What's or Wheres The Fun in Just Riding Then?

I'm not completely non competitive, but I dislike competing with over competitive people. I got a great sense of achievement when my baby did our hack alone today without a lot of fuss.

I guess it's the difference between enjoying achieving something or needing to beat others to feel you have achieved.

Paula
 
I love hacking and never take for granted how lucky I am to have a super, young, willing, safe horse to enjoy it with.

I hate riding on the roads now though. I've had too many close calls to be able to keep marching gayly on towards speeding trucks in a happy little world of my own.

I hope for more though. I hope one day we'll manage proper endurance and there are places I'd like to go with my horse and rides I'd love to do. I'm not competitive and I never last long with trainers because I can't cope with pressurized riding, I'm a bit fluffy in the riding sense, I think. Poor instructor: "More impulsion, right, more flexion, more engagement, more contact. Come on, more leg, more impulsion..." "There you are, doesn't that feel better". Me: "Hell no, can't we just chill?"
 
Different strokes, eh? Doesn't do the horses any harm either way and it really is personal choice. My sister thrives off constantly pushing herself to work harder, achieve more, jump higher, perfect those dressage moves. She has regular lessons and her instructor is terrifyingly strict and never lets her get away with the slightest thing. Her horses look amazing: sleek, glossy coats, pure muscle and are supremely chilled out. They thrive off the work (although they do love their cantering hacks too, and she's still an 18yo- few weeks ago she went off for a cantering jaunt with Reg in a fly rug and no saddle as it would be 'more fun'...).

Me? I like slobbing about, hacking on a loose rein and hooning round little courses with the horse I ride doing what he fancies :D All horses are just as happy as each other!
 
Elsbells said:
There are so many posts on here lately where the focus seems to be on perfecting both horse and rider to such level, that it can appear that no-one seems to get out of the school and just have fun anymore?

........Or am I wrong?
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but for some people being the best they can at what they do is how they get their enjoyment /satisfaction, nothing wrong with that if that is what they enjoy.
Then there is me who rides for relaxation, i look like i've been dropped from a great height onto the back of my horse but as i'm not trying to impress anyone i don't mind;)
 
Being competitive or wanting to be the best doesn't mean you just want to beat other folk or show off. It's the reward for a lot of hard work. I am only interested impressing myself no one else.
 
As lolo says, different strokes for different folks. I never have, & never will be that interested in high level dressage. I do enjoy riding them, but wouldn't have the motivation to spend hours training one. But I do love teaching the basics. I believe the basic schooling should be of equal quality, whether you want to build on it, or just hack & participate without shame at low key stuff. I love taking a green or badly schooled horse & training good basics. I also enjoy training them to the point they can extend, collect, do changes, half pass etc. But, once its taught I don't really get a kick from working to change those moves from 6s to 7s. Whereas jumping I love, in any shape or form. Trasams post highlights how different we all are, for me riding the unschooled hackers would be the greater achievement because I would aim to improve them, rather than riding the ready schooled horse. As for needing the sense of achievement from winning, we're all different. On a horse I've trained myself, I get a kick from knowing that I took it from sweet fa to winning. On a brilliant ready made horse of someone else's that knows its job, its a kick to know my riding hasn't let a brilliant horse down.
 
Paulag said:
I'm not completely non competitive, but I dislike competing with over competitive people. I got a great sense of achievement when my baby did our hack alone today without a lot of fuss.

I guess it's the difference between enjoying achieving something or needing to beat others to feel you have achieved.

Paula
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No it's not although I completed a lot at one time I was never overly competitive I would rather my horse was tenth but went really well and tried hard than I won and the horse was not really trying and I was having to keep it up it's work.
I have never ever competed to beat others and it's unfair to make that blanket assumption , I would not for instance ever say that people who dislike schooling do so because they are simply u skilled and don't understand it. That would be sweeping and unfair
Many people who complete to complete against themselves as it were to test themselves and their training and to give themselves goals, and to meet friends indulge our passion for watching and talking about horses.
I personally hate hacking I find it boring and unchallenging and am careful always to buy horses that enjoy the training side of life but I do hack most days and I do enjoy the horses enjoyment of it particularly the young ones growing up.
 
I quite agree there's nothing like hacking. Hacking a responsive, forward going, supple, flexible, obedient horse that is, i.e. one that is well schooled ;)

Am still giggling that people think schooling is riding round and round in circles though, classic! :D
 
Littlelegs. I do enjoy the challenge of hacking less well schooled horses and using it as an opportunity to improve on how they go. But i hate riding on roads! Also my RS horse is very challenging hence the joy I get when he behaves and works with me.
I've made quite a bit if progress with my friend's cob out on hacks and I'm really pleased about that. Just as you say, seeing the improvement is a big reward. My problem now is that although I can get the coblet to be a good boy his owner is having a lot of trouble with him and I can't seem to get her to change how she rides. Its almost seems like the better he gets for me the less he tolerates her riding him. Is this possible? :confused:
 
Floxie said:
Our hacking is naff due to dangerous roads severely restricting the routes we can use, so I'm quite used to schooling now. I do try and get out - and I need to, to keep challenging the youngster and giving him new experiences, but the area doesn't make it much fun at all. I used to hack for hours as a kid!
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Am with Floxie - putting horses in lorry, driving, loading, hacking and doing all the same in reverse takes the joy out of hacking. I school loads, but also use my fields for a hooley or rent a XC course to jump and hack around - more fun!

