
 
alliersv1 said:
Wow!
High emotions here!!
I have been reading these threads with interest. I'm not that interested in competing, I'm in the "don't need an audience" camp, as someone put it on the other thread.
I do school, hack, ride on the beach,in the forest, xc school etc.
Some people hack because they believe it it good for their horse's mental (and physical) well being. Schooling can get very boring for all those involved, no matter how you mix it up.

I love to hack, and I think the things that you meet while out and about are character building and valuable experiences for horses.
Only this morning we had a RAF jet fly past us VERY low, and a tractor come round the corner carrying a heston bale on it's forks. Our two didn't bat an eyelid at either thing (killer bags in hedges are a different matter!!).
I take offence to someone saying I am stupid and irresponsible to take my horse out and risk his life by hacking. How dare you?
He loves hacking, and so long as I take every possible precaution to be safe/ in control and be seen, then why shouldn't I?
I expect one or two on here would have a bloody coronary if they were expected to go for a gallop down here. There is a road at either end just to add to the horrendous risk ;)
Photo391.jpg
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:eek: How dangerous riding next to a RIVER!
What if your galloping along and he jumps in?! :p;) lmao
Gorgeous hacking, very jealous :(
 
alliersv1 said:
Wow!
High emotions here!!
I have been reading these threads with interest. I'm not that interested in competing, I'm in the "don't need an audience" camp, as someone put it on the other thread.
I do school, hack, ride on the beach,in the forest, xc school etc.
Some people hack because they believe it it good for their horse's mental (and physical) well being. Schooling can get very boring for all those involved, no matter how you mix it up.

I love to hack, and I think the things that you meet while out and about are character building and valuable experiences for horses.
Only this morning we had a RAF jet fly past us VERY low, and a tractor come round the corner carrying a heston bale on it's forks. Our two didn't bat an eyelid at either thing (killer bags in hedges are a different matter!!).
I take offence to someone saying I am stupid and irresponsible to take my horse out and risk his life by hacking. How dare you?C
He loves hacking, and so long as I take every possible precaution to be safe/ in control and be seen, then why shouldn't I?
I expect one or two on here would have a bloody coronary if they were expected to go for a gallop down here. There is a road at either end just to add to the horrendous risk ;)
Photo391.jpg
Click to expand...
Beautiful Countryside-looks like near where my Little Sis lives-are you near St Ives/Holywell?x
 
Leskaneen you did sound a bit like a reverse snob in your post there are many reasons why the 'posh' horses were walking I don't know wants so clever or exciting about tearing up a gallop perhaps the 'posh riders' just wanted their horses to have some relaxing ridden down time perhaps they had had intensive training this week who knows you do want let them do what they want and they were probally very happy having a nice relaxing mosy about on their 'posh ' horses
Super Kat do calm down you will give yourself ulcers ! I think OP perhaps did not quite mean the inference you took from her post
Lets all enjoy what we enjoy and be happy for each other , here endeth the sermon
 
Leskaneen some horses whose riders are skilled and well trained love their dressage training in the school one of mine stands in field and bangs the gate if I school another ( don't know if I'm skilled but I'm certainly well trained)because he loves his training and yes I do hack him out and yes he would canter up a gallop if we chose to.
Just because you don't fully get the training thing don't think that it's the same for everyone people or horses.
 
Goldenstar said:
Leskaneen you did sound a bit like a reverse snob in your post there are many reasons why the 'posh' horses were walking I don't know wants so clever or exciting about tearing up a gallop perhaps the 'posh riders' just wanted their horses to have some relaxing ridden down time perhaps they had had intensive training this week who knows you do want let them do what they want and they were probally very happy having a nice relaxing mosy about on their 'posh ' horses
Super Kat do calm down you will give yourself ulcers ! I think OP perhaps did not quite mean the inference you took from her post
Lets all enjoy what we enjoy and be happy for each other , here endeth the sermon
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WELL SAID!!!-blimey-don t take much to stir folk up on here-suppose we re all having a boring Monday lol.Right-work done -Im off to running club-gonna run about in the road for a bit then go and do some hill work on the gallops-THAT should get me a slating!!
 
