Any tips on how I can start hacking alone?

S

SarahC

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Jul 13, 2004
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Hi all,

As most of you know, I'm a nervous rider. Although I'm getting better all the time since I had my new girl (about 2 months now!). :D

Anyway, everytime someone asks me if I want to hack out, I always say no and I think this is because I'm not in control. What I mean is, everyone follows set routes which involve minimum 40 minutes out and I feel like there's no 'safety net' ie: I can't turn back or whatever if I feel uncomfortable and because I'm nervous, it just seems like such a major hurdle to suddenly go out for 40 mins and have to keep going no matter what! I hope you understand what I mean...?

I'd absolutely love to be able to hack alone..and be able to go as far or not so far as I wanted....BUT...with my nerves..has anyone any ideas/tips as to how I go about actually starting to do this?

Spangle is great and rarely spooks...I saw her being hacked alone at Stubley and she was totally calm...my instructor has taken her out (in company) since she's been with me and she hasn't put a foot wrong. I really feel I could do it and cope with any minor spooks, but when it actually comes down to it, I totally wimp out!

Any ideas?

S
 
I can sympathise with you. I have the same problem as I dont yet trust my mare to hack alone. She can be bit spooky. This means you have to go with the flow of the ride
 
sarah i'm the same too I only go up the road on my own on my mare and thats only to get to the school. Hack out in company with someone you trust. I have a habit of freezing if a horse spooks so having someone to tell you to relax might work for you. I believe in earning a horses trust as a rider and I don't think I'm quite there in myself to take katie out on my own but yet on the other hand Im quite happy (though still slightly nervous) to take my mums horse murphy out alone. They're both irish cobs but murphy has a certain lazy streak in him which is quite good for me as he also can canter for england if asked but is reluctant to get going (bless him). He's done wonders for me as my confidence is growing day by day in the aim to take katie out alone. Don't get me wrong in company I have no problem on her but if your like me the thought of going alone breaks me out in a cold sweat. If 40mins seems too long for you ask someone to come for a walk with you to the end of the road and back and go slightly further each time. As long as you relax I'm sure we'll both be on here soon telling people about our achievments!! Good luck sarah!!!!
 
Have you tried taking her out in-hand? That way you can see how she will behave on her own with you and whether she will listen to you when its just the two of you, or whether she will be inclined to p*ss off home in an emergency!!!! :D (worst case scenario there, natch)
 
SarahC said:
Hi all,

Anyway, everytime someone asks me if I want to hack out, I always say no

my instructor has taken her out (in company) since she's been with me and she hasn't put a foot wrong. I really feel I could do it and cope with any minor spooks, but when it actually comes down to it, I totally wimp out!

Any ideas? S
Click to expand...

Sounds as if you already have an instructor who knows you and your horse. Can you treat hacking out as if it were just another element of riding which you need to be taught?
I'm not much of a rider but am VERY interested in how things are taught and learned. As you say, it may be a mega ordeal to face 40 minutes. My excellent teacher has shown me that most scarry things in riding can be cut down to manageable proportions. I havent hacked out with her, but I know someone who was given a refresher course this way.
If you thought of hacking out as something you needed to learn from a teacher, then you might ask your instructor to insert a tiny venture outside the school as part of your regular lesson with her walking beside you? Then each lesson, building up the time you and Spangle are outside the school, perhaps with her as escort on another horse? Till it gets to be a little ten minute hack at the end of a lesson?
You could experiment with Spangle sometimes going first, sometimes side by side, sometimes behind and as you get used to it, you might even ride a little way ahead on your own and then turn and go back to your teacher. You could think about the track where your friends ride. Is there a particular place where Spangle and you might get tense? if so, your lesson rides could gradually include that place.
I think it is important to do this with a teacher to start with and not to do it with a friend. Then hacking Spangle becomes something you need to learn on a new horse, not a question of overcoming nerves. At the same time, you could ask your teacher to teach you and Spangle other hacking skills, like opening gates, mounting from the ground and revise the tasks from the riding and road safety test.
This is just an idea, but you asked for ideas.
 
