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

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sparky1981

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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???
 
This is why I always hack out alone when I can. It's good for the horse as they learn not to rely on another, and gain confidence through the rider. It also makes finding sharers easier, because they know they can just tack up and go if there's no one available to ride with, or they just want to go solo.
 
I don't know why, but it IS hard! I have just bought my girl who is everything you described. She's actually better hacking alone as she is easily influenced by other horses who might be naughty but is fab alone (so far).

I looked at LOADS before I found her, discarding anything which said 'will go alone with competent rider' as my idea of competency might differ from the seller's. I think it's the best thing anyone bringing on a young horse can do for them, to make sure they are as happy as they can be hacking alone. Hope you find one OP.
 
Well, because horses like that either don't get sold or get sold to friends dying to snap them up! It goes against the nature of a horse to hack on roads alone, surrounded by strange objects. These days the roads are kind of getting more dangerous so not only is this more demanding for the horse but also people are not wanting to put the time in and create such horses.

I've been 'making' a horse to hack alone for the past year, she's doing OK, but if I was doing it to sell on then frankly I'd be charging for a lot of hours! There are horses who are more suited to it temperament wise, mine is a good girl, safe, sensible if a little spooky sometimes due to inexperience... she bronced and chucked me off last week - she's 6, she can't be perfect.

Keep on looking, best of luck :-) word of mouth is the best way but I know we're not all blessed with a huge horse network. Ask at riding clubs, pony clubs, riding schools, and don't rule out an ex racer that has been reschooled, a couple of the best hacks I know are ex racers.

Also if you try or buy a horse that was described as bombproof and it isn't quite, bare in mind that you are a new person with your own uncertainties, and there is likely to be a huge difference after a few months of ownership once the horse has settled.
 
I had trouble finding one too. In the end I put a wanted advert out, all it said was native type wanted, approx 14.2, must hack alone and be excellent in traffic. I had a few nutters offering me unbroken 3 year olds (so it hacks alone does it?!) but I was offered 3 nice ponies and chose one of them. If you have a good budget then you should find something suitable.
 
All mine do they are content to go either out on their own or with others without getting silly All capable of riding club activities and more but are all young so people dont even come to look. Dont rule out a good youngster they haven't usually learned the bad habits of older badly ridden horses
 
As other's have said, the roads are very dangerous these days & horses, as well as being happiest in a herd, are flight animals so their natural instinct is to flee if they perceive danger.

It takes a certain, level headed animal & a lot of time with a competent rider to 'make' a horse that will happily hack alone. I do have a 14.2 mare that will possibly be for sale at some point. PM me if you'd like details :-)
 
They are out there.
Ive always bought youngsters, that way I know their history, and will train them myself, I do loads of hacking in very heavy traffic alone.
12 months ago I saw an advert for a 10 year old arab { I always buy arabs} who the owner described as being one in a million, he was up for sale for months, I went to see him, and bought him, I was so scared about buying a 10 year old that I knew nothing about, BUT he is one in a million, I haven't found any thing this horse is scared of, he is no different hacking alone or in company, he is perfect in every thing, I ask of him.
{ no he is not for sale :p}
 
This might not apply to you OP but sis and I often say that many people are looking for the impossible and would like an amalgam of our 2 riding horses. Mine is the most sensible animal you could imagine, she hacks alone and in company, first, last wherever you like. She is completely bombproof, passing all traffic and almost every hazard you can think of without a fuss, although she is always interested in her surroundings you can have a nice relaxing hack on her. She doesn't see the point of jumping and she is a huge Draft horse, so except in specialist classes, she won't win prizes.

Sister's Appy has won and been placed at her Breed show, she hacks alone but is very spooky and will sometimes ignore the traffic because she is objecting to the wrong coloured flowers. She is a sharp ride and the rider has to be awake all the time. She loves showing off and thoroughly enjoys going to 'parties' and is often placed in non-Appy classes.
They are, admittedly, just about at the 2 extremes but I do think sometimes people want the Draft horse's temperament with the Appy's looks and really that doesn't happen very often.
 
Oh and i'll tell you something else OP.. These horses are like gold dust and usually have a queue of people wanting to buy them.. And my first hand experience is, having bought my lad at 17 months old and gone through all the tantrums and bad behaviour, only to come out of the other end with a sane horse, i don't think I could ever part with him, he's such a star ;)
 
We've only ever had one which wasn't safe to hack alone. But she was also really iffy if you had company! I think we've been exceptionally lucky with our horses but they've all been freebies and projects- I don't know if it was our collective lack of knowledge that meant we had no idea hacking alone was tricky or hard, because we just got on and went...
 
