What would your horse do?

[Merrymoles]

Mine behaves better in places he doesn't know so would probably keep going until he hit John O'Groats.

He will happily march past the yard on a circular ride, although this is slightly improved since he learned his "job" of lining up sideways to let me press the entry gate code buttons as he now "parks" himself automatically to do that. When we rode last night, my friend said in amazement: "Did you actually give him any instructions then?" Nope, he's a slow learner but once he understands a task he's totally "got" it!

So, either off on a mystery tour or "parked" at the yard gate waiting for someone to press the magic buttons!

 

[Fransurrey]

All of mine like to explore, even the new boy once he's settled into the ride. My Exmoor gelding would take you up and down the steepest inclines. His favourite rides were the mountain bike playgrounds, where they'd dug out pits and made jumps. My mare would do the same until she met ANYTHING, which is when she'd spin and try to bugger off home. My new cob seems to think he is about 3 hands smaller. He keeps trying to turn up or down the illegal mountain bike trails round here. I could get away with it on an Exmoor, but not sure a young unbalanced chunky cob is ready for that!!!

 

[ester]

*whispers dabdab viewranger works without signal it is vvvv useful! (I got it after said incident).

 

[ester]

Oh the mare would never trust we knew where we were when away from home (discovered mum does have a terrible sense of direction) so I think her and mum would breathe the same sigh of relief when we could see the trailer again!

 

[Keith_Beef]

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.

Would that have been S.Yorkshire mounted section?

 

[TheOldTrout]

My mare always knows when she's turned towards home (better than I do), she starts to accelerate in the walk.

 

[The-Bookworm]

I have experimented with this by mounting and not picking up the reins.
She heads off to the field that we are not currently using and has a stroll around.
She also thinks it's a cue for let's eat.

When have come off in the past, she eats. Why run when there is food to be had. That would be similar to me choosing to jog past cake!
If I choose to guide her in the direction of off the yard she would then head into the first house with a lawn, you simply wouldn't get anywhere with this one. Then it's into any field with an open gate, food. You would nibble your way round the area.

 

[Xanthoria]

If you could get him away from the mounting block, where he'd stand forever with his head cranked round for a "good boy for standing still at the block" treat... you'd get to the ranch road and he'd see A Thing. Then he'd do the 1,000 yard stare for 5 minutes if you let him, before having an itchy nose and scratching it on his leg, lower and lower, until he reached the grass...

After some well timed thumps (he's a 17.1 WB with very few effs available for donation), you might get on the trail, moving extremely slowly, but despite not loving it/generally finding the world scary, he would take a weird off piste route and end up in the shrubbery. He's weird!

 

[DabDab]

*whispers dabdab viewranger works without signal it is vvvv useful! (I got it after said incident).

I think it's you who has recommended/mentioned that app on here before...on the strength of which I went off and downloaded it. It didn't seem to have many of the tracks in the forest, so all it told me the first time I needed it was that I was stood in the middle of a forest (which is the one piece of information I didn't need help with 😂). I fiddled with it for a bit, then my battery died and I once again chucked the reins at Dabs to take over (i swear he let out an exasperated sigh). So a week or so later I deleted it. They still merrily send me emails though....Maybe I should give it another try and attempt to be more competent this time

 

[ester]

ah damn, it had all our woods tracks on (not ROW, often all looked the same!)

 

[Pinkvboots]

Mine would know which direction is home as they normally go up a gear or jog as soon as they are on there way back.

 

[Ruftysdad]

Mine would know which direction is home as they normally go up a gear or jog as soon as they are on there way back.

Mine would know which direction is home as they normally go up a gear or jog as soon as they are on there way back.

Many years ago I was doing an Endurance Ride with a friend on Cannock Chase. The horse I was riding was a very experienced endurance horse. Showgirl, if any one remembers her. We were chatting away and suddenly she stopped dead, very unusual as she knew her job. We then realised we had missed a marker and should have turned. She either remembered the route or knew what markers meant. She prevented us from going off piste and completed the ride successfully.
Bit off topic I know

 

[GoldenWillow]

He'd go to the nearest grass and still be there now.

 

[Auslander]

Alf usually chooses where we're going anyway - he has a favourite route, but he does't always go that way. I think he'd get me home from pretty much anywhere round here

 

[SEL]

I did guided treks in Australia and was told that the horses only did 2 routes, both came back the same way so they would bring me home. Yeah right, ended up at the local pig farm with a load of jumpy horses with novices on.

Militaire had form when he was in work of marching off with rider on board to the hay barn. The other one? Would depend on her mood. Probably engage reverse and refuse to leave the yard.

 

[Shooting Star]

Mine would happily speed walk their rider home, if you’re walking slowly it’s a pretty good clue that you’re heading in the wrong direction for home!

 

[catembi]

I got heartily lost on quite a dim heavyweight mare in my teens & somehow ended up on the verge of a field as the new bridleway I'd been following had petered out & by the time I'd finished hunting about for it, I couldn't remember where I'd come from. I gave her the reins hoping she'd find her way home & she plodded along one side of the field, then along the next side. Reached the third side & I thought, you stupid horse, you're just going round the field. You've got no more idea of where we are than I have.

But she stopped, looked about - then pushed her way through a *very* thick hedge. Had to pull my knees up v quickly not to get dragged off. And carried on at a purposeful plod. And got us home by a very direct route! So much for 'stupid horse'...! To answer the original question though, if she was given free rein in the yard, you would have spent the day sitting on her while she grazed.

