I have hilltoppped twice and carfollowed once. Thank you, TVH and Hunter’s Rest ODH for the fantastic hilltopping, and Wateryglen for carfollowing! 
I hilltopped on made hunt horses as mine are wayyyy too green to be in the hunt field.
Suffice it to say that although we are a couple hours away from any hunt, if I get an idea about moving (Richmond area-hometown,NC-family, TN-closer to my job) I find myself thinking “but where is the closest hunt?” so I know what you mean, Hinderella, about the frame of mind.
Find a way to lease an experienced hunt horse and ride in the slowest field of the hunt the entire first hunt, (watching how fields work, how the huntsman works, how the hounds work and learn the lay of the fixture), then move up fields as you gain confidence and experience. Don’t feel a need to rush, hunting is a lifelong sport.
When you can confidently ride that experienced horse in the field you would like to ride your present horse in, bring in your horse and start at the bottom field again. If you are super smart, you will engage a really good foxhunting trainer for a few lessons before the hunt, on the horse you will lease. To reach genius level, you will hire the same trainer to ride with you on your first several hunts and coach you the entire time. Superstar level has you engaging that same trainer to hunt your horse while you ride the experienced horse. Not cheap, but neither are mishaps, whose potential you can limit by going about it in this manner.
Oh, and, ace the rider, not the horse. 
[QUOTE=Skyedragon;7045533]
Leasing a seasoned hunt horse isn’t really an option. I can only have one horse at a time.
See if you can hire a Hunt horse or ride a Member’s steady-eddie the first time out. You want to learn the protocol & your place in the field instead of worrying about what shenanigans your normally sane horse might do.
He is pretty good about stop and go, and slamming on the brakes when needed. We tend to do a lot of walk to canter back down to walk or complete stop out on the trails. I know they have at one beginner/new members hunt in the fall.
Go out on this hunt but do try to take your horse cubbing before that.
I will see what else they might offer. I am hoping to get out and school their xc course at least once this year. Plus, seems like whenever I have been out there their hounds have been barking/howling
Hounds coming up behind you on the trail and Whips shouting, firing pistols and the sound of a whip cracking are a different thing altogether. If your horse even raises a hind leg to a hound it won’t go over well. You may want to “bit up” and have on a martingale your first few times out.
On a side note, has anybody ever hunted with a gaited horse? Do hunts usually allow them, or more frown on them? A friend of mine wants to try it with me too, but all she has is gaited horses.[/QUOTE]
Most hunts won’t care…the important thing is sanity, manners and handiness of the horse out in the field. Some folks hunt mules. As long as you are both clean, tidy, have the proper tack and are workmanlike it should be fine.
There was an excellent comment about shoeing…take into consideration the territory you plan to hunt and speak with your farrier about it. I suggest you use Borium at a minimum.
[QUOTE=Skyedragon;7043390]
What are some things that you had wish you had known going out on your first hunt?
Hunting has always been something that I wanted to try and I think I am finally going to make it happen this fall. There is a hunt club not even 30 minutes from my house and they are pretty active.
I have read up on their rules, and have read a lot of the threads on here too. However, I am still feeling very apprehensive, and it is still months away! :lol:
My horse is a brilliant jumper, and is use to w/t/c out on trails with horses he doesn’t know. I think we also have an advantage in that where we board use to rescue dogs. The dogs that were not adoptable are still housed in kennals next to the barn. He is use to dogs howling and barking constantly.
What are some things to help prepare us for this adventure?[/QUOTE]
You have been given some terrific advice. How experienced a rider are you:1-5 years, 6-10 years or “off an on” for all your life? Always a lesson rider or do you also ride alone- in other words, can you work out bumps in the road with your horse without a trainer/instructor there beside you?