sarah, i'd start by taking spangle for a quick walk after a session in the school. that way you are both relaxed and she will be a bit tired and hence less likely to misbehave. then gradually reduce time in the school and increase the walking part. thats how i started toby hacking alone when he was a baby. i've never really had the option of hacking in company, particulaarly now that we are on our own yard, but tbh, i don't really like having company!! i like hacking to be 1-to-1 time with toby (although he must get fed up of listening to me talking to him, or even worse, singing!! :p )
 
Ooh, there's some great ideas in there thanks guys! :D

then you might ask your instructor to insert a tiny venture outside the school as part of your regular lesson with her walking beside you?
Click to expand...
Really liking the sound of that...my instructor does give me alot of confidence and I have 100% trust in him, so think I'll ask him about that at next lesson. I could also ask my sister to come out with me inbetween lessons.

i'd start by taking spangle for a quick walk after a session in the school. that way you are both relaxed and she will be a bit tired and hence less likely to misbehave. then gradually reduce time in the school and increase the walking part
Click to expand...
Really liking the sound of that too....never thought of that!! She's always really chilled out when we've done some school work and I always feel more confident towards the end than when I first get on her...so that makes sense!

Have you tried taking her out in-hand? That way you can see how she will behave on her own with you and whether she will listen to you when its just the two of you
Click to expand...
Another good one...maybe this should be my first step. Might try it this week.

Thanks again...will let you know how we get on!

S
 
Bit of a variation on the theme above - how about riding her out for say 5/10 mins or to a specific point then, if you are happy with that dismount and walk back to the yard, next time do a bit more and build up slowly that way - eventually staying mounted for the trip out and back and then just increasing the distance bit by bit.

Good luck
 
If you trust your horse and really want to get over your hacking fear, then my advice is to just go and make yourself do it. It will really take guts, but if you truely want to get over your fear then you need to tackle it and not make excuses to aviod it. If you get scared then you can always dismount and lead your horse. I was so nervous the first time I took my mare out alone that I had tears running down my face. However, I really had to make myself do it, and she was as good as gold - even when the horses in the field we were next to started galloping around, she just plodded along. I found it so easy to keep putting it off and making excuses, and even though I still get nervous before a hack it is getting better but I have to make myself go out as often as possible, otherwise I start to worry about it.

I would make sure that you take a mobile phone, a neckstrap (to cling onto instead of holding the reins too tightly) and make sure that someone knows where you have gone and when you will be back (as it makes me happier knowing that someone will come looking for me if there is a problem). YOu need to have faith in your riding ability and instead of thinking that you can't deal with a problem, then try and get out of that mindset and make yourself think about how you would deal with it. By thinking about exactly what you are worried about, and then coming up with practical ways to deal with it, will really let you move forward.

If you get someone to walk with you the first few times (or even put you on a leadrein) then that might improve your confidence - anything which gets you out and about will help.
 
Hi SarahC :)
I know exactly where you are coming from on this one, as I am a nervous nellie in the same position.
Here are a few pointers that have helped me:-
To start with:-
Only go out with another reliable horse.
I always ride at the back ( I have a fear, due to a past bad experience, that I am going to get tanked off with and not be able to stop, so the horse in front, psychologically for me, acts as a buffer)
Only go out on calm (not windy) days
Start on a short ride and gradually build up
Then
Ride at the side of another horse
Then ride in front for a short distance, gradually increasing the time leading as and when you feel safe to do so.

Just build things up gradually and take it slowly, go at a pace that suits you.
It will come, and every good experience you have hacking out will build your confidence up a little more each time.

I am just hacking Jake out again after 9months off, and last night I rode some distance leading and even went through some smoke across a dirt track where our muck heap was on fire. It did my confidence no end of good and I was on a high all night :)

Hope some of this helps

Best of luck :)
 
I think before you start hacking out alone you should really consider hacking out in company.

Ask someone - even your instructor if they will go out on a slow hack with you. The fact that someone is there gives you someone to talk to and keep your mind ticking on other things rather than on your nervousness of hacking out. When you feel then later confident enough to at least trot a bit when hackign out in company then you could consider going alone. Even better when you have had your first canter.
 
I always am out on my own, up to 3 hours at a time. It has never bothered me so long as the horse was reasonably good in traffic.

You are more likely to have a scare with other people, particularly if they are not in control of their horses. Choose carefully who you go out with and if you only want to walk, then say so. don't be bullied into doing what you feel is unsafe.