Super_Kat said:
leskaneen said:
we did nt see any of the "posh" horses go faster than a walkQUOTE]

Right, now YOU sound totally up your own arse!!!!!
To me what you did was bloody stupid! I compete, I have 4 small, quirky TB type horses and I play polocrosse (youtube it, it's lacrosse on a horse, it's fast furious and dangerous), I'm a national champion for the second year running in my grade, I also picked up a best player award at the national champs this year, I hold a european title and one of my ponies has a world championship title under his belt. I would consider myself experienced, competant and confident. I would NEVER go out on a hack and do this unless I'm on my livery farm and the horses can only go back to the yard and not get out onto the roads.
If I got decked out on a hack I've got a horse loose on the roads that could do £thousands in damage to itself or other peoples property or even kill somebody!
I don't know what you're trying to prove by saying you rode on the roads then went for a gallop? You've made yourself sound like the snob. You let your horse have a run on a hack, congratulations, some people take a bit more care with their horses wellbeing.
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Oooh.....handbags at dawn....

I always let my horse have a gallop.....for his wellbeing;) He loves it and is much more relaxed afterwards.

Oddly enough- he knows the difference between having a good blast accross a field/gallops and behaving on the roads.....despite being a flighty peice of work. If you can't control them out hacking- don't do it. Some of us can- without the trophy.:rolleyes:
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Feck me, I've just read super_kat's posts on this thread and I've fallen off my fricking chair because I am so shocked at being such an awful owner for HAVING FUN!!!!!!!!!!!
Not to mention that my horse is having FUN too!!!
 
forestfantasy said:
:eek: How dangerous riding next to a RIVER!
What if your galloping along and he jumps in?! :p;) lmao
Gorgeous hacking, very jealous :(
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To be honest. Despite my protestations, I'd rather not ride next to a river, but despite appearances, our hacking isn't great. We can't really avoid roads on any of our hacks, and the rivers/drains are quite hard to miss too. Unfortunately, the riverbanks are the only long stretches with good ground where we can open them up. Some parts are much wider than this though...thankfully!

leskaneen said:
Beautiful Countryside-looks like near where my Little Sis lives-are you near St Ives/Holywell?x
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We're about 30 miles away, but still in the fens, so similar countryside :)
 
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I hack along roads to get to places that are good for a gallop. I enjoy it and so does my horse. I wear high viz and hope that drivers see me and give me respect. TBH my horse is pretty good. Although yesterday she did spook when she saw a pig in a field at the side of the road!

I don't compete, our school is out of action and has been for most of the summer. If I didn't hack I wouldn't be able to ride.

Some hacks I just walk and I don't have a "posh" horse.

If I thought 'what if' I would never get on in the first place

There's nothing quite like the feeling of getting way off the beaten track (even it does initially involve some road work) and having a blast.
 
claireandnadia said:
I am a very happy hacker too. Went out at the weekend and acted a bit like an excitable teenager as our horses really stretched their legs....had a fab time.
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Had a great time - with both us and the horses acting like kids on occasions :D
(obviously we behaved with total decorum when there was anyone else in sight tho :o ) Havent looned about like that in years, great end to 'summer time' :cool:
 
Just thought I'd mention:
5+ of our horses got loose on the road, when a bike with a red flashing light came along. They HAD seen them before, we still don't know why they all spooked as much as they did. They were at a sedate walk on the way home and this accident still happened. All horses and riders were fine, but it's just another point that accidents can happen any time, any place! (I wasn't there for this accident, but I heard plenty about it!!)

I wish I could avoid roads, but it's just not possible. When foot and mouth was around, we were trapped in the school for MONTHS! The horses became bored and dangerous, they're hackers, not used to schooling! Even when we threw jumps in the mix they soon got bored.

I do have respect for comp. riders though. I'm such a wimp when it comes to jumping, I get worried about anything higher than 2ft6!
 
Obviously I can't speak for everyone... But there must be tons of us who as little girls (or boys) used to sit at home reading the pony books (Jinny... Black stallion.. Etc) dreaming it was us. I used to spend hours daydreaming and all I wanted to do was gallop across some lonely countryside just me and my horse with the wind in our hair and not a care in the world.
To me thats what horses are all about, the freedom, the power. To gallop a horse is the best thing ever, literally the stuff dreams are made of, it fulfills my soul and I think it's a total shame that people confine themselves and their horses to arenas.
Yeah there's risks blah blah, but if we all thought about the risks in everything we do no one would get out of bed in the morning.
 