Now is the time to talk with hunt and ask if they have someone who will mentor you through roading hounds and cub hunting. Realistically a horse new to hunting doesn’t need to stay out the entire hunt BUT you have to have a hunt buddy to work this out with and a hunt that will allow this. Take everything slow and steady and when you think your ready to “Up the pace” take everything slow and steady for 6 more weeks. Speed is always there, keeping calm is a learned behavior. Ditto experimenting with a little more bit- just because it is in the horse’s mouth does not mean you have to use it. Ace can be used for a training tool but it is not a substitute for horse that is not suitable for hunting…and it takes 6-8 hunts to see what kind of horse you have to hunt.
I’m going to be the lone voice that says: if you have a good grasp of what hunting is about, a sound riding skill outside the arena and have a terrific hunt member to mentor you, you do not have to rent a horse to learn safe and correct hunting. A horse new to hunting that starts having difficulties will change the experience for you because dangerous/angst horses just can’t be out there. However, in my hunt we would welcome a green bean rider on a green bean horse and you would probably ride beside a member like me who is happy to go at any pace and knows where to stay so as to not interfere with the hunt in progress. However, the best time to start training the horse is during hound walking. Hound walking IS about the hounds but at our hunt they encourage green/new to hunting horses to come and learn. At hound walking tomorrow another member called to make sure I would be there because she is bringing her green draft cross out for his first ever “kennel” exposure. After walking hounds on foot we will have a trail ride. I’ll do whatever she and her horse need to to end the day with an A+ experience. It’s the buddy system. Last season I often rode with a re-rider who needed to stay waaaay off the pace. That is what she needed and it was selfishly terrific for my horse to go from hunting pace in second field to walking and trotting on the hilltops where she could see the action but not participate in it.
Good luck!
Well done, you’re doing this planning at the right time of year! (For you at least, down in NZ we have closing hunt this weekend sob) You’ve got a while to prepare.
I wish I’d known:
About all the pre-season events the hunt offers – like a trek and a hunt instruction course, also other info like you can school over the jumps at the kennels (throughout the season too)
About being able to walk the hounds (and had the time to do it). The summer just been I was able to go out with the hounds on foot 2 x per week – amazing way to learn a lot – you don’t have to worry about what your horse is doing, what someone else’s horse is doing, where the next jump/gate/obstacle is (well, ok, I did walk into electric wire a few times!). You can just concentrate on the hounds and if you are very lucky your huntsman will tell what is going on. Not every hunt does this but if you can I highly recommend it.
About who is good to follow/stick with in the field. If you can buddy up with someone on a steady eddie who will not gallop off without warning etc, will give you nice leads and wait for you then that will really help.
About being prepared: hip flask, water bottle, food in pockets (sweets & granola bars usually), a big breakfast and minimal liquids before the hunt! The right gear – bit, reins and gloves that don’t slip when wet etc.
About just how chaotic a hunt can be (actually probably better not to know too much in advance ;-)). It’s not a straight line, set speed event, that’s for sure! Constant changes of pace and direction, footing and slope. Just when you think you’ll have a nice breather at the back suddenly the hounds are all around you and you’re right in the thick of it again. Or suddenly it’s just you and a few others and where the heck did the other 60 horses go when we were shutting that gate? (I quite like being ‘lost’ and having to figure out which way to go, but we don’t hunt big country that you could really get lost in).
About how horses will generally keep themselves upright when travelling across exciting terrain – down steep hills, across steep hills, over rutted ground, through boggy patches etc. This used to worry me quite a bit - especially going fast down hill – now I just tend to grab mane and say ‘don’t trip, don’t trip’ in my head.
About how galloping in a group is terrifying and exhilarating and how the horse will slow when everyone else does (mostly!)
And last, but not least, I wish I’d known just how much I would learn about myself and my horses out hunting. I’ve learnt to be braver about speed and jump size and to just go with it – no hanging on the mouth, half halts as appropriate. I’ve learnt to trust my horses to keep us upright and out of trouble.