I would walk her out in hand - for an hour or so, go and explore all the places you could go, don't bother with a saddle. I used to walk my horse in hand all over the place in a headcollar, before riding her, just to show her where we might go. stop and let her have a bite of grass, sit down, let you both relax.

try a little walk on your own with her in saddle after your lessons. the sooner you bite the bullet the less of an albatross it is going to be as the more of a big deal you make of it the worse it becomes.

ride for five-10 minutes, get off, walk the rest - i always get off and walk the last half hour with my horse, to loosen her girths, just relax, be able to talk to her, pull her ears, say thanks for being good. make it a sociable time with your horse.

bet she doesn't spook.
 
Hi,

Good luck with the hacking, I cannot offer any more advice that you have had, but just to say that I understand how you feel. I am nervous hacking even though I love it. I have always gone on my own, but if I feel nervous I find a comfort route which is short. My new loan horse is very sane and she does not do anything silly (well she hasn't yet), so I am working on my confidence with her. I am very careful who I hack out with, stopped riding with my best friend because her horse kept being naughty and was making me nervous, but she understands. I actually prefer to be on my own in a way because you have not got other horses winding yours up.

Even if you get on and walk her 100 yards and back again it is an achievement.

Good luck and keep us informed with your progress.

Kind regards,

Beverley
 
Thanks so much for all the replies...you lot have given me some great ideas and starting points.

Just wanted to say floppy, that I've hacked out hundreds of times with other people and I just don't enjoy it (for the most part)...this was of course on my last horse who I didn't trust one bit! At least now I trust Spangle and my confidence is really going from strength to strength. The trouble is, I always put off hacking alone...and as mary poppins said, once you are in the 'nervous' mindset, it impossible to get out of unless you force yourself to.

I like the idea of riding some of the way, and walking the rest...its like knowing there is a kind of 'safety net' there, that I can walk in hand if I want to immediately helps.
The trouble with going out with other people (I find), is that I have no control over what we do or where we go and I would be absolutely laughed at if I got off at any point and walked!! I know I should be more strong and not let myself be bullied, but being nervous puts you in the mind set where people can totally take advantage, although I'm sure they don't realise it! They think by taking charge of the experience, its helping. I'm not being horrid about confident people honest! :D this is just my experience around here!

Anyway, thanks again! All comments much appreciated!

S
 
I have walked my pony out in hand and had people walk out beside me. Both ways she is fine and has never tried to head for home if she is spooked. The last few times someone has walked out with her and rider she has tried a few spins and in one event put in a rear.
 
didnt realise you had already been hacking with people. I know what you mean about the nervousness...been there dont it.

So i would drop the hacking with other people but go with your instructor. If you go alone then go for a walk with your horse until you find yourself a nice little route. Take her for walks tacked up so if you do feel brave you can hop on board!

If your hrose doesnt get worried about leaving other horses maybe you could ride out with your instrcutor and then the last bit of the hack on the way home you go seperate ways and rid ehome alone...there are lots of different things to try.

I go out regulary with a lady who is nervous and we just babble for 30mins or so and she controls the hack. Where we go, how fast we go etc. Im just there to give her that little extra bit of confidence and shove.
 
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Floppy thats nice of you. It's great to have people who can do that type of thing for others.

I know I could certanly not ask Rhi to leave any horse behind she would have a fit :eek:
 
Agree floppy, thats a lovely thing to do...very considerate of you..wish you lived near me!!

Anyway, going to try some of the things you have all suggested and will keep you posted!!

Thanks again everyone.

S
 
A good start...

Rode tonight...went in the school for about 10 minutes and then decided as it was such a nice evening...I should try to put some of your suggestions into practice.

Our yard is very big and its a long way from the school to the gate/road...it also runs parallel to a very busy dual carriageway. So anyway, off we went...she was so chilled...not bothered about the horrendous rush hour traffic on the other side of the hedge..nor the row of horseboxes lined up down the driveway...wasn't bothered about the automatic entrance gates and it was brilliant!!

Just took her out the yard and a little tiny way along the road, then came back and it felt like such a huge achievement!! :D :D

Next time, we'll go a bit further!

So thanks for all the suggestions...I really feel like I've made a huge step forwards!

S
 
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