what is a 'safe hack' to you?

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clairefeekerry1

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for you to describe a horse as a safe hack, would it literally have to be foot perfect, or could you accept the odd spook, or even could you accept the odd paddy etc as long as there was no rearing/bolting? know this will differ as per person but just being nosey! i'd say mine is safe hack, to me that means no bucking/bolting good in open spaces but he can be quite fresh.
 
A safe hack to me is a horse that doesnt run off at the sight of large and noisy vehicles. ie. tractors/buses. A horse that will trust the rider, if it hesitates to go forward through fear of the unknown.
 
From what I've experienced of Belle (only had the chance to hack out a handful of times so far) I would say she is a safe hack. To me that is no bucking, bolting and unafraid of traffic. Belle occasionally spooks at the odd thing but is pretty brave in general, you can get her past things and she doesn't hot up in the open fields. Haven't tried a canter yet though!
 
I consider my cob a safe hack, others would not, I think it's a very personal view. Mine has tanked with me once in nearly 13 years (and I had flu and was weak and pathetic that day!) and spooks at flowers, shadows, bins etc, but never bucks, rears, whips around, you could ride him down a busy road on a loose rein and he won't care about the traffic, but will probably shy at a crisp packet, he will go at the speed you ask for the distance you dictate, and will canter along a track one day, and walk it the next with no argument - would you consider him a safe hack?
 
A safe hack to me would be one that didn't need an experienced rider and was unlikely to take offense to anything on the road
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To me a safe hack is good in traffic, has brakes and if it spooks it's more of a squat than a spin/bolt/rear etc but I wouldn't expect anything described as a safe hack to braindead, bombproof etc
 
ye i would, my mum woudn't! just a personal thing really! impotant to me would be you could canter one place one day and walk the next without any argument!
 
A safe hack is a horse that will gu out alone and in company. Not hot up and become fizzy when other horses are cantering past.

Not be sharp/overly spooky and good in traffic.
 
A safe hack is one that is sensible all situations that you might come across normally out hacking, would be good in traffic and not spooky. Stop and go when asked for alone and in company!

I guess the epitany of a safe hack would probably be a police horse!
 
A safe hack to me has to be good in all traffic, forward thinking off my leg and trusts me when I say keep going.
It would still be considered safe by me if it spooked/shyed here and there on the road or on grass but must have brakes on grass.
 
I would say that Jazz is a great hack.

He's forward going but not stupid.
Doesn't nap or hang for home, but does get a bit quicker on the way home but not too much.
If he spooks he doesn't take advantage of unbalanced blobby rider - he just carries on as we had been.
He is intelligent enough to realise that if I say stop whilst others are trotting up the road there's an issue. He pulls up and puts himself across the lane to stop the horse who's bolted behind!! For a horse with "no brakes", that's quite impressive!
In open space he doesn't p**s off unless another horse does, and even then he's balanced!

The only thing that worries me about hacking Jazz is he does have a tripping thing - he's gone down with me a few times (never right down but two or three times scrabbling on the floor to pick himself up) even on a completely flat, smooth surface. Does remind you to keep your shoulders back!!!
 
I would say D is very safe because she never hots up or gets silly. You could canter in the same place 20 times in a row and then walk up there on a loose rein the next time and she just wouldn't care. You can ride her alone or in a big group and she doesn't care.

She will buck occassionally but thats just gleefulness, not maliciousness and you can tell when she's going to do it so its not dangerous.

Having worked 6 years at a RS as a teenager I can tell you that no horse is completely safe or bombproof. Even the most ploddy elderly cob will once in a blue moon decide to kick up its heels and gallop for home because its seen a scary daffodil or the wind was blowing in the wrong direction. People that want really safe horses should buy a mountain bike.
 
I would say my pony is almost a safe hack the only thing that really worries him is trains. If riding alongside a bridleway next to trains or under or over a railway bridge then and a train comes he can get started and run off - never normally that far and I have always managed to stop him but I avoid riding anywhere near trains on my own - he is brave when another horse is with him.

