Introducing a 5 year old (horse) to hunting- what can I expect?

[MissMilly]

I’m on a very long and frustrating search for my next field hunter, and have recently been looking at Connemara crosses. The issue is that while I have found several very nice horses, they are all quite young, 5-7 years old. I’ve never had a horse that young (I seem to prefer spending all my time nursing the old guys!) and am wondering what I can expect if I choose to go that route.

Wondering how your 5 year olds have responded to hunting? What age were they when they “got it” and were dependable partners? Did any issues tend to be behavior related, or do younger horses have trouble with trappy terrain too? Jumping is obviously a learned skill, and I work closely with a trainer to develop ringwork but said trainer doesn’t foxhunt.

The horse I’m particularly interested in has had a wonderful foundation, and has a great quiet temperament, I’m just not sure how much time I can expect to spend in real training mode if we start at 5.

As an add on question- how do you start your young horses in the hunt field? A little outline of your first season or two would be most instructive.

Thank you

[Salty]

I used to take the youngsters cubbing, then go out hilltopping during the week when it was quiet. Then we’d graduate to 2nd flight, & weekends. I just played it by ear, depending on their confidence level. Also did hunter paces & schooling hunter shows.

Training youngsters is my favorite thing, so I was never in a big hurry to go hunting. Gotta say that all the Connemaras I’ve known have caught on to the sport really quickly. Terrain & jumping was never a problem!

[Feliz]

I’ve only introduced two youngsters to hunting – one 5yo & one 6yo. Hopefully you’ll get some people with more experience bringing on youngsters chiming in.

My advice for introducing any new horse to hunting – make sure they’re comfortable doing all the things that will happen out hunting before you go (groups of horses moving at speed, standing around, varied terrain, gateways etc). Don’t over feed them and give them a good workout the day before so they’re not too fresh. Go with a steddy-eddie buddy if you can. Stay at the back of the back until they have settled in (1-10+ hunts). Make sure horse is listening to you, not just following the herd. Don’t stay out too long to the point that they are mentally/physically tired.

Have a plan for potential poor behavior that you know works for your horse. For the 5yo it was lots and lots of trotting, for the 6yo, it was standing around – very different approaches.

I’d only buy something as a hunt project that knows where it’s feet are & can deal with terrain – both of mine were very sure footed when I bought them. Ideally I’d want to have some sort of test ride with other horses moving about – even just horses cantering in a paddock next door can give you a clue if they’ll deal with it or not.

Can you get some lessons/rides out with some of your hunt’s experienced members?

The 5yo was a ISH mare who was essentially green broke & ridden out. I bought her at the very end of one season, so spent the next 8mths giving her as much life experience as I could. She was quite sharp & had a big personal space bubble, so I knew I’d have my work cut out for me. I took her to competitions, practice cross country days, trail riding, large organized treks – basically anything I could find. The first six months were fairly challenging at times, but she actually took to hunting without any major dramas (unlike her first dressage competition or cross country schooling day :eek:)

I do recall the Master’s wife cantering past us at her first hunting outing and merrily calling out “your new horse looks like she might want to buck Feliz” while I’m thinking “yes, yes she does, which is why I’m doing my absolute best not to let her.” The first 3-4 hunts I just stayed at the back & went through all the gates, then started to pick & choose jumps. About 6wks into the season I took her on a 1 week hunting trip with friends – that really helped her settle into it. She was good and pretty reliable pretty quickly, though I was always careful to prevent her being crowded and she wore a red ribbon the whole time. At our second to last hunt she bucked me off! About 1.5hrs into it, galloping up a hill, no horses close by – she just had a rodeo until I came off, but miraculously landed on my feet holding the reins. Got back on and carried on, but I was careful not to let her get her head down again. Toad :winkgrin:

She was a project horse, so I sold her at the end of that season to a friend, who hunted & whipped off her the next season. She was never an overly confident jumper, but always sure footed and happy to get out there.

The 6yo was a breeze in comparison – completely different personality, had a lot of life experience from the cowboy-type trainer I bought him off. I took him hunting after owning him a week. I did take it easy & kept to the back a lot, but even from the first hunt we’d jump some fences, then cruise at the back, then jump a few more. He did really want to follow the herd, so I made sure that we could, when safe & out of the way, practice doing what I wanted ie leaving everyone else!

