YOUR SOLO GOALS
It’s sensible to hack out with other horses first if you’re on a youngster or one who’s anxious or lacking confidence. Take a calm, reliable horse and rider with you and go on a short, quiet route.
As your horse’s confidence builds, you can start walking further and further apart.
Sometimes another rider may have better luck getting your horse to hack alone. Even if the end result is the same, a second opinion can help to uncover things you maybe hadn’t considered. A new rider with a different approach or riding style, or someone with experience of working with nappy horses, can turn a hacking negative into a positive.
Make getting away from the arena a fun experience for your horse.
If he loves to jump, then pop over a log or two while you’re out. Walk him in-hand and feed him a couple of carrots, or let him have a graze. Hack after a schooling session on a long rein. Help your horse to realise that hacking is fun.
If your horse suffers from separation anxiety try removing him from his field buddies for short periods during the day, or rotate him with others in the herd to avoid separation issues with one particular companion.
If you always work in the arena with other people around, vary your times so that your horse becomes accustomed to working alone.
As with most horsey problems, achieving your end goals takes persistence and hard work, so aim to hack out regularly, keeping sessions short and sweet, and stay calm yourself even if your horse is having a bad day. If possible, use circular routes and try to avoid turning back on yourself.
This way, before you know it you’ll have gone from merely walking down the road to enjoying a lengthy solo hack.
My mare Molly and I started this challenge as nervous wrecks with no confidence whatsoever. It took us two years to complete. Molly had the traditional kissing spines operation in April 2016 and the physiological damage has taken years to overcome for both of us — she once knocked me clean out and put me on a spinal board with a suspected broken neck.
Molly’s thing was to bronc and bronc and bronc. It reached the point where
I was petrified of her feet leaving the floor. It felt like our world closed in. Then I signed up to #Hack1000Miles and it was the best thing that ever happened to us. So much so that I now have the confidence to jump with her! Thank you for pushing my comfort zone — I couldn’t have done this without the #Hack1000Miles challenge.