I have alot of respect for people who compete, but think i might have lost a little after reading how rude and arrogant SuperKat was, Im sorry but not everyone had national titles, people have their horses to enjoy them and if your way is competiting at a high level fair enough, but anything you do with a horse is a risk ive seen horses get onto main roads when they have been spooked tied up on the yard when going to get their tack, horses jumping out fields, im sorry but this all has to stop people saying that your not a good rider if you dont compete or your a stuck up rider if you do, people have horses to enjoy them to do what they enjoy with them, surely it should be left to that, we shouldnt be at each others throats pretty much because of what we do with our horses, hell i take my horse commonriding in the summer thats something that many people dont agree with but me and my horse enjoy going round the countryside with a couple of hundred other horses, i have fun as does my horse, so why should anyone else care what I do with my horse....sorry but these threads are driving me nuts :)
 
Hang on a second though, if you've got a horse that can jump, surely a fenced arena would be little assistance if you fell off in the school and it jumped out. The horse could just as easily end up on the road in that scenario. And of course, the horse could jump out of its field as well, and be on the roads in an heartbeat.

It seems to me that either all horses must be ridden and given turnout in indoor arenas only, or must be made to wear diving boots at all times to weigh them down a bit.

Glad we've got that one sorted!
 
:confused: Bit confused now....I hack my lad out a lot on the country lanes, we gallop on the beaches, spend hours getting lost on the forest tracks and have races back through our fields to the yard. Then some weekends I compete in SJ'ing, dressage or XC, others I'll go on fun rides or Drag Hunt...all done on my extreamly fit and healthy hairy cob.

Always considered myself a horse lover...now't else just a very very lucky lady who had a beautiful little horse who enjoys life but obviously I need to be put in a group and labelled.

Oh dear the worry. ;)
 
My friend says that when she is riding she discovers that she knows a lot of overgrown 8 year olds :D as we all recover our sense of fun that we first discovered as children playing out on ponies :D
 
Feathered said:
Obviously I can't speak for everyone... But there must be tons of us who as little girls (or boys) used to sit at home reading the pony books (Jinny... Black stallion.. Etc) dreaming it was us. I used to spend hours daydreaming and all I wanted to do was gallop across some lonely countryside just me and my horse with the wind in our hair and not a care in the world.
To me thats what horses are all about, the freedom, the power. To gallop a horse is the best thing ever, literally the stuff dreams are made of, it fulfills my soul and I think it's a total shame that people confine themselves and their horses to arenas.
Yeah there's risks blah blah, but if we all thought about the risks in everything we do no one would get out of bed in the morning.
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I get to do that everyday if I want to! Actually I'm surprised I ever school my horse :)

My horse is also 'posh' (a 16.3hh warmblood) and competes at Dressage!
 
Lovin the post! Yep we had a memorable hack on Saturday. I did'nt think my guys really knew how to gallop but we flew and for the past 3 days my shoulders and stomach muscles ache like crazy, cant cough without a gentle reminder of why it hurts, usually we just dollop along, there was something in the air that day, must have been the, shoot, hunt and eveybody else we bumped into, I am still smiling, mainly because I stayed on Yay!
 
I only go on the road for about 3mins to get on my off road hacking. I also ride around the farm but find the pheasants far more dangerous!!
As for posh expensive horses not going hacking. Think of eventers, they are always being hacked. Some worth more money than my house!!
 
Spudlet said:
Hang on a second though, if you've got a horse that can jump, surely a fenced arena would be little assistance if you fell off in the school and it jumped out. The horse could just as easily end up on the road in that scenario. And of course, the horse could jump out of its field as well, and be on the roads in an heartbeat.

It seems to me that either all horses must be ridden and given turnout in indoor arenas only, or must be made to wear diving boots at all times to weigh them down a bit.

Glad we've got that one sorted!
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Totally agree. What's the difference between hacking out... leaving the road and joining a canter track and having a gallop, (The OP didn't mention whether this area is fenced off, so let's assume it is) and doing lacrosse or whatever in an arena/on a polo field?

Any horse that can jump, can toss the rider and jump the fence and bugger off. In fact, some don't jump them, they run through them.

Blimey, some people are so bigheaded.
 
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