Hacking - who has the best and who has the worst?

[Skippys Mum]

So so at mine. I can go for miles on very quiet roads but you tend to have to turn and come back again. Hardly anywhere for a canter though.

Recently I've been going to Lucyads and she's got good hacking - mainly roads but loads of bits to get off road and go for (short controlled) canters.

I'm also only 15 minutes from the beach by trailer so I can do that a fair bit in the summer (once I get Arnie beach proofed!).

 

[sancho]

Well I hate to say mine is great given that so many of you have no where to ride!

We have quiet lanes to hack around but you do get a fair few drivers who go a bit fast. There are numerous miscanthus fields we can ride around, a great farm that gives riders permissive use and the Quantocks just 20 mins hack away max.

As for boxing up and traveling we are on the verge of Exmoor too!

Its really sad that so many of you only have roads etc and dont get to canter. How do you make it different for you and your horse, do you box up and travel?

 

[BeachRiding]

Beach - 5 minute trailer ride, rocky, sandy, beautiful, cliffs, flat 10 mile run, you name it I have it.

Redwoods- 5 minute horseback ride up the hill.

Plains-fields- out the door.

Trail rider? not me sorry... I much prefer the arena......

 

[Yann]

Ours is brilliant considering we're right on the edge of a big city, we can go out for hours on end with minimal proper roadwork to join up various bits of bridleway, track, or quiet lane. We also have a local woodland with permissive routes through it, a lovely series of field margins to gallop and a cross country course on the farm itself which is a lovely hack in itself. Only downside is the state a lot of it gets into after a prolonged wet spell, some of it hasn't really dried out properly for 2 years now, but other bits have been improved and two terrible trouble spots on steep slopes will be sorted out next spring. We've also lost a few unofficial routes for various reasons in recent times but I can't really complain about those

Map indicates what we've got to play with although some of the routes have been lost like I said.

Some pics

 

[Joyscarer]

I wouldn't say I have the best hacking in the country but I did make the decision to keep Joy 13 miles away from where I live so that I could be in the best available hacking in my area.

I have loads of quiet country roads for winter hacking and in summer there are numerous bridle paths and tracks to use.

The hacking is varied too. I have Corhampton gallops 20mins away, a river ride, woods, open country, tracks and plenty of hills.

Now all I need to do is pimp my hubby out so we have enough money to move out to be nearer to the ponies.

 

[Tatooed Lady]

I've got to admit that we board in a PRIME location for trails. I have no pictures of them (yet), but here's the DNR's description of what we're situated on:
Equestrians enjoy 39 miles of bridle trail which are traditionally open late April through mid November depending on trail conditions. The main bridle trail winds the linear length of the forest of 33 miles. Two loop trails, Crooked and Forest Lake, provide shorter routes totaling 6 miles.

Lots of hills (plenty are rocky ), open areas to canter, forested areas, edges of planted fields, twisty turny areas, etc. We're smack dab in the middle of the system, right by the two loops. The trail is about 20' off the back of the yard, and in that area we can see half a mile in pretty much any direction. Someday I'll take the YO up on her offer to ride all the way to the end and back....

 

[Liz1949]

we have NO hacking - roads only

rubbish around here - and the council just won't do a thing about it

What do you expect, and what have you asked, the council to do about it? What status do any existing paths have? If you want to give more details (PM me if you like) including the specific area you are in, I will be happy to have a look and see if there are any constructive suggestions I can offer.

 

[laceyfreckle]

Im so jealous. Someone take me for a non concrete hack!

me too!

We have some bridlepaths but not many and you have to hack 20mins on roads to get to them really. Ours is mainly roads. /i'm lucky I have some farmers permission to us their empty fields though without that I wouldn't have hardly any hacking at all

 

[twigs]

mine is rubbish
roads too busy, and the bridle paths that we used to use are gone!!
my RS is too close to the city and the roads are used as short cuts from the carriagway

 

[Dees-unpaidgroom]

Our hacking sucks big style . And what annoys me is that there is so so so many unused footpaths which would make for excellent bridle ways but the coucil wont do anything about it so were suck on the roads. its gutting.
Unless we box up and hit the road we dont have any off road hacking its all on the roads. But luckily i have some very loverly friends who have a yard about 10-12 miles away which we box up to and go off exploring through the woods and fields.