Actually one more thing – as another poster said – hunting is a lifelong sport. I used to want to ‘make the most’ of each hunt – now I have a more laid back ‘there’s always next season’. I think if you’re starting a greenie you have to keep this in mind – there’s no rush, there’s no need to be right up the front, or jumping heaps, or galloping lots, if it’s a quiet day and you didn’t do as much as you’d planned that’s a heck of a lot better than doing too much and having a problem.
Should you take your own horse? I’m in the ‘go out at least once on an experienced, easy hunter’ camp (aside from anything else this will be So Much Fun) but I understand that this isn’t always possible. What you do depends on how confident you are with managing your horse if he bucks, rears, takes off, backs up into people etc – he could pull out a behaviour he’s never even thought of before. If you know him well enough and have had him in a wide variety of situations that’s pushed both of you out of your comfort zone successfully then it wouldn’t be out of the question.
Maybe go on foot to a few hunts first so you can see what goes on. Maybe pay an experienced hunt rider to take him to 3-4 hunts for you.
Lots of people in NZ try hunting with their ‘regular’ horse. Most cope just fine, some don’t.
I do think you build an amazing relationship with your horse out hunting – if you do it right. Now the day after the hunt my new horse will stand at the gate staring at me when I put him away after the check, groom and feed – as if to say ‘hey, why didn’t we do anything fun?’
Good luck and have fun, whatever you decide :lol:
SLW - thank you for helping other people like this. It is very, very generous of you.
I really appreciated the times that members of my hunt helped me out with a new or green horse. It makes an enormous difference having someone looking out for you, even if it’s just for a little while, or after a sticky spot.
While it is great if you can go on an experienced hunt horse, it is not a requirement. My first hunt was also on my horse’s first hunt and we did it without ace.
What you should do is make sure that you are well prepped. We had spent the previous two summers going out on hunt trail rides. We practically went out every weekend. In NOVA, the hunts tend to have jumping and non-jumping groups on the trail rides. Or fast and slow. So put a lot of mileage on that way.
We also used to hack out with our dogs all the time. Being hunting dogs they tended to move around like the hounds. They did not just trail after the horses.
It’s also good to get a lot of schooling in on XC courses.
You can prep a horse for everything but the adrenaline. But if you have a really good training base on the horse then it will overcome that initial surge of adrenaline and settle in.
I wouldn’t dream of acing my horse. I have heard far too many horror stories of gelding’s reacting negatively to ace. I won’t belittle those that chose to use ace as a training tool, but it is not my tastes.
Thanks everybody for the wonderful advice. I shot off an email to the hunt club to see what the offer during the off season for newbies.
In the arena what are some things that I can work on to help prepare me for hunting? My normal trail riding partner had to go out of town for an extended period of time, and the only other person I know in the area to ride with is a beginner who only walks on trails (which is fine, but doesn’t help us practice anything).
By the way, does anybody know what a Melton coat is? According to the hunt club website:
Ladies wear a Melton coat with black buttons, a canary waistcoat (vest), a white shirt with a white stock tie and a horizontal gold pin, tan britches, brown or black leather gloves and black boots. Ladies with “colors” wear a black Melton coat, with navy BCH collar, BCH brass buttons and black boots with black tops.
Google search just shows what looks like rain coats. Can I just wear my regular hunt coat that I use at shows?
Find a mentor - and do tell people you are a beginner: they will help you and forgive your mistakes. Then, to a great extent, keep your mouth shut and your eyes and ears wide, wide open. There is so much to observe, so much to hear. Ask questions when appropriate, such as at a check, but do avoid chatter. Often following hounds means you need to hear them because you can’t see them. People discussing the latest gossip is then really distracting.
