Looks easy doesn't it? But does everyone want to do it? And should we?

All of my achievements with Dolly over the last few years have been as a result of his confidence growing. He is not a naturally cocky or confident horse and for the first 2 or 3 years spent a lot of his ridden time tucked under the contact as if to pretend not to be there. Bringing him out of his shell has taken a great deal of time and perseverance but he is miles better than he used to be.

Out hacking, Dolly loves nothing more than to be in the middle of a group of horses, where he can switch off and not take responsibility for anything in front or behind him. We’ve done really long hacks and sponsored rides but always in company and the first time I hacked him alone at my old yard my husband walked on the opposite side of the road so that I knew he was there but J took no comfort from him - it was not an experience I wanted to repeat particularly soon! J was in a constant state of panic, spooking at everything and on high alert the whole time.

At our first yard, there was always someone to hack with and we were often called upon to think up a lovely long ride for a few of us to do together. JJ’s canter out hacking was really slow in the very beginning and he would always be miles behind everyone else if we had a canter around the farm but he is cracking now and will willingly give me really forward canters and is really up for a gallop when we are out with his mates.

Before I moved yards, I started to ride around the farm on my own and conquer the gremlins in every bush and around every corner. I got dumped at a stationery tractor on the first day (about 100 yards from his stable - yes, this was no easy thing) but continued to hack him out alone and managed to do 6 days in a row and was really on to something when I had a week off work.

The trouble is, when you want to jump, train in flatwork and conquer going out alone, there isn’t enough time to do everything when you work as well, so the 6 days work was great but I couldn’t retain the more sensible JJ hacking alone because we really needed to do it everyday. So, when we did hack out alone, we went backwards a bit first and sometimes ended the ride not much more confident than we started out.

During 2011/12 I pushed JJ much more when hacking in company, trying to make him take the lead most times and not letting him get away with anything. I was treated to some unplanned dismounts during the process but at least I was getting amongst it and not taking the easy option all the time, which of course was exactly what JJ wanted.

In 2012, I had a week off at my new yard and it was cold but sunny. I decided the hacking alone needed to be conquered so started taking JJ out in hand every day. At first he was just as nervous as if I was on board, but the more the week went on he was more confident (a bit bored too probably but that’s a good thing!) and we started out in hand and I jumped on for the ride home which suited J because at least he knew where he was going and so was more happy and a bit more chilled out.

Over the last year, with the help of Feedmark’s Steady Up (which I can confirm definitely help to manage irrational behaviour) we hacked out alone on fine, quiet days and now have 2 or 3 familiar routes that we are happy to do alone.

Just last week, I took Dolly alone on a route we have only ever done together once, and that time we were with a friend. I am delighted to report that for the whole hour and 45 mins JJ was wonderful. Worried - yes, but as we have worked so hard on “go forward at whatever speed you want but blinking well go forward” the spinning 180 degrees has abated and he knows that whatever I expect him to go past something, however long it takes.

So, the Steady Up has been stopped, and we are finally hacking alone successfully. For Dolly and I, this has been an important achievement and whilst we would both prefer to be in company, taking Dolly out of his shell and making him generally more confident relies on pushing the boundaries of his comfort zone.

So, do I think hacking alone is important? For us yes. The more I challenge him the more confident he gets and I can apply this to everything we do, from show jumping, to cross country, to sponsored rides, schooling when there are distractions present and simply more hacking.

Critically important, is never to put JJ in a situation where his fear is justified. So, I ride out alone on nice days when the roads are hopefully quiet and I don’t hack alone on busier roads or when the wind is howling as I want to avoid taking a few steps backwards.

My dream - well actually it’s not a dream, we will achieve it - is to confidently ride out with Dolly alone, anywhere we fancy. It’s something I see the lovely Cath and Gwyneth at my yard doing all the time and I take my inspiration from them. Thanks girls.