How to teach a horse to hack alone?

G

*Goldfish*

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Oct 31, 2008
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What's the best way to get a horse going out by itself. My 6 year old is great in company (first/ last) but on his own he will get to a certain point and just spin. In the end I have to get off lead him past whatever it is and then get back on and carry on...is this the right way to go about it.

Help
 
It always makes me smile when a rider questions whether getting off and leading a nervous horse past something is the right thing to do.

Let's put it this way, the FIRST thing any carriage driver does with a young or nervous horse who hesitates, is get the groom down to walk by his head and give him courage and help him. It has no negative effect, other than show the horse the way to go and that there's nothing to worry about.

I would do the same ridden as I do driven, just don't reward with your voice or pat and make a fuss of him while he's displaying fear or hesitation. Be workman like use strong voice commands that mean business and don't reward the nervousness, only reward once they are moving forward freely again.
 
I agree with the above unless you are certain you can ride through the spins etc and keep on going I would get off. Always be safe than sorry.

Repetition is the key on learning how to hack on your own. Once the horse realises that he's not going to be eaten when on his own and learns to trust you he should get better and better each time.

Unfortunately being a herdy prey animal is hard wired into their brains and the best thing we can do is to become their herd leader.
 
Thankyou for your reply. I remember hearing once that you shouldn't get off as that is letting the horse win :confused: can't remember who said it though. I think they may of got confused with letting the horse turn around and go home.

By repeating this method of getting off when I really can't get him past something will he eventually stop spinning, or at least stop doing it so frequently. It's lucky I bought a little pony, wouldn't be able to get back on anything else!! :p
 
Funny how one discipline sees getting down and providing a lead to a worried horse as sensible and good practice and another may think of it as 'giving in'.

I've always got off and provided a lead when patience hasn't been enough and I've always found that it builds confidence in the long run. Doing a bit of general groundwork getting them lighter in hand and maybe even doing a bit of long lining can also be helpful. Like Wally says be businesslike and confident and reward effort in the right direction rather than fear.
 
I was working on hacking alone with my mare over the summer and plan on picking it back up when she's back in work and it's lighter again.

I was half tempted to only take her out alone in an effort to get her used to it (often getting off and leading past scary things like puddles...) but I found she really enjoyed going out in company so I tried to do both as much as possible, making sure we in front or side by side as much as possible. She's better in company but still very spooky and refused to go past some things time and time again...

I also tried to make things as easy as possible for her and once a week would only take her up to the top of a track that leads directly from my yard and round the top field a couple of times (great fences and logs to jump!) She loved this and didnt mind going alone so I saw it as a reward and to reasure her that leaving the yard didnt have to mean dealing with scary things every time!
 
why not take him out inhand altogether a couple of times? nice and relaxed walkies, bit further each time? or you could try longreining him by himself (if he/you longreins that is!).
 
*Goldfish* said:
What's the best way to get a horse going out by itself...
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Do a search on this forum using the phrase "cloverleaf pattern." Use it as the technique to build the horse's and rider's confidence while away from "safe" environments.

The underlying purpose of the technique (i.e., the pattern) is to build the horse's and rider's confidence through progressively acclimating them beyond their individual comfort zones by "pushing the envelope" via advance and retreat over new/scary territory. The "unintended consequence" is that they tend to form a team because they gain confidence together and in each other.

The best way to apply the technique is to allocate several hours so that the horse and rider are working on their envelopes progressively over a long period of time, and can have more important things on their minds than getting back to their comfort zones. So if you have a free Saturday or Sunday (for example), pack a snack and go all day.

Eight hours in one training session is not too long to work on this.

Whether you ride or lead, or alternate both is not important. What is important is lots of time advancing and retreating against the comfort zone; use your judgement and do what seems best in the moment.

Best regards,
Harry
 
Harry Hobbes said:
Eight hours in one training session is not too long to work on this.
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Really? :confused: I can see the benefit of devoting enough time so you feel you're not rushing or going to turn back at a point you don't really want to because you need to get back, but if I expected any of my ponies to do any form of training for 8 hours, their brains would fry!

They can deal with an hour or two, if the majority of that is within their comfort zone, but after that they want to go home, go to sleep and think about it (and yes, after training as opposed to exercise, they usually do sleep). Mentally, if not physically, it's hard work for them imo, and I wouldn't expect 8 hours of mentally challenging work in 1 session. I'd far rather make small steps of progress over more sessions, even if it takes longer overall.

As well, in the UK, I think most of us would be hard pushed to find enough riding routes for 8 hours without repeating the same bits over and over again :D
 
I have a number of tricks that can all help, including things you can do when hacking out in company that will help with the solo work ;)

When going out with others try swapping the file order and lengthening the gaps between you and the others so there is a greater and greater distance between you and the group.

Work up to having your hacking partner take you to almost home where he knows he is on the home stretch and then have them take another route to extend their hack whilst you ask him to continue on home.

You can try taking him out for in hand walks if you feel confident on the ground. My mare felt happier having me on the ground where she could see me and I've alway been better at handling than riding!

Try leading him out and then riding him back.

Many find having having a foot soldier present gives them and their horse more confidence.

Whatever things throw at you the key is that you don't let it be a big deal. If you have to get off and lead then do it, and do it without fuss and bother.

