OK. It sounds like I have a lot of the right ideas. I am excited to see how we do!
One idea to desensitize them from hounds…take him to a hunt kennels and let him stay/live there for a bit to see/smell/hear them and learn they are no big deal. Even just overnight. Obviously with their permission, orchestrated and with an offer to pay or something. I once left mine in a stall across the aisle from the hound pens in the barn for the weekend. Or in the field next to some kennel runs. Hey it can’t hurt to ask! Helps if you’re a member of course!! 
Had one fieldhunter who paid no mind to HIS hunts pack but when I guested/joint meets or was near OTHER packs hounds…he’d pin his ears. Didn’t like them!! And one only hated Jack Russells. All hounds A-OK!!
A quick cautionary about the SECOND time you take him hunting. I have a young, scopey, athletic TB. Roaded him a few times, great with hounds and horses. First time I took him out this season I started him in second as I thought our 3rd would be too slow for him and he’d get anxious/ jiggy. He was fabulous. I was thrilled!
The SECOND time I took him out, he revved into high gear within one second of moving off and was a disaster. He was ready to RUN! And once the field moved into a canter, run he did- and my life started to flash before my eyes, as well as the 2nd field MFH whom I blew by immediately (not trying to of course…). Maybe someone else would have made the choice to keep him there and see if he settled, but the whole experience was completely anti to what I wanted for him to learn (calm, responsive, can equally move out or relax as needed) so I pulled him back to 3rd where he settled quite quickly and we had a nice W-T hack for the rest of the day. Lesson learned on my part, for sure.
for the next few hunts we stayed in 3rd.
I took him back to 2nd a few weeks ago and he did great, but it was a much smaller 2nd field and we could dictate our own pace. Even larked over a few of the coops and things. I’m taking him out one more time before the season ends and will see who shows up that day to decide if we do 2nd or 3rd.
I think my long and wandering point here is show up with a plan but be prepared to change it based on the horse you have that day, and what you want him to learn for the longer term future. 
Welcome back to hunting! I drifted away from Eventing about 4 years ago and while I still follow it, I definitely identify as a foxhunter these days
Lol! Yes. I am familiar with the “first time was perfect. Second time was horrific” phenomenon!!! We will be taking it very slow and easy to make sure his head stays screwed on.
I so hear you regarding the first time wonderful, second time a bit wild, third time watch out…
We had a BNT event trainer come out, and she was so thrilled with her horse - he was perfect, etc. etc. Then she found out!! It was funny actually.
But you see them through the learning curve and all is ok.
I think there are some horses that cannot be safely taken out hunting… but most can be brought around.
[QUOTE=GoForAGallop;7499020]
I have always understood that if there is ANY chance that your horse will kick out at hounds then you are not welcome at any hunt in the country. So if you think his distaste will extend to kicking, I think it might be better to borrow a horse.[/QUOTE]
For what it is worth one of my hunt horses is a mare that would kill any dog that entered her pasture and she even tossed a small dog out of her stall by the scruff of it’s neck (he ran into her stall under the stall guard- dog was scared but unhurt)… anyway this same mare doesn’t so much as pin her ears at the hounds in the hunt field. They can run under her belly, run up on her heels, etc. and she is totally copacetic. Somehow she makes the distinction.
Because a horse is a horse and nothing is guaranteed, when the hounds come by you will hear, “Head to hounds”.
Hunting is fun!! Most horses, given a slow introduction and time to figure it out, enjoy the camaraderie as much as we do. Hunt trail rides, walk hounds, do not expect to do anything but putter along at the back of the hilltoppers the first year and you’ll have a shot at making him into a good field hunter. Do not be tempted to go too fast as you will rarely be able to undo the damage done by rushing that piece of his education. Sometimes the really hot, worried horses are actually happiest hunting with a bunch of friends around and given the chance to understand the job, really settle. My current hunt horse is a hot, difficult mare…except in the hunt field where she gallops on a loose rein in a snaffle and loves everything about hunting because she gets it and has company.
YB,
Keep in mind the standard by which all horses are judge ( ) perfect Paddy, was perfectly awful to hunt in the beginning…
It was easy to take him Prelim within a year of his starting eventing, but he was a hellion to hunt. WAY too full of himself, buck, prop etc. etc. though he was ALWAYS good with hounds since he was surrounded by canines all the time, even in his own stall!
Despite my Father’s prodding to “hunt that horse to make him worth something”, it was so not a pleasure, and we took a hiatus while pursued solid Prelim/CCI*. With maturity, he came back to hunting and was an absolute joy, as you know. He would go anywhere in the field, do anything asked of him, whip-in, whatever. He went on to qualify for the NAFHC finals, while he continued eventing at Intermediate and placing at Hunt Night!
Long wordy reply to say that they always surprise you, and it’s amazing how one’s special horse is willing to adapt to what becomes important to his owner/rider/friend. I truly believe this!
Kate, you made me cry. Both in memory of Perfect Paddy and for that last little bit!!! I can’t wait to see what the little black horse thinks of this new adventure!
It took a couple of seasons for one of my horses to settle down. His problem was jigging and not being quiet at checks. I didn’t help matters much by getting tense because I was so worried I was ruining everyone’s day.
Staying to the rear, hilltopping more than jumping, some management changes, all that helped to settle him down.
But I’ll be honest with you - I don’t think a kicker ever belongs in the hunt field. A kicker of other horses or of dogs.
