Would you ever be content with a horse that could not hack alone?

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MizElz

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Or would you view this as naughtiness, and something that can and must be worked through?

I'm not asking this with any reflection on my own situation; I'm lucky that Ellie is, and has always been, angelic about hacking alone; TBH it's all she has ever known with me, so it's unsurprising that there are no problems!

It's just I know there are lots of people who have horses or ponies that are naughty when they try to take them out alone, and I know I could not cope with this if it was me. A friend of mine has a showjumper who will only walk 20 yards up the road before spinning round and running for home - as such, she no longer takes him out. If it were me, I would never give in!

If you had a horse - young or old - that was a nightmare to hack on its own, would you sell it, give in and never hack alone, try to work through it?
 

When I first bought Arch I thought Id NEVER be able to hack out alone on him, he was a nightmare, similar to your friends showjumper, as soon as he realised he was on his own he would spin and rear. I got so fed up with having to always rely on other people to ride out with, thats not how it should be in my eyes.
Ive out alot of hard work into Arch and now he hacks out alone fine, infact he's probably better on his own now, coz he just shows off infront of company and is a complete twet!!
I stay stick at it to anyone that is having problems, but youve got to want it enough.
 
My older mare is 19, to hack her on her own is suicide!
I didn't buy her to hack, I got her to compete, so it doesn't really bother me.
My youngest mare isn't too great at the minute, but she's young and will get better.
 
When I first got Cass (the one in my avatar), she didn't hack alone. I spent a lot of time and effort getting her used to it (she had just been allowed to get nappy and silly), and in the end she was super. I actually hated hacking, but I just felt it was something she had to get over. Ronnie is great to hack alone (well, until recently!). I always hack alone - usually prefer being on my own to just toddle about. I was lucky that I talked Cass round to my way of thinking, but I'm not sure that every horse could be persuaded - some genuinely do seem terrified - she just seemed bolshy.
 
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if it was competant at the job it was bought for, then yes.

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This is a fair point; I suppose if hacking is not high on the rider's agenda, and the horse is perfect in every other way, then I can understand it not being too much of an issue. Even so, I would still be the sort of person to try to work through it, if there was no reason that the horse should be acting up. I guess I just dont like things getting the better of me
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and I would hate to find myself in a position one day where my horse's lack of ability to go off alone could cause a problem or risk.
 
Personally, I wouldn't knowlingly buy a horse that napped as I nearly always hack out on my own these days. My big mare, Ella, is like Ellie - goes away from home without a backwards glance. My big gelding used to be nappy sometimes - just through lack of confidence in being on his own, rather than naughtiness. We overcame it with patience and determination. Now, he is practically retired and only potters round the block so it doesn't apply.
 
It wouldn't bother me as its something to work through, and it would be tough s**t because even if I hack out with mates I have to do a 10 min hack to my mates place to ride out with them! Its very rare that I ride Bear out on his own as I find it very boring going out on my own! A few weeks ago I took Bear out on to the main road to go to the local feed store, we had to wait in traffic lights etc and he was an angel! I could count on 2 hands the times we have done a full hack alone! But I know he will if needs be.
 
My WB doesn't hack alone...yet! He will off road - he's fine if we're on a bridleway or field/show etc, but if we're on the road he naps on his own. When I first got him he napped in company as well and I couldn't hack him at all, but since we moved somewhere quieter he's been much better and will hack nicely in company. My goal is to get him hacking out nicely on his own by the end of this summer
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I didn't buy him to hack out on so it wasn't a priority when I bought him, however, I've discovered it's easier to get them fit if you hack out, and it gets boring going in the school every day! Lol! He WILL go out on his own!
 
When I bought Beanie I was told that he wouldn't hack out on his own, but everything else was spot on so I didn't mind. He hacks great in company and is not bothered by traffic. To be honest I don't enjoy hacking so wouldn't want to go out alone. I have a friend who rides him and hacks him, she has now got him leading the hack so there is a chance he will hack alone one day but to be honest it isn't a major issue. I take him for walks on the road sometimes to give him a change of scenery. He isn't really nappy, just had a bad experience on the road and takes confidence from another horse.
 
Calicox i get what you are saying re competing but if you buy a horse that wont hack on its own, surely it wont be as confident if you take it out competing alone...?

I agree with MegG that it is a good reflection of the horses attitude so personally i wouldnt buy an established horse that couldnt.

My mare wouldnt when she was very 1st backed, but that was baby behaviour that was easily worked on. At the yard im at now there isnt anyone to hack out with so even trying to tackle hacking out with a youngster would be a problem.
 
I had a a Shire/Hunter cross which totally lacked confidence.
When i went to view him he had a little pony with him all the time. I was told the pony did not like being alone.
I liked the horse and he suited the job i wanted him for.
When we bought him and was on our way home it was soon aparant he did not like being on his own,
Any way we started hacking out with my daughter on her pony.
When i got to know him better my husband came on his bike.
I gradually went further in front leaving my husband behind.
Samson learnt to have confidence in me.
He eventually - just two or three months - hacked happily alone.
You do need to be confident. If you are not confident the horse will pick this up and think there is something to worry about.
 
Woulb be concerned it would be backward thinking which would worry me re. competing. It would also make life difficult to get it fit for eventing IMHO. Saying that I have had 2 horses on loan who supposedly couldnt hack out alone, both were hacking out happily on their own after a short period of time building confidence. For my own horse, no I would want a horse to be able to hack out alone. Goddy has from being backed.
 