Lastly, do anywhere from 2 mins to whatever you feel happy with (be prepared for this to vary from day to day depending on your mood and his). You'll find that by staying within your limits those limits will gradually extend. If you are having an off day and feeling stressed then do something else as he will pick up on your tenseness ;)

Have fun and good luck :cool:
 
Thanks for all the advice everyone.

Was too foggy to go out today, but will put it all into practise soon and let you know how I get on :)
 
As someone who still struggles with nerves hacking out alone I think that the advice here is great.

Also checked out the diary PMCC mentioned from Safecob and was very interesting reading. Was particularly interested in what she has to say about calling out and chatting to people who might be either doing something that horse finds strange or carrying something that also alarms them.

I have actually been doing this with JJ and it really seems to work - if he gets a little worried when he sees someone ahead, i.e unloading stuff from a van, mowing the lawn etc. I make a point of shouting out a very cheerful hello and what a nice day etc. to the unsuspecting lurker!:eek: Seems to immediately relax him as if hes saying - 'OH you know them then - OK thats alright then!'

Trouble is I have now started applying this technique to all scary objects, odd shape bushes, big rolls of silage - i am now on intimate chatting terms with lots of very odd stuff in our area!;) Seems to work mostly - but have heard a rumour that the locals are getting up a petition to have me certified and unfit to be let out alone!:rolleyes::D
 
shockblue said:
Parelli uses the clover leaf pattern. How would you manage to do it on a bridle path?
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Parelli applies the Cloverleaf Pattern to fit the arena he's training within to work on turns, leads, and straightness. Used as such it is a powerful technique. But he's not working on barn sourness or herd bound issues in that application of the technique.

But the essence of the Cloverleaf Pattern is that the horse always returns to the origin. It departs and returns, departs and returns, departs and returns, departs and returns, departs and returns, departs and returns, departs and returns…and comes to view the origin - the place it returns to as familiar (and safe) territory.

This departing and returning can be used to adapt horses to taking the risk of leaving safe geographical and social environments.

Hence the technique's application for barn sour or herd bound horses: they depart from a safe place (geographically or socially) but always return to that safe place. The horse learns that at the end of the day, it will be back "home," with its buddies. (Safe and sound.)

In this application (i.e., barn sour or herd bound), it's not about square corners; it's about departing and returning: The horse learns that it will always return to a safe (i.e., familiar) place even though it is now in an unfamiliar (read: scary) place.

It is training the horse that you will always return it to the safe place. That is paramount in training any horse to leave what it considers safety: It comes to understand that no matter where you take it, you will always bring it back to safety.

So in application you only need two directions: out and back; such as on a bridle path. But if you have more directions - North, South, East and West - where you can do a "proper" pattern, so much the better; but that's merely icing on the cake.

Best regards,
Harry
 
I had this problem when I first got Mimi. She was a RS school horse so was only ever used to hacking out with others and, knowing her, she was probably stuck at the back a lot of the time.

When we first started hacking out solo she quite often used to dig her heels in and refuse to go forward. Some of the time it was because she was genuinely afraid of things (going under motorway bridges and past chickens) but sometimes I think maybe she was having mini 'panic attacks' because she found being on her own a bit overwhelming.

If she was genuinely afraid as opposed to being 'nappy' then I used to hop off, lead her past whatever it was then pop back on her again. I didn't see it as 'letting her win' at all. And it worked, because gradually she did it less and less and after a few months it wasn't a problem at all.
 
Cloverleaf patterns and messing about with a cart on the back is not an option. A driving horse must learn to go FORWARDS every time.
 
I've just cracked this with my 6 yr old. Its amazing what you can do when your hacking buddy goes on holiday for a week;):p

I would advise walking him in hand half way to begin with, and then if he's happy get on and ride back.
My horse will go cautiously until he knows he's on his way back, and then turns into an old hacking pro!
Set your horse up for success by going on a very short, easy and safe route, to begin with.

Last week my horse went out 3 times. The first time he snorted, blew and baulked the first half. Second time he snorted and baulked a little, and the last time he napped once. It was a defiant nap. Not at anything inparticular.He wasn't scared, so after me asking him politely and him running backwards in the road, he got a smack, and then carried on as if nothing had happened.

My friend advised me to get him trotting from the start, to get him thinking forward, which I did, and I think it really helped:).

I was prepared to jump down and lead if need be, and thought I was going to be walking most of the way, but I didn't have to get off once:D. I was so pleased!

Just make sure that you tell someone where you're going, so that they can come to looking if it doesn't go to plan. Also make sure you have your phone. I also had a BP on for extra confidence, and I wouldn't hack on the road without a crop.

Good luck. Would love to know how you get on:)
 
This is one of the reasons I try to get my Youngsters out and about on
their own. They seem to rely on my judgement about anything 'scarey' not that they have found that much 'scarey' so far, they tend to stop, look, listen
to my reassurance and then want to go have a look;)

I have been lucky and managed to con a friend into coming sometimes so that I can
occasionally take them together but most of the time its just one of them
and ME.

Quite how this will translate when I am riding I have yet to find out, however I would not hesitate to get off, reassure and lead them
past anything that was scarey if need be:D
 
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