Mine hacks alone safely even with a nervous rider. She also hacks in company, will lead past anything, stop in open spaces and nanny nervous horses. But I made her that way, she had only been on one hack before I bought her.
 
I think it's because so many owners make excuses for them. How many times do you see horses who 'need routine' so only go out with their companion, or the same route, or riders who avoid this or that because it bothers the horse, instead of taking the trouble to get them accustomed to everything.

If it won't go out on its own, then as far as I'm concerned it's not broken to ride.

Incidentally, have you looked at ride and drive horses. If it will go quietly in traffic pulling a carriage, it's usually a good solid hack too.
 
My horse is safe to hack alone, hes never known much else since I got him.
He wasn t when I got him it took time and patience.
If I sold him I would never ever describe him as safe to hack on his own or bombproof...if something went wrong I might get sued!
 
Lolo I think just getting on with it is a big part of it. And actually putting some work into hacking skills rather than just treating hacking as a social then wondering why your horse won't lead or won't stand or whatever.

Mine hacked out within a week of arriving with us and went once with another horse before going with a bike which was good preparation for going totally alone a couple of weeks later. A calm positive attitude seems to be key.
 
Mine was sold as perfect to hack alone... she is great with everything and does go out alone. But if faced with anything spooky runs backwards hitching her skirt up and screaming -eye roll-.

Mind you she also does this in company :o A friend bought a baby, did him up and went through the baby mood swings etc she now has a perfect gent who at 4 is the most bombproof thing i know. She picked him out for his 'whatever' attitude then put the hard work in.

I think if you really want something like that, buying a youngster is sometimes easier than waiting for months and months for one of these gems to pop up.
 
Have you thought about an x polo pony? They are amazing and 99% of them once in their teens look to be rehomed to someone like you, it sounds like a great home and future career. Many are so versatile, and truly lovely horses- just a thought.
 
I think I know why and it's down to changing times. People who have horses now also ten to be on yards where there are more facilities than just a stable and a field. People seem obsessed with schooling horses to within an inch of their lives but seem to forget some if the most important 'schooling' is to get the horse out and about from a young age on the roads. Back when we used to look at horses to buy, they all hacked out as that's what people did and horses were just expected to go out. I don't really think roads are more dangerous these days but riders need to use common sense when they go out. I think it's sad that people ate too nervous/scared that they don't get the pleasure of going out hacking, galloping along bridleways etc.
To be honest, if I was looking for a safe hack these days I'd be leaning towards ex racers as in the main, they are still hacked along roads from an early age and get traffic- proofed and used to seeing the big scary world.
More people when backing horses need to get those horses out and about. I would much rather buy a 4yo that's good hacking than one that works in a beautiful outline yet has never felt tarmac under it's feet!
 
Shadeyoak said:
This is why I always hack out alone when I can. It's good for the horse as they learn not to rely on another, and gain confidence through the rider. It also makes finding sharers easier, because they know they can just tack up and go if there's no one available to ride with, or they just want to go solo.
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I agree Shadeyoak and often hack out alone. My horse is not brilliant on his own but I agree that the more you do the better they are. Sadly, we don't all have friends to hack out with or bike riding partners :(
 
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.
 
marmalade76 said:
Confused, every one of mine has been safe to hack alone, surely they can't be that hard to find?
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Same here. I've had 4 in a row. New horse is a little spooky and first time I hacked him out, whipped round with a half rear. I just laughed at him and booted him on. He's never done it again. Now I bet if I'd done what I read on here about jumping off, patting him, leading him past whatever object has spooked him, getting back on once the danger is past, hopping off again every time he hesitates, I would soon have a nappy horse that is a nightmare to hack out.

And then of course you cannot account for other people getting over-excited when you hack your perfectly well behaved horse through a town. That goes for other riders who cannot conceive of such a thing themselves, and whose riding consists only of in the school.
 
I had a smashing horse with very few flaws but too traffic shy to ride alone on the roads. It took absolutely months and a big hit in price to sell her.

Its probably the most important thing and the hardest to overcome for one horse owners IMO.
 
