Do you ride when you're on the yard alone?

[thingstodotoday]

Do you ride in the school when you are on the yard alone? I don't at the moment cos I worry that something would happen, and my yard is really quite out of the way.

[Helen000]

I'm usually at the yard alone so yes, I do ride in the school, or out on a hack around the fields. I always have my mobile phone on me though.
xx

[mikh]

yep!

[happyhacker101]

Yes, but I always make sure that the gate to the school is closed, just incase I fall off! then Archie cant make a bid for freedom:D

[rubysmum]

as part of my trying to be braver programme - i am now making myself ride ruby [who i trust] when im on the yard on my own - our schooling field is a good 10 mins walk from main yard & out of sight of farmhouse - but cos the yard is small - often i am the only one there & i canno waste good daylight waiting around on the off-chance that someone might turn up - altho im not brave enough to do this with oliver [who i dont trust:rolleyes:]

[x-Marmite-x]

If I only rode when another person was there I'd probably never ride at all :p! Only two other people (excluding my share horse's owner) are regular visitors to the yard (fieldmate's owner and her sharer) and because of the times they come down I barely cross paths with them. It is a slight worry in the back of my mind but there is always someone who knows where I am/how long I will be. It does bother me a little when I stop and think about it for a while but it's the only way I get to ride :o.

[lobeliaoverhill]

I have done, if anything happened it wouldn't be long before someone came along tho' I can scream pretty loudly when the need be :D

[boe]

Yes :)

[Noodle88]

Yep! All the time! I usually hack anyway and there's not usually anyone for me to ride with so we solo hack allllll the time! Always have my mobile with me though :) .

[HorseBird]

I do ride my pony but I never do anything with my giant youngster if I'm there on my own - he's a liability!

[-x-laurrie-x-]

Nooo... I am far too much of a liability for that to be wise :rolleyes:

I am, however, lucky in that there is usually someone about. Not necessarily someone I know, but a person none the less. If the yard ever was deserted, I would think very carefully about riding.

[xloopylozzax]

yeah, ride whenever.

i dont even think about it tbh

[lovetbs]

YES! Whether other people are at the yard or not does not even come into consideration, but I do always have my mobile on me in case of emergency.

[cinammontoast]

There is almost zero chance of riding without someone being there! Big yard, lots of people. I don't mind riding alone, but haven't for ages. Because the school is near the tearoom, there's always a crowd. Don't mind cos I get free lessons from everyone who thinks I'm cr*p!

[leah&lydia]

When ive rode in the menage ive always had my friend/NHI with me anyway.
I rode by myself for the 1st time in the field the other week. Well i had my grandad but he wouldnt of bin able to do much :p
I dont mind riding by myself at all, i hate peopl i dont no watching me cos i feel like there judging me all the time, it puts me off !
But our field is 5 mins drive from the actual yard so no ones around except for an occasional dog walker. :p

[acw295]

Same! My yard is very quiet so often I am on my own. But it is a working farm and YO's live on site so if I am in the fields or school someone would hear me if there was a big problem.

I go off hacking on my own for hours though - I don't have anyone to tell where I am going lol, so I just get on with it :)

yeah, ride whenever.

i dont even think about it tbh

[Rokx]

I keep mine at home, so yep. Wouldnt be able to ride at all otherwise!

[Coco91]

yes but I always make sure I have my phone with me and all gates are closed :D

[Lot1983]

Yup I often ride in the school on my own, make sure my phone is close by though although to be honest there is usually someone around.

[ragtime]

i prefer to ride when theres noone at the yard because some people where i am love to interfer and i cant be doing with people watching :/ :L

[RRA]

There's only 3 of us where I am and its only a make-shift school in the field so I do ride when I'm on my own although I have my phone on me always. I often have a better session when I'm on my own because I just go at my own pace and so I'm often more relaxed. I don't normally jump if I'm on my own just in case although I did a couple of weeny ones at the weekend - I came off jumping once before in the field and that made me realise I could be a bit stuck if I did really hurt myself (quickly touches wood!).

You can always start by working on transitions in walk & trot, circles and leg yielding - I use walk/trot dressage tests to work through as it gives horse & rider lots to think about without the need for speed or leaving the ground! :)
Do you lunge your horse? Could you try getting on just for 5 minutes at the end of the session when she's a bit tired and see how you feel then?

Good luck - you'll get there :)

[LittleChel]

Wouldn't think twice about it, I will school or hack on my own :) I was the only livery for a little while so I wouldn't have ridden if I only rode with people around.

There's one or two people I actively like having around when I ride, but I don't particularly enjoyed being watched on the whole - everyone has their own opinion on the best way to do things and it obviously isn't mine so we'd disagree :p (hope that makes sense!)

[*Solo's Mum*]

if i didn't then solo would never be ridden it is very rare for someone to be there with me, and we don't have a school so i hack and ride in the fields instead of in the school.
x

[tetleyteabag]

i prefer to ride when theres noone at the yard because some people where i am love to interfer and i cant be doing with people watching :/ :L

Im exactly the same, would rather ride when there is no-one around so they cant wach and tell me how it should be done:rolleyes:

[fairlady]

I am not riding at the moment cos mine are both youngsters.