We’re up to our 5[SUP]th[/SUP] season hunting together and he is a fantastic horse. He can still get a bit amped up if we’ve been doing a lot of short sharp bursts and then standing around, but usually 15-20min at the back allows the adrenalin to settle down. If the runs are longer and we’re moving more on the breaks, he doesn’t get to that point.

Making them yourself is very satisfactory, but now I’d avoid buying something like the mare – I really enjoyed her at the time but I’m a bit older now and don’t fancy knowing that bucking will probably be involved at most new experiences :lol:

[Trot_On]

I bought an OTTB with the long term goal of hunting him. He clicked all the boxes in temperament but was still learning where his feet were on the trails. My job prevented me from hunting the first season so I was comfortable with spending extra time teaching trails first. Feliz gives great advice to make sure they know how to be sure footed when shopping so you can skip what for my boy was a longer then expected step. Too busy looking and thinking at first to watch feet. On trails he learned how to follow politely, lead or switch back to following. We added trotting and cantering once he had mastered the earlier lessons and found his feet. We do lots of practice with stopping off voice and he is excellent, but I like Foxgloves one rein stop and will add it to our tool box.

We hauled out to schooling shows and trail rides so he had plenty of prior experience. Introduced him to hunting with a 2 day hunt clinic and went in the hill topper group. He was a rock star with the hounds, so I quit my pesky job and went hunting. We started with the hill topper group, and because he was so solid people began using him for a bumper. Not wanting him to learn to kick, we often drifted to the rear where he learned to toddle along at our pace. When appropriate we practiced putting varying small distances between the horse in front of him. We bumped to second flight and were happy there until he slipped in the mud and ice in the pasture and missed the last part of the season. Ugg stall rest and a fit horse in the winter - not a fun time. But we survived, he is slowly legging back up and will be ready for the next season even if we did have to miss the summer trail rides. He puts up with ring work, but he LOVES to go hunting, he has found his calling.

With an OTTB, I had to do some retraining so that he could shift his balance, and I have taken my time to really make sure he knows his new job is to relax and go at moms pace. I am not a spring chicken so I made sure we had a solid foundation before going to the next step. I have really enjoyed the process, and I think we have a terrific partnership. It is like taking the grandkids to the fair. You are there on their agenda, keeping them safe, happy and not over tired. You may not see or do what YOU wanted to do that day, but the delight of seeing them experience, learn and enjoy make up for anything that you missed. The previous posters have given great advice, the only thing I can add is to decide if you want to take the kids to the fair or need to enjoy it on your own. If you are in a hurry to get to the front, you may find the journey frustrating. YMMV, but If you have a young horse with a good brain and a good foundation you are1/2 way there, you just have to add experiences. All the Connemara’s I have met have been super, sounds like you have found a great prospect.

[Foxglove]

Oh, you specifically asked for an outline of first season --going from memory, first season for me was 20 hunts. My horse’s name is Will and he’s a former cutting/sorting horse who also worked as a pick-up horse at a rodeo. Think small, catty, intelligent, and athletic. The first two or three hunts, our only goal was to survive–we rode second from the last in the hilltoppers, just in front of the nicest, most supportive staff member who generally rides “drag” to make sure everyone returns to the hunt club safely. He’s a roper himself and understood Will --maybe better than I did. His constant refrain of “he’s doing fine,” was most reassuring! Will walked, trotted, cantered and stood still when he was supposed to. The only initial problem we had was when first flight would blast past us (one way or the other) --Will would chomp his bit and dance a little --but by doing a “disengage” a few times, that resolved.

The next two hunts were where I made my mistake and let a girl who said she knew how to “start a jumping horse” ride with me on the field (still hilltoppers). Maybe she does, but she didn’t understand what I wanted --safe and sound. So that ended in disaster as she tried to “put him on the bit” and “let him run.” --he bucked her off.

I went to my trainer who said, “put in earplugs, he’ll be fine.” And he was --but also at that point I moved him from 3 times a week working to 5 times a week. And by working, we were starting with the basics at our home arena --one rein stop, yielding to the bit, side passes, backing, breaking at the poll —I used a series of DVDs that are really more for western riding, but it was what I had, and disk by disk, we did every lesson until he had it down. I never missed a day --I rode 5 days a week --training four and hunting one. He had Monday-Tuesday off. And we began to improve. By Christmas he was really getting solid. In January, we started taking small logs. By March he was taking all natural obsticles and a few inviting man-made ones. I accidentally put him at a really huge log (looked 4’ but was probably 2. 6" ) and he jumped it so big he popped me out of the leather. I landed on him, but decided to wait for more serious jumping until summer (on the hunt field, you can’t “do it again.” ) --so we finished our season with some solid jumping over smaller stuff.