Melton cloth is a heavy wool twill, in black or blue, and is used to make hunt coats because it is fairly waterproof, always warm and can last for generations, with proper post-hunting care. So, a dark coat can come to be called ‘a Melton coat’. Check with your hunt if your show coat is OK. http://www.rideaway.co.uk/mears-ladies-ledbury-hunt-coat
Definitely find a mentor to help answer these sorts of questions. The masters and officers are usually pretty nice about helping you make connections (our guests, for example, are required to have a mentor hunting with them and will have one assigned if they don’t know a member). You can also ask them specific questions about turnout, etc.
Coat color and number of buttons is generally more important than fabric or cut. Remember, too, the clothing is different between informal and formal seasons.
[QUOTE=Martha Drum;7047327]
OP, per this indvidual, I don’t know what I’m talking about – but I have started several horses and ponies in their hunting careers without Acepromazine :winkgrin: But as she said, “to each their own” [sic]: I’ll respectfully accept her choice to use it, appropriately and when necessary, for her horses. You know your horse best.
That said, do consider leasing an experienced horse, just for that day, for your first time out. Most of all, it will help you feel the next time (perhaps on your own horse), that you will be able to help him figure it out, rather than being a first-timer too.
Welcome! Have fun![/QUOTE]
So, have I. Not ponies. I know what horses will benefit and increase their learning curve with and ones that are born with a good mind that will take pretty much anything thrown at them. Even half assed riders that think they are better then they are. But unlike the OP I don’t have to ask in the COTH forum how to go about introducing a horse to hunting or just about any other discipline. I know pretty much as soon as I get on a horse what they are all about. Or with in a couple of days of working with them. This is what I do for a living and was born into it. I have been around and taught by the best of them. I am friends and or on a first name bases with a lot of the riders and trainers that people admire in this forum. The majority of which would agree with my post. They may or may not go on the record as such. I completely understand. As I said the use of is by and large completely misunderstood and controversial. For no other reason then hear-say. Perception trumps reality every time. I don’t have to worry about perception the majority of horses I work with are our own. The ones I choose to take in come from recommendations from highly respected people. I insist that anyone buying a horse from us be completely vetted and that includes a drug screen. I will not sell one with out. If I have a horse on offer that I feel will benefit by opening the day with a touch of Ace I will tell the buyer so and the price reflects that. If they have a problem with that fine not big deal. Unlike most I don’t HAVE to sell the horse.
Your snarky reply is no surprise any mention of Ace in the COTH forums always gets the same. Do all horses need or should be given Ace as a matter of course. Of course not. Does it have its place in the training of , absolutely and this has been well documented. Far more horses would find good homes if people know how to use it.
Far more riders would enjoy their horse is they knew when and how to use it and for how long. Most riders I have seen these days would barely fall under the competent definition let alone know how to train a horse.
I give you credit and respect because unlike the majority of people on the forum you give a link to your home page and back ground. Looks like you have a nice little operation. If mine where that small I could spend all the time in the world working through a horses quirks the organic way. But I don’t and people pay me to get from A to B as quickly as possible. I get in problematic horses and most leave uncomplicated. The majority of which will never need Ace again. Unless their owners screw them up again.
If you think I am the only one in the hunt field who would makes such statements I have a first flight horse that I will sell you for $1.
As always to each their own. This is based on my experience in my neck of the woods. Believe what you want throw out what you don’t.
PS. Not all poster are female. Which you would have known if you took the time to clicked on my profile and home page. I choose to use none gender specific terms and make no assumptions. What I have always like about horses, the business and competition is the fact it is gender neutral.
[QUOTE=Skyedragon;7049173]
I wouldn’t dream of acing my horse. I have heard far too many horror stories of gelding’s reacting negatively to ace. I won’t belittle those that chose to use ace as a training tool, but it is not my tastes. [/QUOTE]
No disrespect, but exactly what horror stories have you heard? I am not being snarky just curious. I know a lot but not everything and always what to learn more. The operative word you use is heard. I see the word being used a lot. Rarely does anyone have direct experience be it with ace or numerous others things “horse”. Misinformation begets misinformation. And usually it gets embellished with age. The only horror story I know of is when it is injected into the artery instead of IV. Or perhaps if the horse is “over dosed”. That can happened with feed. I have never had a horse have an allergic reaction nor anything else. Nor have I heard of any horror stories. And I have worked with horses for over 57 years.
