I keep reading these threads and posts, and am really intrigued by fox hunting. BUT (there’s always a but, isn’t there?) with a full time, 8 to 5 job, how does one find the time to hunt? Aren’t many of the hunts on weekdays?
Some people just hunt on weekends, others are able to work their schedule so that they can come out more often. You just have to make sure your horse is kept fit during the week. Depending on far you have to drive to and from the barn/work/fixture - some people can come out during the weekdays in the early part of the season when most hunts go out in the early am and only stay out for a couple hours (usually cubbing)
I think keeping the horse fit is your biggest challenge -which may not be difficult if you have a place to work the horse - and I mean really work - not trot in a 20m circle for 1/2 hour.
If you can swing that part - I guess the only other thing to think about is if only being able to hunt one day a week is worth it to you. Since hunting is more than just about riding - I think it is. There’s a social component, activities over the summer, point to points, hunt ball, conservation (hunts are usually very supportive of protecting open space, farms, etc)
Hope that helps. 
Ah, well, it’s like anything else in life, if you really want to do it you find the time! True, most folks with full time jobs only hunt on the weekends. During cubhunting season, way back, late 70s! I would get up at 3:30 am, the meets were at 6 am, hunt til 8:30 or so, a friend would take care of my horse and get him back to the barn, and I would head home, take quick shower, get to office by oh, 10 or 10:30. Of course, as meets got later, I either had to take the day off, or not hunt! Later in my career I job shared with a colleague, which freed me up for Wednesday hunting. Right now, I am taking next week off to go hunting in Wyoming and Colorado.
Most employers have a benefit called “vacation”. I get 20 days per year, which I take one at a time on Wednesdays during hunt season.
The MFH of one of my hunts has a real jobs and works during the weekdays, so we get to ride only on weekends, sometimes both days of the weekend. :yes:
I’m hoping my internship in D.C. during the fall will let me off to go hunting some weekdays (wishful thinking). It’s not like I’m going to be paid for working anyways 
As others have said, a lot of us only hunt on weekends unless we manage to get a day off somehow.
If I can get all the classes I want for law school next fall, I’ll go only on Tuesdays and Thursdays from 8:45 AM-6 PM, so that will give me the option to hunt two days per week (Monday and Saturday).
Fitness is the hardest part. We don’t really let ours down that much, in that they still do trot sets/hill work during the summer, so that when hunting starts, they are good for cubbing, and then we can at least get a couple of them worked when we get home in the early fall when the days are longer, and then they remain pretty fit through the season.
It is definitely possible, but it really does have to be a priority. It’s worth it, though! Most hunts go out one weekday and one weekend day and I would guess that most people do one or the other.
I have a full time job and lots of days I work late, so this is what I do to make it work:
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I pay someone to keep him fit 5 days a week. This is imperative as 3-4 hours in the hunt field on a great day involves a LOT of galloping up and down hills, jumping, etc. It adds up, but I owe it to my horse since I don’t have the ability to condition him myself every day.
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Saturdays are my hunt day. Period. I don’t make plans with friends for dinner, the movies, brunch, etc. I wake up, get ready, head to the meet, tack up, ride, and go to the tea until late. If you have a spouse/SO, make sure they understand this. Hubby generally drinks with the car followers the whole time I ride and then sleeps on the way home while my tired tush drives! :rolleyes:
If you can swing those two things (or have the time to truly condition your horse yourself), you’re set. Honestly, neither of these things are a big deal to me. I’d rather ride to hounds than do anything else in the world. I LOVE it. Give it a try; you’ll never comprehend why you ever wanted to do anything else. :winkgrin:
Prior to starting law school, I was working full-time and hunting 1-2 days/week. It was awesome, and mostly due to having someone else keeping my horses fit. I also had a VERY flexible job that allowed me to get my 80 hrs for a biweek in whenever I wanted. However, I have since left that job, started a new job, and started law school (I know, I’m nuts).
This year, I have managed to hunt twice. It’s been incredibly sad that I haven’t been able to do more. Next year though, my plan is to hunt a lot more. My new job allows me to work from home, and is also a yearly hour requirement instead of weekly/biweekly/monthly.