Hunting is a group activity - not an individual one. This isn’t eventing. Our actions and those of our horses have a direct impact on every other person and animal out there. It is not fair for other people to have to jockey for position, trying to avoid the bad apple in the field. The crazy horse, the overfaced horse, the frightened horse - or the one with a small territorial bubble.
I have seen a person’s leg broken, while they were in the saddle, by a horse who backed up to kick. The kicker missed the horse and hit the riders tibia.
I have carried a hound - who had collapsed in the woods retching, after it had been kicked in the head by a guests horse (said guest than said, “my horse doesn’t like dogs” - didn’t offer to help save the hound, and was excused from the field). That hound had to be raced to the vet; who was barely able to save the poor animal. The hound eventually recovered. Eventually. It was a horrible thing to witness. A hound that has been kicked may not ever want to get near horses again - which makes the animal useless as a hunting dog.
My own horse was kicked in the knee by a horse that is a known kicker - the rider let his horse flank other horses, and then his horse would spin and kick. I managed to get my horse home and the vet fixed him up. But that was an injury that never should have happened. It could have been career or even life ending.
This is a sport that revolves around hounds - though many people these days “hunt to ride” - it doesn’t change the fact that the sport is about hounds and hunting.
The welfare of the hounds is paramount. The hounds always come first. You always give them priority, the right of way, you yield to them, and to staff, and you turn your horses head to them when the pack passes by.
You never - ever allow your horse to even think about lifting a leg towards hound or horse. A field hunter is not permitted to kick.
There are lots of fun trail rides through the summer, evening walk outs, clinics, and if you are already familiar with a local club you might enjoy walking hounds with them. Walking out is done on foot, usually in the mornings. You might be able to walk out in the morning and head to work, at least a few times.
Then, if you are permitted to participate in roading hounds, you could get your horse used to the pack in a very low-key, non hunting atmosphere. When the season starts, a pack of hounds running around and underneath him may be no big deal.
I know you to be an excellent rider so the riding part will be easy for you, I think. Just don’t let your horse think he is permitted to lift a leg and you should be fine.
Welcome aboard - I think you’ll drink deeply of the kool-aid and be hooked!
I have one event horse that I thought wouldn’t hunt but he turned into the best hunter I have. He hated dogs and also has a nasty buck. His first hunt his mind was blown and he would only go backwards, not a lot of fun. Since then I have made quite a few hunt horses. Some things to do. Go out roading in the summer when it is nice and hot. That helps get the horses used to hounds but they won’t have them coming up behind them like the do in the hunt field some times. Also the group will be smaller and you will be able to control where you ride better. The next good thing to do is to find a foot pack and get permission to go out with them. There are generally fewer hounds and not a lot of horses running around to distract them. The other thing to do is even if your horse jumps great, ride in the back of the hilltopper field. That way you won’t have people running up behind you and you don’t have to worry about the fences. The other thing to be aware of is your horse will be much stronger so be prepared to try different bits until you find one that works. Make sure you punish them if they act out in the field and punish them hard. Kicking is not to be taken lightly and punishment should be administered quickly and harshly. They need to learn that it is very wrong.
Yes, you really won’t know until you try. My old gelding had a lovely last year of riding out hunting when he wasn’t quite sound enough for dressage and big jumps.
He thought it was the best. thing. ever. Hack for a while with some friends, GALLOP, hack some more, stop and have a snack, GALLOP. hang out for a bit and another snack, etc. No dressage and the jumps were incidental. The people who knew him as an eventer thought I was mad, but he was a horse who always somehow knew the limits of any particular activity (jigging on the lead OK, rearing not), and he figured out “can’t pass the grey and that chestnut” (staff) and whoa means stop and just stand around.
He had always been fine, though, with dogs and other horses.
And I have an Event horse who is actually the biggest pain in the butt in a warm up ring… is absolutely offended if any horse looks at her or gets too close. Will leap and bound about like an idiot. I am sometimes embarrassed at her hiijinks.
I never, ever, ever thought she would hunt. She is excitable, spooky and acts like the above… Our huntsman invited us to go to our first hunt after a XC clinic was canceled at the last minute.
She was spectacular… ran like the wind, stopped when asked, never bothered by hounds in full cry and stood at checks like she was born to Hunt.
With that said, I was advised that it will take about 6 hunts before they truly “get it”. And they were right…
First Hunt - Angel
Second Hunt - A willing firebrand
Third Hunt - Wild with anticipation and eagerness to run
Fourth - now… - Needs that first gallop (really needs it) and then is a fabulous trooper the rest of the hunt.
Hunting improved our galloping, our cattiness over less than perfect footing and even evaluating the “question” ahead of us. And, I can do a drop fence like a superstar… all due to hunting.
As one eventer said to me when I started hunting, "It’s all XC and a great competitors party after every “event’!”
As someone who was lucky enough to hunt this horse last year when mine was on the mend, I will concur that she is spectacular to hunt. Obviously really enjoys it.
And it was Bogie who told me at her third hunt that by the fourth of fifth hunt, the smart ones begin to realize that they need to save some energy to last the whole hunt.
And she was right!
{{Bogie is a pretty awesome rider and looked phenomonal riding my lil princess}}
Thanks, all, for the great stories.
I am hesitating right now about whether I’ll proceed or not, at least for this year. I just had a lot of dental work done and my jaw will be fragile for the next 4-6 months (which will put us right around late cubbing/early formal season). I’ve resigned myself to refrain from any serious jumping this year, so I’m not sure where preparing to hunt will fall into my level of protectiveness over my face. May invest in a standing
