Why is it so hard to find a horse that is safe hacking alone?

Argh I am trying to put my mare out with a sharer as hacking only. No one interest. She's bombproof but feeds of your confidence if that makes sense, if your happy she is. I have amazing hacking but everyone wants to jump and school which I don't want someone else doing as in that dept she's green in the school. Oh and everyone wants 16hh +
 
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sparky1981 said:
It seems I'm looking for the impossible!due to a change in circumstances I'm looking for a safe all rounder with my main priority being that he is safe and sensible hacking alone as this is what I will mainly be doing. When I say safe I mean good with traffic and will walk calmly along the lanes and not spin, rear or buck when he/she meets something they don't like. I don't mind the odd spook. Why is this so hard to find?!??i also want the horse to be able to do some riding club clinics but by no means a Olympic star lol. I realise for a safe horse you have to pay for it so I have a healthy budget but it seems impossible why is this???
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Thing is, I think hacking alone with most horses takes partnership, trust and needs to be done regularly.

My horses both hack alone. But they wouldn’t consistently long term hack alone well with rider lacking in confidence.

A horse's hacking manners and confidence alone can be easily damaged.

And a horse's hacking manners and confidence alone can be built up.

But if you buy a horse that hacked alone brilliantly with a previous rider, it doesn’t mean that horse will always hack brilliantly alone with you.

It is about leadership and confidence, and finding a way to get past hazards / frightening things and situations and keep your horse's confidence in you.

You can build up your horse's solo hacking confidence or destroy it by your actions.

Of course it is easier if you start with a horse used to solo hacking.
 
Depends on the rider I think. I'm not the best or most confident rider by any means but I feel totally safe hacking my horse out alone, have done ever since I first had him. However there are only certain people I would let hack him out, not because he is naughty in any way, but depending on his mood he can go from slug speed to rocket speed and you can't tense up on him or he'll go yesss time to gallop. However I would trust him with my life out hacking no matter what we meet.

To be honest, at least around by me, there are hardly any people who hack alone so there horses just haven't done much of it. I've had no choice in the past so doesn't bother me but I know a lot of people won't hack alone for safety reasons even on the most bombproof of horses, like being found in an emergency etc.
 
spacefaer said:
I was talking to my next door neighbour about this thread today. She has recently bought the world's best hacking horse, who also happens to be a dressage horse working at PSG.

She hadn't hacked for years owing to having a home bred mare who chose not to hack at an early age.

Not only is she hacking the dressage horse for miles, the home bred is now out on the roads, , hacking with confidence, due to the inspiration of the dressage horse!
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The 4* eventers at a former yard used to hack out regularly as part of their training and relaxation.

Listening to Lucinda Fredricks recently at YHL, she mentioned that 95% of the training was done outside the arena. Her Olympic mare does most of her dressage training on hacks. Brit is 20 now and in supreme condition.
 
Mine are all fantastic to hack alone. My grey gelding is cheeky, can nap and has never seen heavy traffic, so I would be cautious with him, but he will walk past all manner of fly tipped rubbish and is very sensible.
If I sold any of them to a nervous person, or someone who faffed with them, they would all become unable to hack alone.
Although I think life is easier when you have inviting hacking, I think a general lack of knowledge about how to ride horses to make them brave & confident is the problem here. TBH OP I would either get a younger horse or one which has a bit of a naughty habit & a scared owner, you could probably turn it round.
 
horserider said:
The 4* eventers at a former yard used to hack out regularly as part of their training and relaxation.

Listening to Lucinda Fredricks recently at YHL, she mentioned that 95% of the training was done outside the arena. Her Olympic mare does most of her dressage training on hacks. Brit is 20 now and in supreme condition.
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I agree with this - I know plenty of people successfully eventing at Novice and above with the vast majority of schooling done on hacks.

I know there are a lot of yards about with a lot more facilities now but for me the underpinning element of fitness has always been hacking, and I have never met a horse that won't hack alone, even if that is with a little persuasion.
 
sussexbythesea said:
I think a lot of people expect just to be a passenger on a horse and not actually ride it, hardly any horse will just go past anything and everything without some direction and leadership from the rider.

