What would your horse do?

[poiuytrewq]

Made me think! A while ago I hacked a friends horse out as she was away. I didn’t know the area at all and she said it’s prettt simple and he knows where to go and how to get home..... famous last words. He had no clue and we got totally lost and were out for ages 😂
If you said that to someone and they jumped on and “handed over the reins” what would your horse do or where would it go?
One of mine, I imagine would either take the short cut circuit of the village (a short easy in a hurry route I do!) or would go back to the dead end that go’s to his summer grazing.
The other, god knows. You’d be off on an adventure (watch your knees!)
He doesn’t automatically follow roads so would wander up banks, over walls through hedges and ditches. You could end up anywhere but it would probably be quite entertaining 😂

 

[Leo Walker]

My eyesight is pretty bad at the minute and the turning to the yard is on my blind side and its just a gap in a huge stone wall. I quite often trot merrily past it and Bobbie doesnt bat an eyelid, so I suspect she would keep going indefinitely!

 

[ihatework]

I’d imagine mine would go to the nearest grass verge and start chomping!

 

[LeannePip]

Mine can be a bit nappy going out the yard and doesn't LOVE hacking so you;d probably still be sat in the yard.

If you got her out, she'd find you the quickest route back to the yard

 

[ElectricChampagne]

one of mine would meander through any field or random path, happily ambling along.

the other, nearest grassy patch and stay there munching until I tell her to move on. and then it would still be under protest.

 

[The Trooper]

Both of them would go straight to the nearest grass/bush/anything green.

 

[Gloi]

My old pony knew the shortest route back home from anywhere we ever hacked out to, and we did many miles. I'd give him the choice at junctions sometimes and he always picked the shortest route, sometimes I wasn't sure which way was shortest but if I checked it later he was never wrong. However given a totally free choice of what to do he'd just stop and eat.

 

[Red-1]

I have done this, with Police Horses we would often be dropped into an area to do whatever job and be somewhere new. In the latter years smart phones ruled, but in 1994 when I joined, mobile phones were all brand new ad had no fancy apps attached.

I remember with one colleague we occasionally played "Darnall Decides" where the horse, Darnall, would plot our patrol area. Obviously this would be where we were on general public reassurance patrol in a residential area as opposed to a targeted response.

All I can say is that we always went out, and after 4 hours or so we came back. Can't say that Darnall ever wanted to wizz round the block and go straight back to the box. Nor were we ever late off.

Most days we were, of course, more targeted than the Darnall Decides game would allow, so we would have maps and a definite plan. Darnall Decides days were good though.

 

[MotherOfChickens]

my old horse would have you out all day, over any terrain. current one would march purposely to the greenest patch of green.

 

[ester]

I trusted Frank once, it was dark, my light had failed and we were in the woods that had a lot of different tracks that I hadn't been totally familiar with (I had underestimated how long it would take).

He promptly took us in entirely the opposite direction, which I realised when we reached a road when we really shouldn't have. At least I then knew where we were and there was then a bridlepath outside of the woods we could use to get back (tree branches tend to bash you on the head in the dark).

I've never let him 'choose' since.

 

[9tails]

I like to think that my horse knows the way round, but she's quite an explorer so given the chance would veer off course to investigate new routes. If we go down a new route and it's impassable, she gets very agitated when we turn around and then acts like I can't be trusted for the rest of the hack.

 

[poiuytrewq]

Interesting! I don’t think either of mine would stop and eat. Not with a rider on board but maybe?! 😂

 

[DirectorFury]

I love the story of 'Darnell Decides' Red!

Mine knows her way home from the bottom common; which is good as I don't know the way! As soon as the gate is closed I drop the reins and she takes us to the gate onto the yard . It's about a mile with lots of trees/bushes/grass and no clear paths. She also knows her way back from the nearest beach.

If I gave her the option after just leaving the yard she'd either turn round and head back to her stable, or trot off to her summer field.

 

[Asha]

My mare would take you right to the field that the local farmer has been resting over winter, probably have a good hoolie around it, then stop for a picnic. She eyes it up every time we hack pass.

 

[MiJodsR2BlinkinTite]

I could trust my old gal to get me home; she came to me on loan having done a lot of endurance in her time. I took her on what was a new ride for myself and friend (friend was riding my other horse). We went on a 4-hr round hike. Her owner had briefly described the route to me, saying not to worry as mare had been that way before and knew her way.

She did!! It was one of those routes where you're really not sure whether you should be there or not (we had to go through an industrial complex for part of the way), but Madam obviously knew exactly where we were going and we got home safe and sound!

My other horse (old boy, now gone) had been at a trekking centre in an area where they used to do pub rides, and so I knew that if I'd ever gone in that particular area and been stuck for a pint, he'd have taken me to the nearest hostelry - bleddi useful horse to have I reckon!!

 

[Ellzbellz97]

Mine can be a bit nappy going out the yard and doesn't LOVE hacking so you;d probably still be sat in the yard.

If you got her out, she'd find you the quickest route back to the yard

Sounds like mine

 

[The Trooper]

I have done this, with Police Horses we would often be dropped into an area to do whatever job and be somewhere new. In the latter years smart phones ruled, but in 1994 when I joined, mobile phones were all brand new ad had no fancy apps attached.

I remember with one colleague we occasionally played "Darnall Decides" where the horse, Darnall, would plot our patrol area. Obviously this would be where we were on general public reassurance patrol in a residential area as opposed to a targeted response.

All I can say is that we always went out, and after 4 hours or so we came back. Can't say that Darnall ever wanted to wizz round the block and go straight back to the box. Nor were we ever late off.

