Would you say this is a weird attitude?!

SatansLittleHelper

SatansLittleHelper

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I'm going to visit a local livery facility this week with a view to them doung Jester's breaking/schooling. They estimate 6-8 weeks of work and £150 a week, I'm happy with this and so far they have listened to my thoughts/preferences and seem very accomadating.
I have been discussing this with a friend who asked what my goals were for him...which are basically a few jumping comps, fun rides, hacking and XC if I get brave pants lol. I told her I was going to discuss all this in further detail with the livery BUT that my main priority is that they can get him hacking out aline as he is sharp, spooky and lacks confidence. I mentioned that if he never ever does anything else in his life that this would be my most important thing. Friend now thinks I have a "weird attitude" towards my horse as surely he should do more in his life than hack out. Of course, I would LOVE him to do more but this is my main thing. Is this weird?? :( All I want is to enjoy him.
 
Nope, I came to realise how much I love hacking when I lost my confidence thanks to a pony who would shoot backwards with no warning!

I hope it pays off and you go back to enjoying many a good hack (and in time for summer!)
 
They sound lovely ambitions for your horse. I'll be thrilled when our boy is at te stage where he can safely hack out alone confidently. All the rest would just be icing on the cake
 
I only want my youngster to be able to hack in company and alone after he's been backed. Schooling etc can come later, but hacking is the most important thing for me.

The other reason is that I think schooling is too strenuous on their body at such an immature age.
 
not weird at all, mine is going away on 1st of march and I don't have any specific plans for him! I want to hack and take him down to the new forest with his friends etc but I don't have any particular desire to be out eventing him! which might be a waste as his full bro is out there doing really really well! but that's just me, very uncompetitive
 
Not weird at all, hacking is 80% or so of what I do with my horse, he also goes hunter trailing and competes BD, but even if we didn't do that I would want him to be safe and confident hacking out, which he is. When I was doing breaking/schooling work, hacking out was a priority of mine.
 
Hacking out happily alone is really important to me as I almost always ride alone, I used to have a really nappy horse and I hated it as he never felt truly happy our alone even when he was persuaded to go. When I broke my youngster last year I spent loads of time leading him out in hand and then long reining alone. Within a few weeks of being broken he was happy going out alone for short hacks.
 
Laafet said:
Not weird at all, hacking is 80% or so of what I do with my horse, he also goes hunter trailing and competes BD, but even if we didn't do that I would want him to be safe and confident hacking out, which he is. When I was doing breaking/schooling work, hacking out was a priority of mine.
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Agreed. Hacking should be the ground work for all competition IMO. Keeps a horse fit and interested in life. How will he do any sort of competition if he is not de-spooked.

My young Shagya stallion is in Surrey with a SJ trainer. He has never stopped at a jump, that includes first time over a water tray. He coped with an endurance event with tents, BBQ's kids playing football etc. How? By hacking out till he was confident on his own.
 
Not weird at all, I bought my boy last year and getting him hacking out safely (he had never in 15 years hacked out) was my main priority. I spent a year working on it (wouldn't usually take that long I imagine, but he lost his nerve a couple of times thanks to idiotic drivers and I had to start from scratch each time) and now a year on we are hacking out. Yes he is still a bit spooky, but a MILLION times better than he was even a few months ago.

Now that I have (almost!) fulfilled that goal new ones are opening up for us, such as taking part in endurance rides this year and also showing. But hacking was my main goal with him :)
 
Not wire at all.... My 3 year old was hacking alone by hack 3 :) anything we do apart frm hack is a bonus, so hunting and the jumping we've dne now are awesome bonuses :)
 
Not at all! People gain a lot of confidence out hacking and it can be a great trust/bonding exercise. If that's all you want to do with him then great, if it helps build your confidence and your ambitions grow together, all the better. After all, there is no rush :)
 
Nope, not wierd in the slightest. My horse was always nappy and spooky when hacking alone, and for ages the biggest thing I wanted to be able to do was to saddle up after a long day at work and just go for a nice quiet solo hack, but for a long time it seemed to always be a battle and very stressful! The only solution was to keep at it and stick it out. He is still often on his toes when he's hacking out on his own but we don't have an argument to get out of the yard anymore. Going out for a relaxed late evening hack in summer or first thing on a frosty morning, just me and my horse, is fab!
 
imo a good attitude,not weir at all. any progress beyond this will be a bonus. i got my youngster home from being backed last week, and this is just what i want, and am very happy. hopefully we will progress together and any more stuff we do will just be a bonus for us.
 