I ride my warmblood for hours on my own but he is not "bombproof" but pretty close really when I compare him to other horses. He did not come that way I spent a good lot of time spook-busting and gradually riding him out. He even fell over on a road once with a friend as he used to whip around and bog-off as was his signature spook. Even though he is really good now he still needs riding and I need to feel if he is becoming tense about something and ride him accordingly, mostly this is sufficient to stop any major spooking. People think he is a doddle but occasionally he will take exception to something like yesterday when going past the gamekeepers cottage which is spooky in normal circumstances but there were two cyclists crouching looking at a map and he had a hissy fit over it but remaining calm and low-key he eventually went past it.

The best thing I did though was to move to a yard where the off-road hacking is superb. It is so much easier to deal with spooking issues if you are not worried about spooking into traffic.
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How right you are. Iam nearly six foot .nearly fourteen stone done boxing and weight lifting all my life.so you could say i am stronger than some women.But if a horse wants to go it
will go.Unless you have the understanding to ride through it.
 
It IS hard... for all of the reasons stated above.
I second the suggestions to look at ex polo ponies, although many of those will have hacked out only in company..
Also, keep an eye open for ex endurance horses, or ones who were aimed at endurance but didn't quite make the grade for high level competition. Many will be Arabs, which is probably not what you would first think of for a happy hacker, but they will have done MILES outside the arena, and probably both in company and alone.. I have 2 Arabs here and they are as close as any horse can be to bombproof and always have been. The trotter on the other hand is a spooky loon!
 
I havnt had a horse that would hack alone (and not well in company either) for 7 years approx. My 5 year old loves hacking though and will go alone or with friends. He can be sharp on the road but doesnt bother me at least he goes!

I can take or leave hacking though but I think if they will go its nice to get them out the school between competitions :)
 
siennamum said:
Mine are all fantastic to hack alone. My grey gelding is cheeky, can nap and has never seen heavy traffic, so I would be cautious with him, but he will walk past all manner of fly tipped rubbish and is very sensible.
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This brings up a interesting point. I've used siennamun as an example as it caught my eye but many have said similar.

You say your horses as 'fabulous to hack alone' yet they (he) naps, is cheeky and not traffic safe. Others have said similar 'excellent to hack alone buts.......'. Needs persuasion. Can be spooky. Needs a confident rider. Can be sharp. Not great with lorries. Gets excited. Etc etc etc. To me that isn't excellent at all!

It's possibly why someone like the OP is finding it so hard to find something genuinely excellent to hack. Many people's horses have issues that they no longer notice (or just don't find them a problem) but would disqualify them from being the OP's 'good to hack alone'

It is rare to find a horse who is genuinely and always a good hacking horse alone, by everyone's standards and for everyone, with no qualifiers required.

I had one. He was good for EVERYONE. He never spooked, never napped, perfect in all traffic, never excitable. For everyone. And he sold by word of mouth without coming on the market, like most his type.

My old girl is exactly the same (but more forward going, tho just as safe) and my youngster is almost there although his disqualifier is he's excitable. They've taken a lot of time and effort to get there. And neither are likely to be sold so both disqualified from the OP's requirements by not being avaliable!
 
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Kallibear said:
This brings up a interesting point. I've used siennamun as an example as it caught my eye but many have said similar.

You say your horses as 'fabulous to hack alone' yet they (he) naps, is cheeky and not traffic safe. Others have said similar 'excellent to hack alone buts.......'. Needs persuasion. Can be spooky. Needs a confident rider. Can be sharp. Not great with lorries. Gets excited. Etc etc etc. To me that isn't excellent at all!

It's possibly why someone like the OP is finding it so hard to find something genuinely excellent to hack. Many people's horses have issues that they no longer notice (or just don't find them a problem) but would disqualify them from being the OP's 'good to hack alone'

It is rare to find a horse who is genuinely and always a good hacking horse alone, by everyone's standards and for everyone, with no qualifiers required.

I had one. He was good for EVERYONE. He never spooked, never napped, perfect in all traffic, never excitable. For everyone. And he sold by word of mouth without coming on the market, like most his type.

