Young horse hacking alone

[sollimum]

So young cob is coming home from the trainer's. He is doing brilliantly and I have hacked him out in company there and ridden him in the school - wtc both in school and out hacking. I have purposely left him there a long time as our fields were so wet but he is now ready to come home. Sadly my older cob is injured so I have no one to hack with. I will rope in friends but they are the other side of the village so some days I will need to hack on my own. I was planning on walking routes in hand with him to start with in his tack and getting on when he is settled and going from there - does that sound like a plan? He has hacked alone with the trainer and has done really well but is obviously green. He is brilliant to get on from so as long as I can find a bank that will be ok.

 

[Annagain]

I think the most important thing for him is for you to give him confidence so if that's what you need to do to be confident on him, it sounds like a really good plan.

 

[lannerch]

I hack young horses alone very early on, so they think it is normal and nothing special ,and when they are still uncertain and relying on you for confidence to show them how to behave.
Personally I would just get on and do it ideally a route he knows at first and then progress, however totally agree with the post above you must do what makes you confident as he needs that confidence to show him the way .

 

[sollimum]

I think the most important thing for him is for you to give him confidence so if that's what you need to do to be confident on him, it sounds like a really good plan.

I hack young horses alone very early on, so they think it is normal and nothing special ,and when they are still uncertain and relying on you for confidence to show them how to behave.
Personally I would just get on and do it ideally a route he knows at first and then progress, however totally agree with the post above you must do what makes you confident as he needs that confidence to show him the way .

Thank you both.

 

[paddi22]

best advice someone gave me is 'don't say your horse is alone, it has you'! i found that really helpful and changed my thinking about it. your plan sounds good. I break horses at home with no riding company so I usually handwalk a route, then long-line them on it, and then for first solo hack have someone walking on foot with me.

 

[ILuvCowparsely]

So young cob is coming home from the trainer's. He is doing brilliantly and I have hacked him out in company there and ridden him in the school - wtc both in school and out hacking. I have purposely left him there a long time as our fields were so wet but he is now ready to come home. Sadly my older cob is injured so I have no one to hack with. I will rope in friends but they are the other side of the village so some days I will need to hack on my own. I was planning on walking routes in hand with him to start with in his tack and getting on when he is settled and going from there - does that sound like a plan? He has hacked alone with the trainer and has done really well but is obviously green. He is brilliant to get on from so as long as I can find a bank that will be ok.

What I always suggest with young horses first time, is an old timer setting out 5 or ten minutes later in case of problems, gradually increasing the gap but knowing there is a friend coming up behind, and then both riders and horse go the opposite way to each other, Meeting up at a set point so the horse does half the rider on his own. Always works for us, but done gradually

 

[Roasted Chestnuts]

I walked and longlined Faran out on his own from the get go then when it came time to get on and go ourselves he didn’t have a care in the world as he was used to it.

So I’d walk inhand then long line then longline out and mount to go back and then after a few weeks of this you shouldn’t have any issues

 

[Lucky Snowball]

Whatever you decide is best for your situation. I hope it goes well.

 

[MissTyc]

I always say they won't remember what they did, but they'll remember how they felt.

So, make it fun, go out in hand, but maybe take your hat and you might find you clamber on sooner than you think. I used to walk my cob away from cob and let him carry me home.

 

[Tarragon]

I am another who just starts a just backed horse riding out alone. As someone once said, the horse is not alone - it has you!
But only after months of going out together in-hand, so he already knows the routes and gets his confidence from me. When out riding, if we have any problems, then I am very happy to dismount, take him back to walking out with me, get past the problem and get back on. I also am very careful to set it up to succeed, so choose time of day, day of week, weather conditions, my confidence etc. into account and only go out if they come out positive. And, I have no qualms in hacking out with a nanny horse to help me move up the levels of experience.

 

[paddi22]

i break a lot of hot horses and I find it great to have someone on foot because I keep talking to them and it stops me overthinking or tensing up. chatting keeps my breathing regular! the longlining is great because you get a feel for what their reactions to stress will be. you kind of go 'oh this ones a planter, this ones a spinner, this one rushes forward' and that's good info to have so you can be prepared for when you are on board

 

[irishdraft]

I've always just gone out with a young horse a very short hack to start with say 10 mins, I don't have anyone to ride with so my husband would walk or cycle with me it's surprising how a young horse will take confidence from this x

 

[SEL]

I didn't have anyone to ride with so my OH came on foot or I did a mix of riding / leading. My roads are too busy to deal with a big wobble so if I felt him getting apprehensive I'd hop off.

Cyclists were a huge issue and we get packs of them. I spent a fair amount of time in a gateway with polos and 2 years later he couldn't care less.

 

[AShetlandBitMeOnce]

I am in the same position with my youngster. I think a good thing to note is that you need to keep him within his comfort zone in the early days, so if you do feel him tipping past his pressure/anxiety threshold then end the hack there and either turn back, or hop off and walk him home in hand. A horse will not learn when it's in a high anxiety state, it's much the same as the schooling adage of 'end it on a good note'. There is always another day.

