Would you buy a horse that doesn't hack?

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FleabittenT

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As in title really. Horse in question is a smart 7yo mare, nice paces, has the basics but needs work on the flat (not hugely supple). Scopey jump, some SJ/XC success at RC level (80/90cm) and showing potential to go much further. No stable vices, clean bill of health, easy to do in stable.

However horse is terribly nappy to hack, alone and in company. Will and does rear and will keeping rearing if pushed.

Would you even consider taking on such a horse?

Any thoughts much appreciated :)
 
Wouldn't even consider it; not just because she won't hack out but because I'd be sure that at some point she would show the nappiness in the school/at comps. IMO competition horses have to be forward-thinking.
 
I did buy a horse that wouldn't hack by himself (would become nappy if you would try and take him off the property by himself) - brilliant show jumper and he is fine with others. After a couple of months of owning him, and once he realised that he actually preferred hacking much more than schooling, we can get him to hack by himself. Although I am not too sure about a horse that is nappy when hacking with others and alone. When napping with others, is that when you ask her to lead the group?
 
would depend...obviously if you want to hack then i'd say no

if she has loads of potential to go really far in a discipline then i might be tempted for the right - would want to be sure though that the nappiness has never appeared when schooling/XC etc.
 
Mabel98 said:
Wouldn't even consider it; not just because she won't hack out but because I'd be sure that at some point she would show the nappiness in the school/at comps. IMO competition horses have to be forward-thinking.
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My concern exactly. I don't know how much they have tried to get her out, tbh it isn't the be all & end all to me (our hacking isn't great) but my concern would be the behaviour transferring to other ridden work. It (supposedly) has not so far, I saw no sign when riding her alone in indoor school or when another horse later came in.

However current rider does not appear overly confident (perhaps understandably), which I suspect has created / is compounding the problem.

They are also (I think!) off the mark with the money they want for her...
 
Definitely not, I don't have anywhere to school at home so hacking is completely needed to keep them fit. And if it is nappy out hacking with other horses or on its own, I can imagine it doing this in many other situations!
 
If she was a real baby and was nappy on her own then I would consider it, especially if she had been ridden by a novice. However I wouldn't go any further as she is 7 and naps in company
 
Personally no I wouldnt. Wouldnt even go and look at it. It sounds an ok ish horse, but nothing spectacular. Unless you are getting it for a real bargain price I would look elsewhere. The only time I would even faintly consider it would be if Mini TX was offered an experienced and very talented horse to further her eventing career on - if that didnt hack on its own, it wouldnt be too much of a hassle, as there would be so much else it could offer. Take your money elsewhere, I am sure there are hundreds of other more suitable horses out there - it must be troubling you, or you woudnt have come on here to ask advice.

Happy horse hunting and good luck.
 
I bought one previously who napped and reared when trying to hack out. This then started to happen when in the school and even when being led on occasions. I didn't keep her long and probably wouldn't go there again though I'd always take a look at a horse that doesn't hack if I was buying.

Really depends on the horse and competency of rider but as someone has said, it would need to be seriously reflected in the price.
 
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TheoryX1, it is troubling me because she is just the type I like and a nicely put together little mare. But you are right, she is nothing spectacular and on reflection probably not going to be worth the hassle.

My hope would be that if I could buy her at the right price, she would come good in the long run. However I don't want to be stuck with a habitual rearer a year down the line, and I doubt they would come down to what I would consider the 'right' price at any rate.

Thanks all :)
 
Not unless she is already very proven in competition or very, very cheap or you could have a long loan first.

I have one. He will not hack in company or alone without a lot of persuasion (I sometimes sit for up to an hour waiting for him to get enough courage up to pass the daffodil that wasn't there on that verge last week). He is immensely sensitive in competition and will not produce the work he is capable of in the dressage arena. He's very difficult to travel and leave standing on the box.

It may just be the less than competent rider, but napping in company is a very bad sign :(
 
I brought Fleur who originally didn't hack but through a LOT of patience she now does. Agree with whoever said that you need a comp horse especially an eventer to be a forward thinker and therefore hack. It is no surprise that at the same time as we solved the hacking issues she also became 100 times more confident and less nappy XC! ;)

So unless a bargin and you have a lot of time and patience I wouldn't. Does sound like this mare might be taking advantage of its rider though but it is breaking the cycle that is the challenge!
 
I definitely wouldn't - I have to hack to where I school for one thing, and from my experience, the nappiness tends to cross over into competitions anyway.

I bought a pony a few years ago after only riding her in a school a couple of times because the roads around the yard where I tried her were too dangerous to try to hack. We had her for 2 years, and she was nappy the whole time: she wouldn't go past a certain point hacking, would sometimes refuse to go in the ring and would not set foot on an XC course during a competition (she was perfect when just schooling :mad:). While hacking, she would just randomly stop with her ears flat back and would rear if pressed - she never got over it. She wasn't scared or in pain, just a difficult moody mare. I used to get so annoyed with her, and it dampened my interest (I was never scared of her - she wasn't malicious and would give you plenty of warning before acting up) to a certain extent - it's hard to be enthusiastic about riding when the pony is moody and difficult.

