Hacking Out - what to bring along for the ride

Wildthing1784693

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Nov 2, 2014
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Hello!

At the riding school I am at we have started going out in groups hacking, sometimes for two or three hours at a time so we do get quite far from home, I was just wondering what everyone's essentials list is when hacking?

We already bring a first aid kit along, a mobile phone, a headcollar and lead rope, and we wear high-vis - any other items that could be useful?

Thanks in advance :)
 
I always carry a multi tool to serve as hoof pick/knife/scissors etc, carrots :rolleyes:, tissues (when its freezing cold & my nose runs!), mobile
 
I have a saddle bag on all the time. It has a lead rope, hoof pick, rolled up jacket apart from now as I am wearing it.

Ditto above food and drink. I love stopping somewhere, unless we do the pub :D

Camera.
 
I don't take anything special for hacking out from the yard although I agree you should have some form of hoof pick with you. If I'm going out in the box to an unfamiliar place I do my research on google maps in advance and take a map with me. Also some money, a little bottle of fly spray in summer, some polos, my mobile and some tissues in my bum bag and sunglasses too if I think I might need them. In summer it's often useful to have a lightweight rain jacket that you can either tie round your waist or pack up into a little bag and hang off your saddle until if/when it's needed.

I always tell someone where I'm going and I have the gps switched on my mobile in the vague hope that the emergency services would be able to trace it if I didn't return. There are apps you can get which provide a proper trace on your phone, I'm sure someone will be able to give you their names.

Happy hacking!
 
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What's the money for? I used to take two times 10p for the phone box. Try finding a phone box these days.
I have seen them in town.
 
Off the top of my head: high viz on me & horse, baler twine, mobile phone, whistle & foldable hoof pick.

In the winter there will probably be multiple lip balms in pockets & in the summer I always wear sunglasses. I wear sports tops anyway, so they are quick drying if we do get caught in rain!

Now he's hacking for longer distances, I'm thinking about buying a water bottle that attaches to the saddle for summer.
 
We used to ride to the diner for Sunday morning breakfast --- they had a hitching rail and it could be full, if we didn't leave early enough.

Regarding cell phones: do NOT put them in the saddlebag. Keep them on your person. If you and your horse part company, the phone will be useless if it's in the saddlebag galloping away:)

For just a few hours, I always carried the minimum of water, hoof pick, a few paper towels, cell phone, and my pistol if I was riding alone which was often the case.

For a several hour ride, I included bottled water for my horse (they all knew how to drink from a sport bottle), especially those years I lived in the Low Desert. if there was a group going, I would pack a sandwich or two and some apples & carrots for my horse.
 
I only ever take my phone and a folding hoof pick with me, but we don't go out for more than a couple of hours anyway.
 
A pistol!!!! That would be one way to deal with rude drivers :eek:. I take it you aren't based in the UK Lollykay?

No, I'm in the U.S. I've done a lot of remote riding and most of it alone, so I always carried a pistol. It's very common with those of us who were raised in a rural environment.

For a few years I lived in an area where drug dealing got so bad up in the rock hills, an undercover police officer stopped me one morning (on my horse) and advised me not to ride up in those hills anymore. He said I didn't have enough guns if drug dealers saw me and I saw them. It came to pass that entire very rural area was becoming "polluted" with housing and I was ready to retire anyway, so I sold out, and moved to where I live now.
 
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Hi
I usually take a:
medical armband/holder for phone on arm
mobile
tissues
high-vis
crop/whip (only if your horses need it)
map
 
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