Hacking out alone?

15 year olds can be very adult in their ways and if they are

1. Observant and sensible enough not to canter into a foot of mud

2. Wise enough to slow down when there are walkers about

3. Adult enough to know when to come home. Before dusk etc

4. And you are reasonably assured of their capabilities if something were to go wrong

Then I see no harm in it. In fact there are some adults that shouldn't be allowed out on their own!!

*** Of course, it should go without saying but maybe it has to be said, she should be on a bomb proof pony/horse, she has a mobile and she tells someone where she is going.

This is a toughie - I was riding out alone at around age 12 - my very un-horsey parents had no idea, I had no phone and generally no-one knew where I was. But things have changed a lot since then - there is a lot more traffic and weirdos around than there used to be. I still find myself being overprotective with my daughter who is almost 17 and takes her Stage 2 In a couple of weeks ! I think she was about 15 before I actually let her go out on her own even though her pony is fantastic in traffic. I still stress about it now when she goes alone as I know there are so many things that can go wrong however careful the rider is. Mobile phone is an absolute must and I always like to know where she is going and have some idea of how long she will be.

She never rides without a hat and always wears some form of reflective gear.

How young is too young ?

Impossible to say really - too many variables. Around here hacking out always involves roadwork - there's no way around it and we have to cross a main road to get to the bridlepaths so they'd have to be of an age to know how to deal with traffic - probably around 12 or so.

Sounds like this girl's Mum has heard some scare stories that have made her decide it's too dangerous to go alone - can't argue with that really although it does seem a bit harsh to have allowed it all winter and to now change the rules just when the weather is starting to get better.

I hacked out on my own around age 11 or 12, when I had a job as a trail leader at a trail-ride-by-the-hour barn (yes, they were REALLY professional to hire a 12 year old to be in charge of group of 15 adult riders, lol! Fortunately I was an experienced rider that had been taking lessons for many years...)

Anyway, I bought my own horse at age 15 and hacked out alone then, too. There were a couple of 13 year old girls at the barn where I boarded who mucked stalls and exercised horses in exchange for lessons there. One of them I trusted on my horse, and the other I didn't. They were equally knowledgable about horses and had the same amount of riding experience, but one of them was sensible and the other was hot-headed and too "adventurous" when riding. Same age, same experience level, but VERY different mentalities.

So my point is, it REALLY depends on the rider themselves. If the child is sensible and realistic about safety and horses, and understand that it isn't a wise idea to go on a "sidesaddle trail ride" in a regular close clontact saddle while on a strange horse (yes, that was that one girl at my old barn!) then by all means, let them ride. If the kid is more of a daredevil type, then keep them supervised til they outgrow their ways. Always, of course, with a properly fitting helmet and a cell phone secured to their body!

When I was eight I was visiting my uncles farm, got up one beautiful morning, saddled a pony, and went for a ride, with no experience! I almost gave my relatives a heart attack! I would say, a teen can drive a car at 16 (boy is mom infor a reality check next year!), so 15 is not too young to be going out ,provided they: wear a helmet, carry a cell phone (on their body not on the saddle and cell service may not be available anyway), but most important is to leave a map and details of where she will ride and how long she should be gone, then stick to it!!! That way, if she's way overdue getting back, a rider can go out looking or if the horse returns without her you will know where to start looking. As a mom, we want to trust our kid and not make them paranoid but stuff happens and we need to know where they are and how to find them in an emergency. A map, time, cell, & helmet will help ease mom's fear.

I got my first pony when i was 9, i kept her at home and hacked out alone all the time. There wasn't anyone to hack with until i was 14, then three of my friends got ponies. My kids are two and one so the second part's not relevant yet. But i think if the pony was very sensible and quiet i don't think I'd have a problem at 8 or 9.

i think its down to the confidenc and ability of the rider, the approval of the parents/riding facility and the behaviour of the horse. im not sure that this is something you can generalise really but i was also hacking out alone at 9/10 (on a very naughty section c x arab, some kids are not allowed to even walk home alone at the age of 12 from scholl which is five min down the road :)

I grew up in a rural area, and I was riding alone in our pastures at age 8 on an ornery little appaloosa bareback. I couldn't lift the saddle! Granted, I got scraped up but I learned a lot too. No cell phones either.

This teenager sounds like a great gal and not the type to do something foolish. Horseback riding gives her time to herself to think and figure things out, and when I was a teenager that time was important to me too.

Sounds like her Mom has other issues going if it didn't bother her until now. Spring is coming and then this girl can ride out with other people more often hopefully, and Mom can get used to the idea her daughter is growing more independent.

I know I was going out alone when I was 10, maybe sooner. At 10, after 4 years of riding, I was riding a crazy arabian whose owners were too scared to ride it (they boarded 3 horses at the farm next door). He was really a nut but we did okay together, even though there were many flat out gallops that I couldn't have stopped if I wanted to. I always wore a helmet but didn't have cell phones back then. Looking back this is kind of strange because my mother is the biggest worrier in the world! I know she did not like it, but I guess I wasn't strictly not allowed to do it, either.

Iv been riding out on my own since i was 13-14 and im naw 16 my parents are not into horses at all! ... my mum knows that im a sensible rider and always got a phone on me and that i would never do any thin dangerous and that id say away from busy roads..shes just gratefull that im into horses and riding round the country side and not hanging round drinkin on street corners!

As a teenager I don't hack alone. Theres so many risk factors even if you have a broke animal. My "riding buddy" aka best friend will hack together and talk about anything and everything. She's 14 and I'm 17. Her aunt who owns the barn and also is our trainer knows if we're going on a hack. My friend and I know the trail like its the back of our hands. If we do go on it alone we have a lot of rules. We're only allowed to stay on the main trail, don't try anything new on the trail, keep the cell phone with you, tell someone your going on a trail.

I went on a trail by myself because I needed to ride, the sun was starting to set. I thought I could go on the main trail and get to the barn before it was too dark. hahaha My trainer told me if I can't see where I'm going, to give the horse their head and they'll take us back home. I could barely see infront of me, so I gave the horse his head and said "Chick take me home" he took us home.

My parents don't mind that I do that, they trust the horses and my trainer. If i hack alone, I don't use any of the young horses, I'll take the old broke show horse. My opinion a rider needs to know how to solve anything that my happen on a trail, have a knowledge is a horse acts up, know the trail, have the sense to know when you just need to turn around and go to the barn.