This summer I took him to the hunt and worked with a trainer one whole day on specific hunt stuff --he’s really getting the idea. I hope to get him to the trainer two or three more times before the season opens. Meanwhile, we have begun to work o/f at home —we are just doing ground poles, but in two days, we “graduate” to cavaletti. Then crossrails, then verticals, and well, not sure what happens after that.

The one thing I haven’t done yet is dismount alone at the hunt field --I worry he’d be too antsy to let me back on. So another minor detail to work on. He stands like a stone, at home.

[Bogie]

I’ve started three. My Trakehner took to hunting like he’d done it all his life. He was seven the first time we went out. I hilltopped him once then moved up to first flight. He jumped anything in front of him and would go anywhere in the field. I rode him in a bitless bridle and he was always a gentleman. I think he’d been waiting for me to give him a job he loved that much. He was a horse that was clumsy until about that age and found trappy territories tough. I spent a lot of time with him developing balance (transitions) and also just being patient and waiting for him to figure out where all four feet were at any given time.

My OTTB was also 7 or 8. I had to wait to introduce him to hunting because when I first got him he insisted that he had to pass any horse in front of him. It took two years of riding him in groups and teaching him to go behind before I tried hunting him. I took him out with a pasture mate so he had a friend with him, and hilltopped. He was so good that I left at the first check and made a big fuss over him. I hilltopped him a few more times and then moved him to the “pick and choose” field where I also rode with a friend. Mostly kept him to the back of the field for the spring and fall season so I could teach him to take his time. Moved him to first flight the second year and he became a very reliable horse in the field. Big mistake was riding with the whips a few times because he decide that was the most fun job ever and now only wants to be up front and near the hounds :lol:! Over time I had to experiment with bitting as he can get strong but also will curl behind a bit if he’s offended. Now ride him in a Kimberwicke and a running martingale so that I have a bit of leverage when I need it. At the beginning standing still was very hard for him. I trained him to stand quietly for treats and used to fill my pockets with them. He’s still angry if we take off at a gallop and then hold hard right away, but after a few long hunts he realized that when we stop, he needs to rest. He’s always been very sure footed so I’ve never worried about him handling the territories.

My draft x mare was a real pill the first few times I hunted her. She bucked, she squealed, she stopped dead. I thought she was a lost cause. One of my hunt friends stayed with me and stayed at the back of the hilltoppers. Over the next three or four hunts I kept her at the back of the first field, and rode with friends who would stay with me if she acted up. Eventually, she started to figure it out and go forward. She now gets very excited at hunts (she bounces) until she gets a bit tired but she’s decided she loves to hunt and is quite fun. At home she can be quite trippy if she’s not paying attention; in the hunt field, she is very light in front (the bouncing) and quite sure footed.

I try to pick the first hunts carefully. Usually I take new horses out mid week when it’s quieter. I prefer hunts with wooded trails to ones with big open fields because it encourages the horse to stay in line, and if ride in territories that I know well so that if I think a horse has had enough, I can hack back. Always make sure you are bitted properly, and find someone who can ride with you. Our hunt always pairs newcomers with someone more experienced. It’s a big help!

[Beau_s_mom]

I got my guy going with hunt run trail rides in the summer. It got him exposed to the types on things he would see out in 2nd flight. First year was not pretty but he got more balanced (going down hill at speed would freak him out b/c he was not balanced) and fit, things got better. Dressage lessons helped. We have had a great run of 9 years in tow hunts now. Good luck!

[MissMilly]

Thank you all very much for your insights. Going to try the 5 year old a second time and make a decision. He’s going to have a job as a 2nd flight mount, but we have very trappy terrain so it will take a while to teach him to mind his feet.

[Feliz]

Exciting - I hope the 2nd visit goes well.

Do you have access to some trappy terrain you can use as turnout? I think it’s easier for them to figure it out in their own time without a rider. That said, the guy I bought C from does an enormous amount of groundwork with all his horses - they get worked up and down steep hillsides, on and off banks, into water, over/through every obstacle he can come up with. By the time he rides them they are all pretty sure footed and don’t say no to new obstacles. He really opened my eyes to what horses can safely navigate.

And I was very glad for it at the last hunt - we came down a long, steep & wet hillside - a few times C was literally ski-ing on all four legs. I was leaning as far back as far as I could, laughing with nervousness and very glad to get to the bottom!