However I do nearly everything with them on my Own and I used to quite often hack alone, I love that.

I also always have my Mobile Phone on me, but if you thought about all
the things that 'could happen' in day to day life you would never go out, lol, and then there is alway the risk of something happening whilst you are in anyway:D

[ForestGump]

I ride without people there, but let people know that I will be riding that day and always carry my phone.
Forest is very unpredictable (today proves that :rolleyes:) and I would hate for someone not to know I'm riding or for me not to be able to contact someone for help.

I never hack out if no-one else is on the yard though, and always let them know generally where I'm going and how long I should be etc :)

[Gruntfuttock]

On my first yard, there was rarely someone there when i rode. i liked it like that.

At my current yard, there is almsot always someone there. If there are no liveries around, the YO or at least one member of his family will be around, as its a working farm.

[Hammie]

Absolutely!

[huskyfinn]

i spent a few years on my own so i had to always ride alone, i used to let my OH know where i was going and what time i was leaving and he would know roughly how long it would take for me to do the route so if i didnt' call after a set time then he would know where i was (roughly).

where i keep Finn there is always someone there so it's not an issue anymore.
the only one of mine that i don't handle unless my OH is there is one of the colts, he is VERY sly and quick so it does take 2 of us to do things as i wouldn't want to lose him in the town! :rolleyes:

[HLDVS86]

Yes I do all the time...and hack too...in the winter i have to ride in the dark on my own...scary but dont have a choice lol

[HJ]

I do everything there on my own, it doesn't bother me at all, I thinks its because he used to be stabled at some fields on his own and I rode alone then

[Sunshine-x]

Yep its only me anyway but my mum usually will come watch if I'm in the jumping paddock or something. But I just ahck by myself seeing as i very rarely have anyone to hack with!

[Howengold]

I always do and always have. Never really though anything of it.

[Crazy Mare]

When I think back to when I first bought my pony and my first couple of rides alone I was a bit nervous as I was conscious that there would be no one there if I came off or anything.

After riding alone a few times I then got used to it and went through a phase of actually preferring it - because there would be no one there to see if I fell off or anything ;)

Now I'm happy to ride with or without other folk around.

If you worried I would say to keep your phone with you and let someone know where you are and what you are up to, this should help you feel safer in case of emergancy :)

[Sofi P]

I ride alone all the time because although I'm on a medium size livery yard I'm the only one who works regular full time hours so I'm often the last one there in the evenings and I quite enjoy the peace of being able to school without being watched. Not that I mind people watching really, I just prefer riding alone and not having to worry that people will think I'm a nutter by the amount I talk to myself!

Did have an incident that scared me a little a few years ago, my horse was kept at a RS with owners on site but again I was often the last there in the evenings and owners were rarely on the yard. I was jumping and my horse put in a nasty stop and I landed in the middle of the jump and hit my head on a pole. I jumped up and ran after my loose horse but then fainted. Well I assume that's what happened because I came to in the middle of the school with a crack in my hat and poles all over the place but without much memory of what actually happened! All turned out fine, I even got back on and carried on jumping but when I look back on it things could have been a lot worse!

Now I prefer to jump with someone else at least on the yard who knows I'm in the jumping field (ideally I like someone in the field to put poles up!) but I would still jump alone if I really needed to and no one was around

[Trewsers]

Don't think I would, we keep ours at home but I wouldn't fancy riding alone mainly cos its very remote / rural and I know for definites that the neighbour wouldn't rush to help me! lol, he'd probably stand there laughing!!!

[joey_olop]

When my OH isnt with me Im usually the only one down there-I wouldnt ride if I had that thought!
My 2 are safe as houses though & would trust them with my life :D

[MrKia+Me]

I have to there is only me on my 'yard' (a farm) so a mobile phone is an essential tool for me and I am never up at the yard without it fully charged.

Nikki xxxx

[SallyLoofah]

my yard is only me and my sister and we have no school, but i hack out for miles and exploring by myself. i always have my phone, and my mum just tells me to be careful! (im 14 btw)

[Method_Acting]

yeah, but there's a security guard around from 6pm - 6am though. I always go off hacking alone though for hours (usually with a phone).

[Howengold]

Today my eldest did what she always does with her loan horse. She got him ready and hacked him alone across to my yard, schooled him alone and then went back to her farm where my friend met her and brought her home. She is 15 nearly 16. She also sometimes goes to my yard with Hannah and rides our ponies, just the two of them and a mobile.

[Jamey]

I used to be at the yard til 10p.m. Always the last one there and always rode when everyone else had gone home. Didn't give it any thought really.

Now I'm on a huge yard with folk who live on site.

[Travis's Mum]

There is always someone around when your in the school, but out hacking I have done on my own but always have my mobile with me, just in case.