Most days we were, of course, more targeted than the Darnall Decides game would allow, so we would have maps and a definite plan. Darnall Decides days were good though.

This is brilliant, so much so in fact, I may try it next time me and my boyfriend are out and have a whole day and see where the girls actually take us...

 

[dorsetladette]

borrowed a friends old cob to ride with my daughter last summer. He had a proper strop when I didn't want to go his usual route and every turn we had an argument - proper full on tantrums.

In hind sight we should of followed him as we got completely lost and ended up being out for hours trying to find our way home. Every tree looked the same and I couldn't take my hands off the reins to check my phones GPS as he was wound up like a top.

 

[MissTyc]

I got horrifically lost on a horse that "knew the area well" , back in the 90s, no mobile to call for help and a snowstorm to contend with. Quite the adventure!
My cob would do our "usual daily" which is a bridleway version of going round the block. He does this on the buckle every day so I think would plod around it. My mare on the other hand, there is no predicting where she would go, if anywhere!

 

[The Fuzzy Furry]

B Fuzzy would head out the gate very positively marching, turn left and make her way to 1 of 2 yards, to collect others 😂
(She enjoys going with others) That said, she already knows the routes for home on my solo hacks
L Fuzzy would amble off grudgingly, within 10 mins you'd be back in the yard 😂😂

Last week, we had an upset with an errant dog, friend tipped off on 2nd spin and her horse ran for home, took him under 15 mins in 4th gear.... he had only moved there 3 weeks before!

 

[ycbm]

I was lost in a wood once, dropped my reins and said to the horse 'Find your way home'. He did.

And on another occasion I was in my yard and forgot that the gates were open for a visitor. I didn't bother to hold the reins and was doing up my girth when the horse wandered off, out of the gate, and most of the way to the friend's house two miles away where I always went for coffee on a Monday, with me trudging along behind. He only stopped because it was a very narrow road and a car came the other way. 😂

 

[SpringArising]

Probably turn for home.

 

[hopscotch bandit]

Made me think! A while ago I hacked a friends horse out as she was away. I didn’t know the area at all and she said it’s prettt simple and he knows where to go and how to get home..... famous last words. He had no clue and we got totally lost and were out for ages 😂
If you said that to someone and they jumped on and “handed over the reins” what would your horse do or where would it go?
One of mine, I imagine would either take the short cut circuit of the village (a short easy in a hurry route I do!) or would go back to the dead end that go’s to his summer grazing.
The other, god knows. You’d be off on an adventure (watch your knees!)
He doesn’t automatically follow roads so would wander up banks, over walls through hedges and ditches. You could end up anywhere but it would probably be quite entertaining 😂

Straight to the nearest grass verge for a munch

 

[DabDab]

Dabs has got me home from many a far flung location before now, which is very useful since I'm so prone to getting lost and usually somewhere with no phone signal (or my phone has gone flat 🙈). In the forest this is a little problematic because he will take the most direct route and there are quite a few paths that are off limits for horses as there is an environment that shouldn't be disturbed, so I keep having to pull him off his route and get him to pick another one, which he finds annoying 😂. He wouldn't take you out of his own accord, but if you got him a mile up the road he would choose a suitable route quite happily.

Arts would march you out of the yard and probably around the route that she's most used to and home. I'm not sure yet whether she'd get me home if I got us lost, but I'm sure I'll find out sooner or later 😂

 

[Pc2003]

my lad is an absolute marcher when out hacking so I reckon he would follow the road in whatever direction you left the yard and just keep marching till the ends of the earth. Turning round/going home isn’t in his nature 😆

 

[Sussexbythesea]

Existing evidence shows my old guy would probably go to the nearest patch of grass. A friend fell off him once when he spooked, span around then fell over on the road depositing her then ran off. Hurried and worried phone calls were made to the yard saying he was on his way home but she walked about a hundred yards turned the corner and he was there chomping on the first patch of grass he’d found!

New guy I called a homing pigeon this morning as he is always on a mission and especially when we turn for home he walks out particularly well so I’d guess he’d make his way there soon enough. He’d stay in main routes though as he’s got an aversion to sticks which makes interesting riding in the wooded area we mainly ride in 🙄

 

[meleeka]

Mine can be a bit nappy going out the yard and doesn't LOVE hacking so you;d probably still be sat in the yard.

If you got her out, she'd find you the quickest route back to the yard

Same here

 

[Rosemary28]

Whilst helping out at a trekking centre in Italy one summer, I was asked to take a mother and daughter out on a ride. I had done the route loads of times over the past few weeks and I rode the horse that was usually used to lead the rides. so knew the way. Anyway, we got to where two forest tracks crossed and I confidently asked her to turn right, she was determined it was left... We went my way, and ended up doing the rest of the ride backwards as I had gone completely the wrong way! Luckily she helped me later on but next time I made sure I listened to her when I wasn't 100%, she knew a lot better than me...

 

[Talism4n]

My old boy regularly had to take us home after endurance training rides where I'd lost track of time and all directions. I used to just drop the reins and say "home", and he would find the easiest route, . Glad I could trust him as I would have gone in the opposite direction on so many occasions!

New boy is a different kettle of fish. He regularly sets off towards places he hasn't been before and favours going cross country over following the road, so I can absolutely see a new rider letting him confidently cart them off into the wilderness, both believing that the other knew how to get back.

 

[Rosemary28]

Scruffy pony would take you home and sod the traffic, he has been known to try and turn into the drive in front of lorries before because he is so unbothered by them. Unless there was something to eat nearby, in which case he would eat and then take you home.