What age did you go on your first solo hack?

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horselady

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As above those of you who had ponies growing up what age were you allowed to go on your first solo hack? I was allowed to go on solo hacks when I was 14 on a friends cob.
 
About 11 I think. In those days there was a lot less traffic, but disappearing for the day with a packed lunch was normal. My parents weren't horsey so weren't worried! No mobiles either.

Not a chance baby NB will be doing the same when he gets to that age, sadly. It's a different world.
 
I'm old... I was hunting alone at 8, including the hack to and from the meet. But that was a long time ago. My daughter hunted alone at 11 - she had "nannies" before then who were responsible for her. ( I had broken my back by then and could no longer ride...) And hacked alone by 13 or 14 I think - but with others the same age from about 11 too. You can GPS tag the phone (Find a friend and equivalent) so the parent / adult can see where the child is. (Or at least where the phone is...) We also had a GPS tag put in the saddle so if they parted company we could find the horse, and initially we put a deadman alarm on her phone - so if it was jolted in a fall it would automatically dial home. But took that off after a few too many false alarms...
 
I was 48ys 7mths. I let my granddaughter out loose when she was 12/13 off road only.
 
I was 13, but with a non horsey parent who did not know how naughty he was!

I think a lot will depend on where you are and what the pony is like. Some areas I won't hack alone now I am 50! In our village though I would be happy to send someone out even younger than I was for a short ride on the correct pony.
 
9 or 10, and this was the early 90s. Our yard owner was a farmer, though, and it was farming country. Us kids were never far from help. Except, on one memorable incident, in the depths of the Dartmoor Tors. I got given my first (brick sized) mobile phone after that one!
 
14 as soon as I got my first pony, a half broken Fell type. Within a few months we were out from dawn to dusk whenever I wasn't at school. O/s map and sandwich in my saddlebag and we were off. 30+ miles some days. Wish I was that keen now.
 
My son was around 12 - in the woods behind our yard. This was in about 2006. Worst that happened was on one occasion the pony cantered one side of a tree and he went the other. He bounced, the pony stopped. No harm done.

I was 39 when I got my first pony and hacked out on my own!!
 
I was 11, late 80's but it was around the farmers land. Road work, I was about 14-15 on a very traffic safe horse (leaves, flapping dresses and plastic bags another matter!) and the traffic was much less then.
Now I have a daughter, if she wishes to ride and have a horse I would insist on her taking the riding road safety test before hacking out. It's something that seems to be out of fashion?
 
I think my daughter was 10! I was unable to ride after a fall and she was desperate to so she went round fields alone.
I'm not sure when I properly let her loose!
I was 15 as that was when I got my first horse.
 
I was about 8, it was mid 90s. The only road work was 1/2 mile down a dead end lane to miles and miles of off road hacking, I'd disappear for hours on end exploring.
 
8 or 9, in the late 80s. I got my first pony at 10 so was well used to disappearing off on my own for the day by then. Mostly hacking round farmland though we did have a busy road to cross to get into the woods.
 
Myself and my brother who is 2 years older were 'set free without an adult' from about the ages of 10 and 8. (mid to late 80's). I guess I was solely on my own from 11/12 when brother was at school. Quiet village lane and lovely off road - which I grew up to miss when we moved from that area.
 
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