No I wouldn't ever buy a horse that doesn't hack alone because that shows it has nappy tendancies that could develop into napping in the sj ring, refusing to go out the xc start box etc. When I broke my haflinger I hacked him out a few times with an older horse and then after that he always went on his own, and similarly he's been left in the field on his own since he was 3 so it's not a problem.
 
My new boy is a bit nervy on his own and we have a few spins when something worries him but he's getting over it.

Not really an option for mine not to hack alone as I tend to do it alot in the summer!
 
There is no way I could have a horse who wasn't happy to hack alone. I have to hack to my school, so hacking/schooling/job are all intrinsically (sp) linked! Saying that, I have had horses in that *don't hack alone* and never had a BIG issue with it and in time they improved.
 
No because hacking is one of the main things I love to do, and for me I would rather not have to work through issues, I just want a horse that can do what I want it to do!
 
No as I often don't have anyone to hack with and also I enjoy going out on my own when I feel like it.
If everything else was right about the horse and I thought it was something we could work on then maybe. However, I hack for pleasure and would find it a hassle so it would be unlikely.
 
I do a lot of hacking, and so having a horse that hacks alone is essential for me as not many people at my yard go out on long rides.
Meg was terrible to hack out, even in company, when I first started her, and it took me a good year before we could even attempt going by ourselves. Now she's happy going out for miles and miles on her own so I guess I've successfully worked through it.
 
My old horse Glory hated hacking out alone and you have no idea what a complete pain it is until you have been there! Both my old ponies were very bold to hack and I really missed the hassel free rides.
G got better but was always spooky and hacks were never relaxing, I think if she had lived past 7 I could have fixed it eventually though
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April used to nap and be a total wimp on hacks, wouldn't go on grass verges, over ditches, down gulleys etc etc but it was just a confidence thing, I spent some time on it and now she is brilliant on her own.
It definitely helped competing because she used to not want to leave the start box of a x country and now she zooms out
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When I buy my own horse I want a bold, forward going one that will hack alone because I don't want to work on it for the 3rd time lol xx
 
Surely it totally depends on the horse and the situation? If I'd paid huge money for a dressage horse, say, or a well bred showjumping prospect I don't think I'd WANT to risk taking it out in traffic, on questionable footing etc.. But if I had good, safe off road hacking and the horse seemed to enjoy it I would consider it a benefit.

A fair number of sharp competition horses are no fun to hack but then it's in their job description to be sharp so I'd hardly count that against them. They're not supposed to be "pleasure horses" anyway. Some do both and they're worth their weight but I wouldn't hold it against a big winner or top prospect, nor would I consider it time well spent to concentrate on that skill.

I think it also depends on what you mean by "doesn't hack." If a horse hadn't had the experience I wouldn't expect it to be perfect nor would I consider a horse that's inexperienced and needs time to build confidence the same as one that knows the drill and refuses to play. It's almost unheard of for competition horses on the Continent (and most parts of North America) to hack on the roads so would be quite possible to get quite a far along one that just simply hadn't been taught. And those horses don't seem to have problems in competition because of their lack of hacking. Murphy Himself famously didn't hack - quite rare for an event horse - and you'd hardly call him stuffy!

Having a horse that doesn't hack because it doesn't listen to the aids is a different situation. If I put my leg on the horse has to go, end of sentence. Same with schooling a horse to leave company - it's not a debatable point. But there are plenty of ways to get that done without necessarily going out on the roads.

If you buy the horse to hack, then that's obviously different. Surely that would be like buying a showjumping prospect that didn't always jump?
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No way. Last horse napped and spent ages working through it, paid off though and we had many hours of fun. Thing is I can't understand how anyone wouldn't want to hack, even occasionally.
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No absolutely not - in fact have just sold one at a great loss for that very reason. I did actually hack him alone a few times and he tried to bolt for home double barrelling passing cars (he wasn't a bit scared of traffic). It demonstrates backward thinking and I work too hard to be able to afford the horses to put up with that sort of rubbish!
 
I wouldn't discount buying a Horse that was known to not hack alone. There is in a lot of cases in my experience an aspect of sheer naughtiness. It has been on reflection my fault with the individuals that have played me up hacking. Mainly nerves on my part taking away authority. They then have control.
There was however one Horse I ride that won't hack alone as he was once chased by dogs. He is one I would not push, poor lad. He will hack with one other happily though. Seems to come down to that old 'find the cause' thing.
 
Well that is what I do...hack alone...so it would be tricky! I guess it would be down to training and patience as any horse I have would have to be able to do this, even if it took a while. If it is just nappy naughtiness then fair enough, that can be rectified but if they are down right dangerous to begin with I would not buy it because we are straight out on single track fast country lanes here with lorries and tractors galore!
My lad was a nappy so and so when I got him and also a bit scared of traffic...not dangerous just silly and spinny, but we got there with him and he is fine now. So that is the level I would look for to start from.
 
Not read all the replies, but I have persevered with my mare and she now hacks alone fantastically. At one point she was so bad rearing, spinning, running backwards, she even ripped her own shoe off!

Was well worth working through it, I can now leave the yard alone on a long rein, don't take a whip, pass other horses whilst out and walk home without jogging.

The only issue we have now, is waiting at traffic lights on the way home!! She is far too impatient to have to stand for a few mins!!
 
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