Since we sold her, I've had a couple of ponies without such problems (including my current one) and I've never looked back - it's a joy to ride something which seems to enjoy what we do and it's more relaxing to ride something easy without many issues. :D They tend to be easier to sell on anyway.

Good luck with whatever you do, but I personally wouldn't want to deal with the hassle. :)
 
TheoryX1 said:
Personally no I wouldnt. Wouldnt even go and look at it. It sounds an ok ish horse, but nothing spectacular. Unless you are getting it for a real bargain price I would look elsewhere. The only time I would even faintly consider it would be if Mini TX was offered an experienced and very talented horse to further her eventing career on - if that didnt hack on its own, it wouldnt be too much of a hassle, as there would be so much else it could offer. Take your money elsewhere, I am sure there are hundreds of other more suitable horses out there - it must be troubling you, or you woudnt have come on here to ask advice.

Happy horse hunting and good luck.
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echo above
 
I bought one that was supposed to hack but I didn't try her and realised she would go vertical if you hacked her. In the scoop and at competitions she was foot perfect, would never try it. My instructor at the time was belgian as was mare and she said neither of hers hack as less importance is placed on it and more on them doing their job perfectly. I tried to get her hacking but gave up as it was dangerous. If you like it why not ask to try it at a competion?
 
I bought one that was like this, and he now hacks perfectly in company and alone... Had some very hair-raising moments when we went into ditches, nearly fell over backwards and spent a lot of time waving at the sky, but he's now realised he enjoys it. He was 6 and a half when I got him.... I think a lot of his problem was that the lady I bought him from was clearly terrified of him... That said, I ride a lot of tricky horses and it doesn't bother me when they throw tantrums significantly!

EDIT: He napped the first time he went XC at an event (he still jumped clear!) but he has never been a problem to do anything else with.
 
Bear in mind her re-sale potential. She sounds like a riding club / all rounder type rather than a serious competition horse. If she doesn't work out for you, her attitude hacking will give you problems when it comes to sellering her on.

Most horses can be rehabbed and it's quite possible that if you're an experienced rider and brave, you can sort the problem out. However, I'd expect the price to reflect the work you would have to do.

Of course, if she was a fabulous dressage horse with a competition record, but didn't hack, the above would read rather differently!
 
No.

I have ridden plenty of these in the past and to be frank, can't be bothered anymore as there are so many nice, straight horses to have instead.
 
I have one that had never hacked before I bought him. I have to hack to my school and to begin with he was an absolute nightmare - would plant and refuse to move. I can hack him to the school now but I have to keep him in front of my leg and trotting most of the time, although we can just about do it in walk now.

He can just about hack around the farm alone now, but he holds his breath and hates it and I don't do it much. He is fine with others now unless you get parted - even if closing a gate, and he does rear, and rear, and rear, but not in a threatening way, it is rather endearing. He is hacked at least 4 times a week, in company. I would never, ever hack him somewhere he didn't know alone, you would get about 10 yards and that would be the end of that. Smacking him doesn't work, he will take it and more and still stand, holding his breath, or go up as he just cannot cope.

He is an amazing jumper and I wouldn't change him for the world. He does not show any nappy tendencies when he is working in the school or SJing.

He won't hunt. He panics and runs AWAY from the field, bless him, and that isn't straight forward as he does that sideways and you cannot turn him at all.

He is AMAZING on fun rides tho - go figure!
 
My horse was an awful hack when I got him with similar behaviour to what you describe above but he is was a project loan. He is still not a great hack, he was a showjumper and is just in his element at a competition, but was terrible to hack. A change of saddle and some treatment for his bad back and he is now hackable, but just not great at it (see my post on bitting below!). If i couldn't hack mine at all I would miss it and probably get quite bored doing the same thing all the time, but competing is my main concern so I would put up with it.
 
I personally wouldn't. My friend has one that sounds very similar but will just about hack in company - if you take her out on the lorry to an unfamiliar place she is better, at home she has to be led to hack! She does do it sometimes competing but is getting Better.... But my friend has a lot more patience than I do and also she was a real bargain. If you are patient and competant, and it's a really nice horse, i maybe wouldn't rule it out but for me, it would be too much hassle!
 
My friend did this with the view she would 'get it hacking' she is now selling it as she hasn't managed it...

For me if it was older and nappiness had NEVER been a problem apart from hacking and I had the right facilities maybe I would. In my current situation if I had a horse I couldn't hack then it wouldn't get ridden as I don't have a school.
 
Mabel98 said:
Wouldn't even consider it; not just because she won't hack out but because I'd be sure that at some point she would show the nappiness in the school/at comps. IMO competition horses have to be forward-thinking.
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Yes ditto this!! Would not consider at all no matter HOW talented. I would get completely fed up of spending my life in the arena only
 
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