 

[Pinkvboots]

I walked Arabi in hand on his own from 3 at 5 I just got on him and hacked on our own, I had to get off sometimes if he was worried about something but his always been confident hacking on his own it's never worried him.

 

[Caol Ila]

I hand-walked Hermosa alone (and in company) for two years. Her first ridden hacks were with OH as a foot soldier. No other horses. I rode out myself as soon as I felt I safely could. Wanted to make it as normal as possible so she didn't get ideas in her head (like my other horse) that she always has a leader.

Because of all the in-hand work, that's always a solid default, so if she sees something scary and I can't coax her past whilst on board, I know she'll be fine if I hop off and lead. She's also brillant at standing next to random objects for mounting, so I know I can jump back on with nae faff.

 

[canteron]

I hand-walked Hermosa alone (and in company) for two years. Her first ridden hacks were with OH as a foot soldier. No other horses. I rode out myself as soon as I felt I safely could. Wanted to make it as normal as possible so she didn't get ideas in her head (like my other horse) that she always has a leader.

Because of all the in-hand work, that's always a solid default, so if she sees something scary and I can't coax her past whilst on board, I know she'll be fine if I hop off and lead. She's also brillant at standing next to random objects for mounting, so I know I can jump back on with nae faff.

If you are not a super confident rider, or are just aiming for a confident safe horse, I think it’s important to be able to get off (and on) your horse when out without the horse thinking it only happens in ‘dangerous’ situations.

 

[starbucker]

Keep it short then build it up - good luck

 

[dorsetladette]

Your Idea is similar to mine, although your lad is far more advanced than mine. (we've only come out of walk by accident so far) But i hacked out with a foot soldier last weekend and I will now walk him to the bridleway and get on there and then ride the short route and back if I feel happy to do so.

Another thought - can you ask the pro to hack him from your place a couple of times in the first week he is back to give you confidence going out from home? you can walk out with him/them to see how your pony reacts to different things.

My old lad didn't hack well on his own and would stop and spin pretty dramatically. I learnt to hop off as soon as I felt the slightest bit of hesitation and lead him past, then get back on the other side. I'd only need to do this the first couple of times of passing something then he would be fine. I never saw it as 'loosing the battle' as we were still heading in the direction I wanted to go.

The biggest thing for me with babies is keeping it fun!

 

[sollimum]

Your Idea is similar to mine, although your lad is far more advanced than mine. (we've only come out of walk by accident so far) But i hacked out with a foot soldier last weekend and I will now walk him to the bridleway and get on there and then ride the short route and back if I feel happy to do so.

Another thought - can you ask the pro to hack him from your place a couple of times in the first week he is back to give you confidence going out from home? you can walk out with him/them to see how your pony reacts to different things.

My old lad didn't hack well on his own and would stop and spin pretty dramatically. I learnt to hop off as soon as I felt the slightest bit of hesitation and lead him past, then get back on the other side. I'd only need to do this the first couple of times of passing something then he would be fine. I never saw it as 'loosing the battle' as we were still heading in the direction I wanted to go.

The biggest thing for me with babies is keeping it fun!

Great minds!! I have just asked a local pro rider (not his trainer who is just a little bit too far away) to come and hack him for me once a week for a bit. He is excellent with traffic, it is more when he meets other ponies (will they be my new friend??) and odd scary things - he has taken a dislike to palm trees but I can see his point as they make a strange noise with the breeze in them.

 

[SEL]

If you are not a super confident rider, or are just aiming for a confident safe horse, I think it’s important to be able to get off (and on) your horse when out without the horse thinking it only happens in ‘dangerous’ situations.

It also helps if your horse trips and face plants you both on the local bridleway!!

If they are used to you getting off them suddenly finding you on the floor isn't as shocking as it might have been......

 

[dorsetladette]

Great minds!! I have just asked a local pro rider (not his trainer who is just a little bit too far away) to come and hack him for me once a week for a bit. He is excellent with traffic, it is more when he meets other ponies (will they be my new friend??) and odd scary things - he has taken a dislike to palm trees but I can see his point as they make a strange noise with the breeze in them.

Mine stopped and looked at a round bale in a gateway that he would never have looked at if I was on the ground, but once he had looked at it he was fine to go past giving it a slightly wide birth. On the way back he was fine with it. It just a little lack in confidence not having me at his head, but he is generally a really confident little so and so. Our land is on a really busy trunk road so traffic has never been an issue - different 'stuff' just need investigating sometimes.

Good luck with the pro and the monster palm trees!

 

[exracehorse]

I hacked the ginger one the day after she returned from being backed. Solo. She was a bit nervy. But no napping. We kept it short. Same route. But opposite direction. Then I slowly extended the ride. She’s probably the best solo hacker I’ve ever owned.