Where I am in the South East, the hacking is pants! Yes, you can get to a toll ride after 40 minutes of roadwork - where's the fun in being constantly on your guard against idiots in cars? In Belgium every yard I was at gave access to miles of fab hacking with NO roadwork whatsoever. Maybe I should move to the outer Hebrides :p
 
Very well put Goldenstar. Most people who compete at some point will get a placing or win a comp or show that they didn't really think they did their best at, & another time place lowly & be extremely proud because for the horse & class it was an achievement.
 
Goldenstar said:
No it's not although I completed a lot at one time I was never overly competitive I would rather my horse was tenth but went really well and tried hard than I won and the horse was not really trying and I was having to keep it up it's work.
I have never ever competed to beat others and it's unfair to make that blanket assumption , I would not for instance ever say that people who dislike schooling do so because they are simply u skilled and don't understand it. That would be sweeping and unfair
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I though as soon as I'd posted that, that it wasn't quite what I meant - but no edit function on the iPhone. It's more some people don't enjoy pressure to succeed and others thrive on it. I'd rather leave all that at work.

On the schooling side of things - what had happened to me was that due to various reasons I was riding my horse in the school and someone else was taking her out. I've managed to swap that around now and am so much happier. Had a lovely hack today and she even fell into a lovely outline completely unasked at one point.

Paula
 
Hate hacking with a passion, bores me rigid but I do it for the horses (not on the roads 'though: that's pure madness). I love training babies or fixing horses with problems but as soon as they start going properly I get a teeny bit bored. The "fun" in "just" riding is getting them to go right, helping them to find their balance, grow muscles in the right places and lose all fear. And that's a lifetimes challenge right there!
 
Schooling isnt just "dressage"! If your just hacking out everytime you ride, letting horse slop along, and not moving properly, you wont be doing him much good.

You may not be an expert rider to school... you may not be able to get your horse into a "proper" outline - I know I couldnt with one of my previous horses; however he did work quite nicely, and wasnt allowed to slop along.

There are books you can buy with exercises in it for schooling. You can do pole work, and all sorts. My horse mentioned above was well behaved and would do what I asked ie w/t/c when out hacking or hunting. In fact out hunting he would happily watch the rest of the field going off in front off him, whilst we got stuck behind two slightly older women enjoying a good natter!
 
wench said:
Schooling isnt just "dressage"! If your just hacking out everytime you ride, letting horse slop along, and not moving properly, you wont be doing him much good.



That is definitely NOT my definition of hacking!
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TrasaM said:
Littlelegs. I do enjoy the challenge of hacking less well schooled horses and using it as an opportunity to improve on how they go.
IMO, every time any-one (other than a complete beginner)rides a horse, they should aim to improve the horse in some way. We don't have an arena but school on hacks and in our own fields. Hacking can be a quite challenging activity for both horse and rider with all the hazards tha y9ou may well meet along the way. The horse certainly needs to be well schooled to deal with them, even if it is 'bombproof'.
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IMO, every time any-one (other than a complete beginner)rides a horse, they should aim to improve the horse in some way. We don't have an arena but school on hacks and in our own fields. Hacking can be a quite challenging activity for both horse and rider with all the hazards tha y9ou may well meet along the way. The horse certainly needs to be well schooled to deal with them, even if it is 'bombproof'.
 
Pearlsasinger said:
IMO, every time any-one (other than a complete beginner)rides a horse, they should aim to improve the horse in some way. We don't have an arena but school on hacks and in our own fields. Hacking can be a quite challenging activity for both horse and rider with all the hazards tha y9ou may well meet along the way. The horse certainly needs to be well schooled to deal with them, even if it is 'bombproof'.
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OMG it's al toooooo much pressure :eek:

:D
 
Riding for me is all about long hacks around the countryside, exploring new places, admiring the views and enjoying the freedom of being out in nature with my horse!!
I hate the school with a vengence!!
 
Sorry trasam, didn't mean my post to imply you don't aim to improve them. I only mentioned it to highlight how we all have different thoughts on what we enjoy. Because you said you get a greater sense of achievement from getting the best from a schooled horse, whereas I get more satisfaction from riding an unschooled horse. It certainly wasn't meant in that there's a right/wrong preference either.
 