Most are able to do it just based on the flexibility of their jobs. It’s a nice feature. Though I know, in 3 years, when I’m finished with law school and start my associates position at my current firm…it may be even harder for me to hunt…better get it in now…if I can!
You take what you can get schedule wise. My schedule is working every other Saturday morning but if the weather is forecast to be good on a Saturday I’m on the books to work, a co-worker take the morning. Ditto the Wednesday hunts, if the weather is good I’ll go into work late- 1:00ish. I work for an equine vet so my mare hangs out at the clinic until closing time which makes the whole thing work. Plus, the vet clinic is 4 miles from the kennels.
Get Hooked
I suggest that you just go out and get hooked on fox hunting! The rest will work it’s self out.
I have a full time job, and an active social life with friends and family. My horse and I event and do a little dressage. Everything gets a little push to the side when fox hunting starts. I just do what ever it takes to be able to hunt 5-6 times a month and I know that most members of my home hunt are doing just the same.
Take the plunge, have fun!
same B4 I retired
[QUOTE=SimpsoMatt;3090112]
Most employers have a benefit called “vacation”. I get 20 days per year, which I take one at a time on Wednesdays during hunt season.[/QUOTE]
3 weeks or 15 days vacation allowed me 15 week day hunts given the occasional rain-out or bad footing cancelation, it was most all of them.
[QUOTE=Hotspur;3090804]
I suggest that you just go out and get hooked on fox hunting! The rest will work it’s self out.
I have a full time job, and an active social life with friends and family. My horse and I event and do a little dressage. Everything gets a little push to the side when fox hunting starts. I just do what ever it takes to be able to hunt 5-6 times a month and I know that most members of my home hunt are doing just the same.
Take the plunge, have fun![/QUOTE]
AMEN!
I have a very demanding job. At first, I just hunted on Saturdays, but eventually, one gets sucked in and the addiction spilleth over. Now, I changed my teaching schedule so I can hunt on Tuesdays (I go to ~ half the Tuesdays), and I do work from 3-7 PM on Tuesdays. Most of my vacation and personal days are for hunting or horse shows :winkgrin::winkgrin::winkgrin:
Wow … this sounds really fun … why did I read this thread??? 
Up here in Maine I don’t think we have any hunting but I’m moving down to PA in the fall for vet school so maybe I could ride someone else’s horse on a hunt sometime! The time I went to Maryland for an event I was going to go but it got rained out. :no:
This is a really basic question but do you always wear a coat, etc etc when you go? You’re actually dressed up for it? Not just like schooling your horse. Sorry for the question!
I’ve got an AWESOME draft cross who’s gone Prelim eventing and I think he’d be a blast!!! We love cross country.
I work full time
I hunt every weekend unless its cancelled due to weather. During cubbing they start at 8AM and have a fixture only 10 minutes from our farm. I usually try to do those and can get by with taking a 1/2 day off. Of course I go straight in to work after hunting, no shower or anything.
So I usually get in about one Wednesday a month and every weekend. This year I hunted 21 times.
Hunting and a full time job
Please don’t let these posts scare you.
I picked up riding about three years ago after a thirty year layoff. I’ve been hunting for less than a year and I have a pretty intense, more than full time job. Here are my thoughts:
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Most hunts have a hilltopper’s field. This group goes at a walk/trot with frequent checks. A horse doesn’t have to be terribly fit to do this for three hours, but it is a great way to get involved with a hunt and get started.
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My horse is a 17 year old TB gelding. Over the past summer, I took him to a field and did trot and canter sets up and down hills just about every weekend. Over the work week, I’d try to do one or two days of ring work to include some jumping. I did my best to keep this up through the fall and into the winter, when I couldn’t hunt. The most difficult period was when daylight savings time ended and I couldn’t get to the barn before dark. I just had to do what I could on the weekend to make up for it.
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Getting yourself fit is just as important as working with your horse. Skip the burgers and fries for lunch and try to get an hour work out every day, if possible. Going from a 42" waist to a 38" is pretty cool, too.