He stops and starts easily and happy to hack out alone or in company. He is alert but not generally spooky and even if he sees something frightening as long as it is not a train he tends to stop and have a look and if you reassure him he will normally continue without a problem. For example he used to find smoke a little frightening but now is fine going past a bonfire in a garden that is near the road when there is smoke billowing.
 
i think my horse is a safe hack. when i hack on him, i feel safe.

he has the odd spook at things, but, he literally just jumps and blows out of his nose. he never runs off (touch wood), never drops a shoulder (touch wood), never bucks (touch wood). his biggest problem out hacking is his pony-like ability to recognise when you're slightly distracted and his head goes shooting down to eat grass.
 
Interesting post!

I consider my girl to be wonderful out hacking, and I personally feel very safe with her...but I wouldnt describe her as a safe hack. She is very spooky, she isnt perfect with traffic, she has a tendency to buck when we have our first canter and she can sometimes plant herself if she thinks something is too unbelievably terrifying to walk past. None of these things bother me, but because of them I couldnt say she is a safe hack! That said, she would never tank off or be nappy, and for that reason I have often taken her out as 'nanny' to people with young or very green horses - she is an angel when it comes to control!

So a completely safe hack, in general, would be a horse with absolutely NO vices or habits at all, IMO. 100% in traffic, no spooking, no tanking off, no bucking or rearing, no questioning of the rider. No fun, in fact! I would much rather have a quirky horse like Elz - I guess really, a safe hack is whatever you personally feel safe on
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A safe hack to me is one where I have the confidence to mount up at the yard and go anywhere I wish to, on road or off, on my own or in company, without fear of spooking or bolting and who listens to me and uses the gait I choose. One who, if confronted by something that is new, worrying or potentially threatening, will listen and trust me and go past without spinning or rearing or anything else that may cause me to be unnerved.

Archie is that horse.
 
I would say something that didnt need an experienced rider to take it out. No rearing, bolting or extreme napping. A horse that trusts you to take it into new places without being too hesitant and one that isnt too spooky about traffic.
 
Something that I feel safe on and trust and know that whatever happens horse will remember that I am there and try to keep me there. I like a horse that thinks "us" not "me". Hope that makes sense.
 
To me a safe hack is one that will not spook at a bag in the road, spin around and p!ss of home, that is sensible in heavy traffic and will go for a canter, gallop, whatever at your desired speed then pull up easily and continue walking on a loose rein in open spaces.

ETA - and will happily walk through water. Lots of fords close to me, be it on the roads or bridlepaths.
 
[ QUOTE ]
ditto. its that feeling you can go whenever, wherever, with whoever without a disaster

[/ QUOTE ]

I was trying to think how to explain what I want to say but that pretty much sums it up for me.

No bucking, rearing, spinning and bolting. Safe in traffic. All horses spook occasionally but I think a safe hack wouldnt do anything major. No hotting up either.

I wouldnt call my horse a safe hack. She is good in traffic and on the road but hots up in the fields and spooks often. A spook used to be a side step but when hacking alone its become a bronc. Very annoying.
 
Depends on the context:

Initial impulse for an answer was "something you'd be happy to put your non-horsey mum on for a plod round the tracks!"
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But on further reflection, I'd say it's a horse that, barring extreme circumstances, is a horse that will remain under the control of the person riding it. Thus, its safety as a hack will depend on the ability of the particular rider.

I consider the Spooky Pony to be a good hack---for me. He stays reasonably sane in fast company, will go out alone, doesn't bother about traffic, and has pretty good brakes. However, he's a practitioner of Extreme Spooking, with specialties in: Spin&Bolt, Spread-Eagle Freeze, Sideways Teleport, and High-Speed Reverse. He can be prone to jogging after a fast canter, and pacing impatiently when asked to stand still on a fast group hack. Hmm...
 
I think that most horses will spook a least once out hacking, therefore I would not deem a horse that spooked infrequently as an 'unsafe' hack.

Sadly more and more nowerdays there is a trend to people thinking that safe hack has to mean 100% which no horse will ever be, if you think your horse is 100%...you just haven't found what he's scared of yet.
 
I wonder if many would consider Dizz a safe hack...

She hasn't turned and bolted for home, she'll go past anything (though sometimes it's backwards and sometimes at speed), she'll go where she's asked even if her knees are knocking, she tends not to spook at things. Sounds pretty good, however standing still is sometimes a bit iffy, which if not controlled, can be a pain.
 
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