I feel a lot safer schooling and tend to chicken out of hacking especially on my own nowadays! It gets quite samey here anyway even once you're off the road which takes ages, my old share horse I was pretty happy to hack with as even an hour round trip was good and anything beyond was excellent and varied. I do like schooling especially when I have lessons and feel a bit like I need to get on and do some comps now I have a whole horse at my disposal instead of a share :-)
 
Paulag said:
I though as soon as I'd posted that, that it wasn't quite what I meant - but no edit function on the iPhone. It's more some people don't enjoy pressure to succeed and others thrive on it. I'd rather leave all that at work.

On the schooling side of things - what had happened to me was that due to various reasons I was riding my horse in the school and someone else was taking her out. I've managed to swap that around now and am so much happier. Had a lovely hack today and she even fell into a lovely outline completely unasked at one point.

Paula
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Everyone is different and many people do the same things for different reasons in your post above you describe my idea of horse hell me hacking and someone else schooling my horse.
 
littlelegs said:
Sorry trasam, didn't mean my post to imply you don't aim to improve them. I only mentioned it to highlight how we all have different thoughts on what we enjoy. Because you said you get a greater sense of achievement from getting the best from a schooled horse, whereas I get more satisfaction from riding an unschooled horse. It certainly wasn't meant in that there's a right/wrong preference either.
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:) it's ok..I didn't explain properly ..no offence taken and no criticism implied :) none of the people I ride with on hacks enjoy schooling or take lessons so it's a very individual thing as you say.
 
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AngieandBen said:
Me too! Just come back from 4 days at Holkham with the horses......great fun bombing around the beach :)
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Wow, four days? Did you stay nearby or travel there each day? We're only 2 hours away with the trailer but haven't been for years, and DD and I were just saying today we must take the old mares up there before we no longer have any ponies, old or otherwise, to take out anywhere.

BTW both mares competed a great deal in PC, RC and BSJA, and the bigger one evented, but now just hack, and we always plan a bit of autumn hunting but haven't managed that for a couple of years either. Motivation wanes along with confidence when you don't do it regularly. Our schooling, such as it is, takes place in straight lines along the road, with the odd circle on the village green when it's not so wet as to upset the local 'thought police'. A few canters on the stubble this past week have given both of us, and the ponies, a much needed smile.
 
I grew up as a happy hacker on my aunts gaited horses. It was a blast and I loved it. My parents got me involved in the 4H program and I was competing almost exclusively for 10 years, with the hacks thrown in to keep the horses happy.

Having been horseless for two years now, and only really doing hacking for fun on friends horses occasionally in that time, I am craving the ability to school again.

My mom and I had a good system with my last gelding, I schooled and she hacked him. Worked perfectly!
 
the main thing I do with ponies competitively is showing in hand, buying foals, bring them on, show, etc usually selling them at 3 or before.
I have one who is now 4, she is big enough for me to ride so I broke her in last year without the use of a school so once she was safe we started hacking.
She had the winter off and I picked her up in the spring. We do a little schooling in the field but do school on hacks, I know what she should be doing. We have done some ridden classes this summer but tbh Im not so sure I enjoyed it, I ve had a break from competitive riding for 20 years, the other competitors are younger and well .... more competitive.
I actually felt the pony was being wasted with me and advertised her for sale then I had a reality check. She is well mannered, safe & responsive, 100% in traffic and we have super hacking. I can leave her for a few weeks and then tack up and toddle off and I enjoy it.
Its a lovely relaxing way to enjoy my pony after a days work.
I still prefer handling the babies and Im looking forward to the new ones coming but my ridden one who has had a super in hand career couldnt care less that now she is a happy hacker, shes plenty time to do more.
We are attempting an intro test next week,my first time doing dressage in a very long time and her first attempt.
There is no right or wrong way but if a person is happy doing what they are doing that can only be right.
 
I wouldn't enjoy riding if my horse was rude and didn't listen to me, hence why schooling is important. But I always make sure we have fun... following a hard schooling session we will go on a little hack, and every couple of days I'll do poles or jumping to help improve their flatwork (as I'm a dressage girl) and to keep them interested in their work.

I do know what you mean though, I've been places where it is only stable to school, every single day. I hate it, and that is something I can't see the fun in. I'm sure the horses don't see the fun in it either.
 
Goldenstar said:
Everyone is different and many people do the same things for different reasons in your post above you describe my idea of horse hell me hacking and someone else schooling my horse.
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Ah you see you've not been out on Bree. It is just beautiful up on the farm hills this week. And she's all "ooooooh blowy grass, bouncy deer, suspicious looking fungus, sheeeeeeep, killer sheeeeeeep". But she's just got to the point where she's going forwards nicely, listening to me when i tell her it's ok and not shying at stuff, just having a looky and enjoying herself hugely. .

But she's not overly keen on schooling. I'm doing the in-hand stuff and enjoying it. But am a big enough person to admit that someone more experienced than me needs to do the majority of the riding work at this stage. I'll also start doing more when the weather's not so good.

I should probably also mention I bought a horse due to having some terrible problems with my health the last few years. Getting out in the fresh air and doing something active really helps, whereas stressing over whether she is on the bit correctly indoors doesn't really.

Paula
 
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