There is a general believe that Ace will give a colt’s equipment a case of limp d**k but that is the exception to the norm. Have never found this to be absolute and has never happened with any horses I have worked with. Especially geldings. I have top Vets that will back me up on this.
As always to each their own. This is based on my experience in my neck of the woods. Believe what you want throw out what you don’t.
I had actually tried not to be snarky – I deliberately took the time to delete your username from the quotation bubble (because I was not concerned with who you are, nor trying to criticize you, but with responding to the specific phrases I excerpted from your earlier post).
But – I’ll defer to those with more experience than I! Just sharing my own.
In any event, happy hunting to all, and welcome to the newcomer!
Well as other member suggested, I too agree with the fact that a knowledgeable “buddy” is worth more than anything as they can be real source for hunt-specific information. leasing a horse for your first hunt or two is a great help too as leased horses are experienced and will be great help for hunting.
[QUOTE=gumtree;7050507]
No disrespect, but exactly what horror stories have you heard? I am not being snarky just curious. I know a lot but not everything and always what to learn more. The operative word you use is heard. I see the word being used a lot. Rarely does anyone have direct experience be it with ace or numerous others things “horse”. Misinformation begets misinformation. And usually it gets embellished with age. The only horror story I know of is when it is injected into the artery instead of IV. Or perhaps if the horse is “over dosed”. That can happened with feed. I have never had a horse have an allergic reaction nor anything else. Nor have I heard of any horror stories. And I have worked with horses for over 57 years.
There is a general believe that Ace will give a colt’s equipment a case of limp d**k but that is the exception to the norm. Have never found this to be absolute and has never happened with any horses I have worked with. Especially geldings. I have top Vets that will back me up on this.
As always to each their own. This is based on my experience in my neck of the woods. Believe what you want throw out what you don’t.[/QUOTE]
That it can cause swelling of the sheath and lead to loss of use of the penis. I had a gelding that had to have his manhood sewn up into his sheath after a bad reaction to ace.
I have SEEN (and also heard) some things. As to the former: have witnessed a particularly attractive and athletic TB in first that was behaving beautifully all morning suddenly start acting up and quickly become progressively worse. Became so rambuctious (to put it politely) that the rider on him made their excuses and left the field. Rider was a very competent and wise local professional who recognized that the cocktail had worn off. No harm done to anyone in this instance due to their experience, but whose to say what could happen in every instance?
Michigan Hunt
There are only 3 hunts in our home State of Michigan, and I do not know which one might be closest to your home. My wife and I hunt with Metamora, we are between Detroit and Flint.
I encourage you to consider a visit with us! Metamora Hunt is starting hound walking this weekend, and we have regular training rides for new fox hunters and their mounts. We also have a mentoring program.
The leader of our slowest field is also a full time horse trainer. She also has experienced hunt horses for hire.
Please visit our website: www.metamorahunt.com and use the contact information if you like. My wife is our Honorary Secretary.
Get out there and have fun!
[QUOTE=Skyedragon;7049576]
Can I just wear my regular hunt coat that I use at shows?[/QUOTE]
Possibly, during cubbing season. Once the season starts you really need a black wool coat. Your show coat could get ripped to shreds with your first foray into thickets, bramble and getting whacked by branches. Pick up a second hand hacking jacket for cubbing and a solid wool black jacket for the season.
Show Hunter clothes are shall I say, too pansy-azz for Hunting (if you’re gonna hunt a full season) The jacket needs to survive branches, thorns, dirt, mud, wind, rain, etc. Same with with your helmet, britches, boots, gloves and your tack.
Again, the type of terrain you hunt across will determine a lot of the attire & tack, along with the club rules and regs.