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As mentioned in an earlier post, you must have the support of your SO to make this work. My family has been great in their support.
I finished up the season going first flight. An absolutely wonderful experience.
I didn’t think any of these posts are scary. Lots of folks work and manage to hunt - it’s all about scheduling and making sure your horse (and you) are fit enough to hunt. The same would be said of eventing. I used to work full time (awful hours and long commute) and still managed to compete.
Not all hunts have hilltopper fields - and those that do - many of them are expected to keep up with the field.
Something to check on when capping. The hunt I’m with has a hilltopper field that is every bit as fast and demanding as the main field. We may need to slow down on occasion (horse acting up or something). But we’ll even gallop to find a gate while the field is ahead of us - trotting or even walking.
So - it’s just something to ask the Hunt Secretary. Every hunt is different. Some hunts don’t allow mules, others don’t allow stallions. Others do. Some don’t have hilltopper field - or only have them on Saturdays, not during the week. They’re all private clubs and can establish their own policies to a great extent. You just have to read up, ask questions, call the Secretary, maybe get on a mailing list for hunt trail rides during the summer (which is very helpful in getting started) Some hunts offer a foxhunting camp/clinic which is also very helpful.
When starting, you can ask a long time member which fixtures are good for green horses (some fixtures may be very trappy, or have too much open area for a fizzy green horse). Some fixtures may not even have any jumps (some of ours don’t).
For folks interested in learning more about foxhunting - a good place to start (on the Net) is mfha.com
My job previously required that I work every 4th Saturday, with a day off during the week in exchange. I chose Thursday, so I could hunt. I took vacation in the mornings of all the other hunting Thursdays.
We’ve done away with the mandatory Saturdays. For family reasons, I couldn’t hunt this year on Thurs, but next year, I’ll just schedule vacation in the mornings on Thursdays again.
It’s sort of funny to tell people I don’t work on Thursdays from Dec to March. It seems so random to them.
[QUOTE=rivenoak;3097529]
It’s sort of funny to tell people I don’t work on Thursdays from Dec to March. It seems so random to them.[/QUOTE]
A few years ago, I was being pestered by an obnoxious software salesperson who couldn’t comprehend the word “NO”. Finally, about the umpteenth time she called me, she said “I’ll be in your area next Wednesday, so I’ll drop in”. I said “I won’t be here unless it’s raining”. I guess she thought I was kidding, because she laughed and said “OK, I’ll pencil you in and hope for rain”. It didn’t rain, I went hunting, she showed up, I wasn’t there, my boss told her I was out chasing coyotes. She finally gave up.
there IS a hunt in Maine, isnt there ???
[QUOTE=Born2Event;3094659]
Wow … this sounds really fun … why did I read this thread???
Up here in Maine I don’t think we have any hunting but I’m moving down to PA in the fall for vet school so maybe I could ride someone else’s horse on a hunt sometime! …
This is a really basic question but do you always wear a coat, etc etc when you go? You’re actually dressed up for it? Not just like schooling your horse. Sorry for the question!
I’ve got an AWESOME draft cross who’s gone Prelim eventing and I think he’d be a blast!!! We love cross country. :D[/QUOTE]
Sounds like its meant to be, Born2!
Why wait ? There is Spring hunting in New England www.mfha.com/memb.htm can help you find hunts closest to you. I know there is one in ME, its not listed on the MFHA site, can anyone help her out ?
Spring hunting is informal, and varies with different hunts. We wear tweed or “earth tone” coats and ratcatchers. Fall Oct-Thanksgiving is formal, we wear dark blue or black, white, shirt, stock tie. If you are a guest, usually there is leeway your first time out. Early in the Spring, during the summer, and early in the fall, alot of members go out riding together and then we wear whatever.
I used to hunt on Tuesday mornings before work and my friend would take my horse home for me after the hunt and put her away. I would get to work by 9 or 9:30. I guess we were going out pretty early…
It is hard to fathom in hindsight how we got it done. Now if I hunt on Tuesdays I am usually not done until about 2 and then I need my after hunt nap before I am able to function.
