So in my quest for a new horse I have made a surprising revelation…I think I might want to foxhunt.
It’s all cross country, all the time
Tweed jackets with brown boots
Black boots with patent leather tops
There’s booze involved
Hunt season is November-March, so it would supplement eventing (that is, if I still even want to event)
Am I missing something here? This sounds like FUN!!!
You get to watch the hounds work
No ugly pinneys with strings flapping
Seriously, one of our whippers-in used to event, and she’s given it up and just hunts now (and does some breed shows with her cobs). I’m thinking that Mr. Blondie and I may very well spend this season just hunting and working on our dressage, while Prozac Pony and I keep our trainer happy by pretending to be interested in eventing.
Hunting is a great sport…and it is great cross- training for other disciplines such as evening. How did the quest for a new horse wind you up wanting to foxhunt?
If I may interject, I think I want to hunt, too . . . drag only, for the vegetarian in me. My problem . . . my horse does NOT want to hunt. My horse doesn’t even want to walk down the driveway.
Good reason to tell my husband that we need another . . .
Drag hunts are a WHOLE different ball game. Much faster. MUCH.
PS- the fox seldom dies…PLEASE don’ t start with the negative press about no foxhunting for animal rights, PLEASE!
jennifersw, my current horse is the worst eventer…he HATES cross country. I thought my perfect next eventer would be one with some hunting miles on it so I could avoid this aversion to the great outdoors. I have a knack for dressage so I could train it up in this area.
So as I’ve looked at a few foxhunters, I’ve learned more and more about the sport and now I think I might just want to do this!!
It just sounds like so much fun. Am I missing something? Is there a dark side I need to know about?
Dark side? Only in that in can be dangerous (what horse sport isn’t, though…they all involve horses!!). There is no course designer out there walking the hunting fixtures looking for potential hazards (holes, traps, wire, etc.) and flagging them, removing them, altering the course so that they can be avoided.
Also, imagine doing your cross country course with 10 people ahead of you adn 20 people behind you…its like driving in traffic on the freeway at 65 mph. Not only are you concentrating on riding your horse, but you are anticipating the actions of the horses and riders in front of and behind you. And the levels of the riders vary. And while less experienced riders/ green horses are supposed to stay to the rear of the field (where they can cause less damage), it does not always happen this way. Someone falls off, horse runs off, etc.
Granted I am giving you worst case scenario…hunting is a fabulous sport which can be enjoyed by young and not so young. The traditions are centuries old. The camraderie is contagious. There is no icky competition. Its social and fun (and there is good food and booze involved)! Do you know anyone who hunts/ belongs to a hunt who would be willing to take you out as a guest?
I am a vegetarian, I do not hunt for live prey, whether it’s likely it will be caught and/or killed or not. I’m not trying to talk you guys out if it, but just stating the facts about me and my personal preferences!
I have enjoyed drag hunting in the past and would like to try it again with a suitable mount. I’m sure that live hunting is more enjoyable for some.
I often gripe about the “overly manicured golf courses” that are XC courses these days. When I was a kid, my first introduction to eventing was a course at a local farm that was hilly, trappy, shadowy, and wooded. I loved it! So later when I evented at KY Horse Park and similar places, I was puzzled at where the “course” was.
Don’t get me wrong, the true upper levels of eventing (Intermediate, Advanced) are beyond my grasp. I’m content to stay at Novice and Training, but I like some variety nonetheless.
As I get older I get kind of sick of the competition and just want to have some fun. Not to mention each event costs a fortune what with the $200 entry fee, two nights hotel, gas, food, etc. Multiply that by six or seven events a year and a hunt membership starts to look very appealing.
I know a few people who I could hunt with. They’ve invited me in the past, but I didn’t have a suitable mount. I may be calling in those favors now!
The only REAL danger is addiction. But just give in. It’s a fun one!
I’m glad this thread was started, just the other day I was thinking about how much fun it would be to go hunting this season! I have a horse available to me that has hunted in the past, and I am right smack dab in Cheshire Hunt country. So how do I go about doing this? My old boss is the Master and I know one of the whips. Should I call either of them?