If your horse will hack alone it means he isn't spooky so he will be a better dressage or showjumper or event horse in the future. Hacking covers all the basics, it is great.
 
Extract taken from 'Nothing to Attain - Just Ride' by Katy Watts

'There will be days when your goal seems unobtainable. Just too far away to see clearly. On these days, perhaps you should remember the first reasons why you wanted to ride horses. That goal was probably not part of those reasons. You probably sought companionship, or the freedom and power that you experienced when you rode. Or the peace of ambling down a country road, enjoying the scenery. Whatever the reason, remember what is was back then, and go enjoy doing just that. To just enjoy our horses often puts our goal in a different prospective. Perhaps you can see that the goal may not be as important as what you experience along the path to get there. If you make a goal to make today's ride as good as it can be today, on the horse that is under you, every ride will be a success. And you and your horse will blossom with pride and accomplishment, and your goal will be closer for it.'

I think of this and remind myself that, although I have no idea really what I will be doing with my young boy in five years time, the journey getting there is actually more important. To enjoy every minute I can and if at the end we have stayed as 'happy hackers' then its because that is what is right for us!
 
I totally agree with you OP. In my book a safe hack is far more important than anything. That is my ambition for my young ex racer, anything else will be a bonus :)
 
Having suffered from the pressure of " what are doing with " myself I would say you enjoy your horse and ignore the world .
 
not weird at all, not everyone has aspirations to be the next Pippa Funnel or Charlotte du Jardin! as already said, your horse, your choice and most importantly, at your pace!
 
So, to be able to hack out alone a horse must be confident under a rider, relaxed and happy to step out in all paces regardless of what else is about...... What better foundation is there for all the rest of the things you'd like to do?

It's not a 'weird' goal at all - it's the way that many many good horses have been started.
 
No definitely not wierd, in my opinion it's the most important thing a horse can do. If for any reason age/injury horse can no longer jump etc it still has a use. A horse that cannot hack is useless in my opinion.
 
Thanks everyone. Don't get me wrong I do have some long term aspirations for us as a team but I just feel that this year I'd like my boy to just see stuff in the big wide world. I will most likely turn him away for a couple months over next winter and then start some "big boys" work the following spring :)
 
Not weird at all. It is securing his future.

I view ensuring your horse hacks out alone a little bit like making a teenager who wants to be a pro footballer get their GCSEs!

Being a sensible happy hacker is a fall back career if being a competition horse doesn't work out and will mean that the horse is more likely to find good homes into old age.
 
Haven't read anything but the first post and would like to take my hat off to you. It is your friends attitude that is weird.

You are putting what may be the best thing for your horse ahead of what you would like to do with him. THAT makes you a brilliant owner and great horsewoman in my book...end of!
 
Not weird a tll.

IMO every horse should be able to hack out alone and in company, whether that be one other horse or a crowd. That is the basis for all other equestrian careers. How well would a spooky horse do in a dressage comp, or a showing class? And no matter how high-powered the horse's career, it will need something to fall back when the time comes to retire, or if injury strikes.
Your idea is the best for your horse.
 
We have two youngsters and two more mature ladies, both Appy's are "show quality" The older one hacks anywhere and the younger one will be expected to. The older draught horse would hack up the hard shoulder of the M62 and is worth her weight in gold, will be used to nanny the youngsters and we expect her younger counterpart to turn out like her. Most amateur riders hack for the majority of their riding, so ability to hack is vital as well as being a good grounding for most disciplines.
 
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