Mithras said:
Same here. I've had 4 in a row. New horse is a little spooky and first time I hacked him out, whipped round with a half rear. I just laughed at him and booted him on. He's never done it again. Now I bet if I'd done what I read on here about jumping off, patting him, leading him past whatever object has spooked him, getting back on once the danger is past, hopping off again every time he hesitates, I would soon have a nappy horse that is a nightmare to hack out.
Cannot agree with this anymore ! some of the stuff you read on here makes me chuckle, was always taught to stay on and ride the horse past it.
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I personally think that most people start training horses and riders in a sand school, so that is where most are comfortable. The more time a horse is trained in a sand school the less time out hacking. So lots of horses especially younger horses do not get enough experience. Hacking experience needs time. Up and down quieter roads, every ride is different. Getting them used to tractors, bikes, lawn mowers, plastic bags etc. So they require a lot of rides out either in hand or ridden. One simple way to accomplish this with them is getting this experience with riding out with others. Potentially this might then mean they rely on other horses and eventually not go out alone confidently.
I personally think you should really be looking at an older horse in their teens. You will be able to do all that you want to do with lots of life still left in them. I got my first horse at 30 years old and although we only hacked and I had him for 6 years he was bomb proof and I could do every thing out hacking including hacking out alone and was he was great for my confidence.
Now I have had my current horse since a yearling and he is now 4 and we hack out alone every day and he is bomb proof due to the amount of hours I have accumulated hacking out in hand at first and then ridden.
I really hope you find your perfect horse. Please do not be put off by age. Best of luck.
 
I think it's taken for granted, often by the relatively inexperienced owner, that they ought to be able to simply hop on the horse and go. People don't see that this is a big question for the horse to answer, given that they have a couple million years of evolution as herd animals guiding them, an instinct that leaving a safe area all by yourself is a bad idea. It takes training to overcome these instincts -- and some horses need more training in this department than others -- and people may not give them that training. It's not necessarily easy, especially if you are at a yard where you don't have immediate access to offroad hacking. I was lucky in that I could train my horses up at barns where we had hundreds of acres of trail riding, so any spookiness and general pratting about could be done without fear of getting run over. You then could easily traffic-proof them once they were happy being out and about. I know I'm a lot more confident at riding a spooky, nervous horse when I'm not in the middle of a road. If I had a youngster now, I wouldn't be looking forward to training it to hack, but one must man up and do these things.
 
This will be the top of the list when looking to buy next yr. My cob was an absolute saint with the odd spook out hacking and i find schooling so dull so he was perfect. Since i lost him and my field share lets me ride 1 of his, i can safely say it's miserable not being able to hack out on your own. The horse is deadly on his own and it's an achievement if you can get him down the drive. Stand up rears, spinning and reversing at high speed. He truly is obnoxious and stubborn but owner lets it slide as he chooses others to ride. He's getting better when going out with others but he has no respect for cars and if he's going to spook he has no intention of avoiding them. Also plants and won't move unless someone overtakes and leads.
Roll on next yr and a new horsey for myself!
 
marmalade76 said:
Confused, every one of mine has been safe to hack alone, surely they can't be that hard to find?
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It has never occurred to me that horses won't go out on their own. I just tack them up and off I go - occasionally I have had one that has thought about napping/spooking/whipping round, but they are just sent on calmly & positively without making a fuss and lo & behold they get on with it. The current baby horse I have is an absolute joy to hack out - he arrived having barely been sat on, but part of his job spec is to be a mannerly hack so he was immediately hacked out - both alone and in company. He was bought not only because I was keen to have the half brother of one I already have, but because he has a completely unflappable temperament. It was made clear from the outset that being a wuss about going out on his own or being clingy to the others, was not an option, & consequently, as with the other 3 I have, it has never been an issue and he strides out with his ears pricked & clearly enjoys it enormously.
 
ticker said:
Mithras said:
Same here. I've had 4 in a row. New horse is a little spooky and first time I hacked him out, whipped round with a half rear. I just laughed at him and booted him on. He's never done it again. Now I bet if I'd done what I read on here about jumping off, patting him, leading him past whatever object has spooked him, getting back on once the danger is past, hopping off again every time he hesitates, I would soon have a nappy horse that is a nightmare to hack out.
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Cannot agree with this anymore ! some of the stuff you read on here makes me chuckle, was always taught to stay on and ride the horse past it.
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You have to take the individual horse and the circumstances into account. Where I used to hack (main roads lorries giving you 2 inches birth etc...) it was far safer to pop off and lead my mare past a scary object. It never made her more nappy as she would then not spook at the same thing next time.

It makes me chuckle when people think that their way is always correct, with every horse, in every circumstance that has ever occurred or will occur. ;)
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So often the people looking for a horse that is safe to hack out alone should never be hacking anything out alone.

Show me a rider who is confident and a leader and I'll show you a safe horse.
 
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