My old girl is exactly the same (but more forward going, tho just as safe) and my youngster is almost there although his disqualifier is he's excitable. They've taken a lot of time and effort to get there. And neither are likely to be sold so both disqualified from the OP's requirements by not being avaliable!
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This is an excellent point. Something that is bombproof for everyone is an exception, not the rule. Something that is good with an experienced rider, who might be a bit spooky or nappy etc if not ridden confidently will become unhackable in the wrong hands.
 
Kallibear said:
This brings up a interesting point. I've used siennamun as an example as it caught my eye but many have said similar.

You say your horses as 'fabulous to hack alone' yet they (he) naps, is cheeky and not traffic safe. Others have said similar 'excellent to hack alone buts.......'. Needs persuasion. Can be spooky. Needs a confident rider. Can be sharp. Not great with lorries. Gets excited. Etc etc etc. To me that isn't excellent at all!

It's possibly why someone like the OP is finding it so hard to find something genuinely excellent to hack. Many people's horses have issues that they no longer notice (or just don't find them a problem) but would disqualify them from being the OP's 'good to hack alone'

It is rare to find a horse who is genuinely and always a good hacking horse alone, by everyone's standards and for everyone, with no qualifiers required.

I had one. He was good for EVERYONE. He never spooked, never napped, perfect in all traffic, never excitable. For everyone. And he sold by word of mouth without coming on the market, like most his type.

My old girl is exactly the same (but more forward going, tho just as safe) and my youngster is almost there although his disqualifier is he's excitable. They've taken a lot of time and effort to get there. And neither are likely to be sold so both disqualified from the OP's requirements by not being avaliable!
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I did put this deliberately tbh as I think all horses aside from a few brain dead ones have the capacity to spook, have a little nap - even if it is just dragging their feet going out & speeding up coming home. My old mare is an amazing hack, you would describe her as 100% BUT I know if someone nervous or clueless hacked her repeatedly alone it would erode the horses confidence and she would start 'misbehaving'. My gelding would be of no use for a nervous or novice rider but he is my favourite hack.

I think people expect the horse to be a perfect hack regardless of how it is ridden. They don't understand that it may be perfect the day they buy it, or when ridden by a capable rider but that will change if horses confidence or respect for rider is undermined - bad behaviour is largely just a manifestation of the horses lack of confidence or respect for rider.
 
My ex racer is pretty fab to hack out, we went out with another ex racer a few weeks ago which involved a stretch along a busy B road and many big artic lorries. He closed his eyes and shrunk into the hedge with the first that went by at speed but nothing silly and after that was fine. I wouldn't dream of getting off and leading him past anything, if he takes a dislike to something which is pretty unusual anyway he slows down and try's to turn around lol I just ride him past it with a bit of encouragement and no option of going back.
I think it's the rider that makes the safe hack, if you worry about everything in the hedge etc then you're creating something for the horse to worry about.
 
I absolutely agree with those who are commenting that it is all about the partnership and the confidence of the rider.

As a recent returner to the saddle, I have to build my confidence to a point where I am able to hack alone. The last thing that I want to do is potentially mess up a horse which will hack with more experienced riders, by passing on my fears and concerns to them. I am therefore in a difficult catch-22, as the experience I need is hard to gain without a horse which can ignore my unconscious nerve signals (the more you try and relax, somethings the harder it can be).

However, I am aware of my limitations and hope to gradually improve my confidence levels. I didnt realise how little fear you have as a child, and how much more aware of what could go wrong you are as an adult......
 
All of mine hacked out on their own, all were fine, coped with roads and heavy traffic fine, did they spook, yes, were they sometimes looky, yes, but tbh i think its just the nature of horses, theyre not made of wood. I would have been comfortable saying hacks alone and always did tend to hack alone with occassional hacks in company. I think theres a lot of horses like this about, and most competent riders could handle them on a hack, im very much in the brigade of, its ridden past something, ive never got off and walked past anything, but thats just how i was taught to deal with issues, not saying its right or wrong to do the other.
Absolute wont spook, look at a thing out hacking horses are few and far between but do confident riders really need that ?
 
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