 

[xloopylozzax]

ours is all road based, but we have a few tracks and woods to explore aswell on the way and we pop into stubble fields for a good canter when we can (providing ground is fairly good, and no crops etc) we can canter a good few miles like this.

i think its pretty good, strengthens their tendons and they see new things and you can chat to people aswell.

i like the fact we can go on hardly any traffic country roads then straight onto the A63 or over the M1!

 

[Tiy]

I'm pretty lucky. I have recently moved my girls to a field at the edge of the New Forest. So I have a ten minute ride down a bridlepath before I hit an enclosure then open forest for miles....this is the first time ever I have not had to do roadwork.

Mind you all the wildlife and strange things (Cows, sheep, donkeys) that come along with the forest are all scary and pony eating....my girls are definately urban ponies....they'll happily squeeze past a screaching, rumbling noisy refuse lorry and won't bat an eyelid at rush hour traffic but show them a donkey and it's the most frightning thing ever!! Hehe!

 

[volcy]

What's a bridleway?

We have two fields to go around in the winter, so one day we go one way round and the next we go the opposite way round. If we fancy an early start to avoid the Asda lorries it's a five minute ride up a busy A road to some quiet country lanes. It wouldn't be so bad if the back drop wasn't the South Downs with no way to get to them!!

 

[Liz1949]

We have two fields to go around in the winter, so one day we go one way round and the next we go the opposite way round. If we fancy an early start to avoid the Asda lorries it's a five minute ride up a busy A road to some quiet country lanes. It wouldn't be so bad if the back drop wasn't the South Downs with no way to get to them!!

Where in West Sussex are you? West Sussex seems to have a fairly good record of bridleway provision and there are some permissive paths, too, both council-run and DEFRA.

PS did you give any input to the draft Rights-of-Way improvement Plan (RoWIP) for West Sussex?

 

[blues mum]

sorry, but I just have the best hacking.
no road work (unless you want it )
all of the south downs,
plus any where i want on the farms 700 plus acres
only trouble is, one of my boys is retired, the other off with long term lameness, but its nice to walk the dogs!

 

[volcy]

Where in West Sussex are you? West Sussex seems to have a fairly good record of bridleway provision and there are some permissive paths, too, both council-run and DEFRA.

PS did you give any input to the draft Rights-of-Way improvement Plan (RoWIP) for West Sussex?

Just realised that I am being a little misleading, I am in West Sussex but the horse is in East Sussex!! The lack of bridlepaths once you leave the farmers fields is something I have only just started realising as I have started to want to hack further so any advice on where to start gratefully received!!

 

[Liz1949]

Just realised that I am being a little misleading, I am in West Sussex but the horse is in East Sussex!! Just north of Lewes. The lack of bridlepaths once you leave the farmers fields is something I have only just started realising as I have started to want to hack further so any advice on where to start gratefully received!!

Depending on where you are, you might want to contact the Mid-Sussex Area Bridleways Group and/or the High Weald Bridleways Group

From north of Lewes, you should be able to access the South Downs Way via lanes to Offham then an almost-direct crossing of the A275 and onto miles and miles of bridleway ... let me know where you are (PM if you like) and I can email you map copies.

 

[Demii]

My hacking is well good

5 min walk on a quite country road to the BEACH


Absolutely awesome

Several other routes as well, a ride that's famous in our area called 'The Cross-Country' no jumps involved but still totally awesome

And a 45min ride across beautiful farm land with gorg. sea views


LOl

 

[Ruskii]

Righto photobucket is playing ball again, so here's a few from over the years

(In case anyone on here owns the latest Ordnance Survey Map for the New Forest, my hubby is the rider on the cover )

And the most recent ones

Sorry there is loads, I dont have any good landscape ones.

 

[chickyd444]

we just have roads unless you want to hack for hours on end to get to woods or beach