 

[tda]

My pony Tinker definitely knows the way home, last month took her and a visiting horse to a paddock away from home for a couple of weeks, two hours later she was home 😲 all off road, but even so, bloomin ponies.
I always used to say she loved a new road while out exploring, but then she's a greedy baggage, so just as likely to be in the hedge munching 😂

 

[tankgirl1]

I once let a friend take my mare out and apparently she stropped the whole way because my friend went 'the wrong way round' her normal circular hack

 

[Antw23uk]

The gelding would just grind to a halt and let you decide or he'd go to the nearest hedge to forage/ graze! The mare ... god knows, you could be out all day or you could be home VERY VERY fast! Shes a bit of law unto herself that one when hacking but she does enjoy herself, lol!

 

[southerncomfort]

My old girl was a nosy old soul.

I let her have reins one day and she marched up someone's driveway and stared in their window!

 

[sportsmansB]

My last mare would have walked for miles, ears pricked and loving it. Not necessarily home, but she loved a new adventure hack.
Current gelding would get down the lane out of the yard and attempt to turn for home as he doesn't love hacking and needs convinced. He'd probably go back to the school and jump a fence.

I was on a riding holiday in Kazakhstan and we had local guides. Some of them had a bit of a vodka habit, and one day one of them had drunk so much that he was pretty much passed out on his horse. The other guides just laughed, and waited for the right spot on our trail, gave his horse a tap on the ass and it trotted off with the passed out guy on its back, heading for home. They said it happened regularly and the horse took him to the door (probably to be met by an angry wife!)

 

[HLOEquestrian]

I occasionally freelance for someone as I used to ride her horses regularly when I worked at a different yard (the yard closed and she moved them to her house a 5 min drive away), when I first went to hack one of them at her place, I didn't know where I was going and left it to the horse to decide, he took me back to the yard he'd moved from! They had probably been moved for over 6 months at this point.

 

[hopscotch bandit]

I occasionally freelance for someone as I used to ride her horses regularly when I worked at a different yard (the yard closed and she moved them to her house a 5 min drive away), when I first went to hack one of them at her place, I didn't know where I was going and left it to the horse to decide, he took me back to the yard he'd moved from! They had probably been moved for over 6 months at this point.

This reminds me of my horse. I park up the trailer in a pub car park every couple of weeks and hack around the area we moved to and from (2 years later due to owner selling up) and so returned to previous yard we'd come from.

On the return to the trailer my horse often wants to deviate to her previous yard even though it means going in the opposite direction to the trailer which she knows will take her home (and from all intents and purposes loves). I often wonder if this is just a memory thing with her, she remembers the route which is why she is so keen to follow it. Or is it because she was really happy there and wants to return there to live. Who knows?? I try not to dwell on it too much though. There's naff all I can do about it and I'm happy where I am and so is she, or if she's not she shows no outward signs of not being happy.

One time when hacking past I was a bit lax and wasn't really paying attention as it's such a quiet area for cars. As we drew level with the old yard she charged across the other side of the road to get through the electronic gates as someone happened to be driving out. Such was her desperation to return to her previous abode its often made me wonder!!

 

[laura_nash]

My first pony was another that did the "take me home" thing. We'd go wandering for ages and then I'd drop the reins and say "take me home" and she would (though occasionally via a slightly hair-raising route).

My current cob would probably just stand still waiting for you to indicate a direction, he's a big fan of standing still. Unless there was another horse in the vicinity, then he'd go say hello.

 

[HLOEquestrian]

I think it partly must be a memory thing of hacking routes, although I'm not sure that Bo had actually been on the route we went on to the yard before he must have just sensed the general direction of the yard as it was only a 30 min hack away.

I did think it was a bit sad as he had been there the majority of his life since he came over from Spain at 4 years old so was a huge change for him when they moved.

 

[HLOEquestrian]

This reminds me of my horse. I park up the trailer in a pub car park every couple of weeks and hack around the area we moved to and from (2 years later due to owner selling up) and so returned to previous yard we'd come from.

On the return to the trailer my horse often wants to deviate to her previous yard even though it means going in the opposite direction to the trailer which she knows will take her home (and from all intents and purposes loves). I often wonder if this is just a memory thing with her, she remembers the route which is why she is so keen to follow it. Or is it because she was really happy there and wants to return there to live. Who knows?? I try not to dwell on it too much though. There's naff all I can do about it and I'm happy where I am and so is she, or if she's not she shows no outward signs of not being happy.

One time when hacking past I was a bit lax and wasn't really paying attention as it's such a quiet area for cars. As we drew level with the old yard she charged across the other side of the road to get through the electronic gates as someone happened to be driving out. Such was her desperation to return to her previous abode its often made me wonder!!

I think it partly must be a memory thing of hacking routes, although I'm not sure that Bo had actually been on the route we went on to the yard before he must have just sensed the general direction of the yard as it was only a 30 min hack away.

I did think it was a bit sad as he had been there the majority of his life since he came over from Spain at 4 years old so was a huge change for him when they moved.

Sorry managed to double post in trying to reply!

 

[albeg]

Going by yesterday's hack, where when we hit the halfway point (on a hack he hasn't done in about a year) he began to try pick up the pace, he'd get you home. He might change his mind if the grass was good though...

 

[ester]

Ours will often attempt to head back into their old yard but given that both were only there for a couple of months I think has more to do with the frequency of stopping in for a chat/we might turn round for home after.

 

[hopscotch bandit]

Ours will often attempt to head back into their old yard but given that both were only there for a couple of months I think has more to do with the frequency of stopping in for a chat/we might turn round for home after.

Yeah I'm hoping its a memory thing for mine. We did hack out 6 days a week at one point as there were so many variations in hacks, 20 mins, 40 mins, 2 hours and anything in between and plenty of bridle paths. When I was rehabbing her I used to be able to long line along the lanes as they were so quiet. So I expect that's why she always heads there because she knows it so well.