Foxhunting is great cross-training for your event horse, and the event training makes them better foxhunters too. You might even find that the old horse becomes better x-c after a season going along in the field and learning to just cope. Foxhunting is fabulous for keeping my warmblood eventer fresh and forward for dressage and stadium, and my young TB whip horse is doing brilliant double-duty during the off-season on the event course.
Here is the link to the Masters of Foxhounds Association. You may be able to find contact info on your local hunt there.
hunting is the fun-est! I started hunting to get up my nerve to event, and its taken on a life of its own. If you event to Training level, you should have no problem. just be prepared for the horse that is calm at home or even XC at the event to really wake up when they hunt. Even my 24 yr old way-experienced eventer really gets jazzed to hunt. In a good way 
and you are right about #1-#5; especially #4 
Lots of big deal eventers in our area also foxhunt. Bruce Davidson, the O’connors, Fouts, etc right!?! I heard a talk once from an Olympian who said foxhunting is good for event training cuz it teaches the horse to take care of himself cross country and jump stuff he’s never seen before. That it’s excellent for young eventing prospects to teach them to gallop on. To help with confidence, exposure. That the herd instinct gets him in a go-go mind set to always go over the obstacle.
Whatever!!
yes call them
they will point you to the right person [usually the hunt sec.]
PS your trainer / BO wont be happy when the lesson revenue drops.
but you will be having too much fun to notice.
helpful urls
http://www.horse-rider-etc.com/foxhunt/tiestocktie.html
http://www.bridlespur.com/hunting.htm
while this is specific to our hunt, the hunt sec. should have the info specific to the one you will ride with.
Downside of Foxhunting
Your event horse who is perfectly controllable by himself on a cross country course turns into a fire breathing monster who pulls your arms out in the hunt field with a group of other horses.
My horse literally goes XC in a snaffle with a loop in the rein and I have to push to make time at Training level. He stands 1/2 asleep in the start box.
In the hunt field I have resorted to a three ring gag type bit. My first few hunts with him using a snaffle, my arms ached for days afterwards. He also forgets one of his three gaits (walk). He prances the entire time. The savings to that is that his trot is very comfortable and he does stand great at checks, just hardly ever walks.
Upside is that his trot lengthenings have improved for dressage and I do think that overall his dressage has improved. If your horse is a Tb though hunting generally does not make for dressage phase improvement.
As I read up on foxhunting and get the input of all the wonderful COTHers here, I am more and more convinced that I’d really like to give hunting a try.
Now the question becomes, is my horse suitable?
I evented my horse with mixed results. He has stellar dressage and jumps stadium perfectly, but gets nervous alone on XC and doesn’t want to go out by himself.
When I school XC and go out on hacks, he’s perfect in the company of others and jumps anything I ask of him - especially if he can follow someone. Even just in the company of others he’ll jump all sorts of stuff without a lead including Prelim coffin jumps, corners, logs, etc.
He’s rateable and mellow and happy to do whatever the rest of the gang is doing.
It’s only when we’re totally alone that he gets panicky and wants to high-tail it back to the barn (skipping the jumps on the way).
He doesn’t kick or do anything disagreeable around other horses. Vehicles, dogs, dirt bikes, golf carts, tractors, and people are perfectly fine by him.
Could I hunt him? Or does he have to be more independent-minded?
better than most of the ones I have hunted
your only area of concern is if you have to leave early he may not want to.
other than that go for it.
They are usually happy to jump when the horse in front of them goes. I think the unknown with any potential hunter is whether they are rateable in the field with other horses galloping. Most horses will get acustomed to hounds after a little bit so that usually isn’t a problem.
Bottom line is, there’s only one way to find out so go for it.
Oh gosh no kidding! I haven’t even discussed this with my trainer. She wants me to sell my horse, buy a young one and let her train it for me. That would certainly be lucrative for her now wouldn’t it?
“Sorry,…What’s that? I can’t hear you disapproving over the music of the hounds…”
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