Marketing a "fox hunter"

[icarus]

I am not a fox hunter. But APPARENTLY the gelding I picked up at an auction a couple months ago is. Once I did background research I found that from the track he went to a fox hunting barn in Georgia. He was most recently at a local barn in Southeastern PA (I don’t know which one) where apparently he was just “too much horse” for his elderly owner.

Should I market this horse as a fox hunting prospect (since I have never actually seen him hunt) or an actual hunter? From the rides we’ve had, he has no ring experience and I’m thinking hunting is all that he’s done. But I don’t want to sell him as a hunter and then have him go out in the field with someone and freak out!

Does anyone in Southeast PA take mounts out in a hunt so I can see how he does? Or do I have to find a friend who hunts and beg them to take him for a ride?

[Beverley]

I would not recommend marketing him as a foxhunter, even a prospect, based on second hand info. He could have left that initial hunting barn for good reasons, or bad. I expect you can find someone in SE PA that can hunt him for you, of course that won’t happen til cubhunting starts at the end of summer. But meanwhile you, or a pro, or someone you know that hunts, could try taking him on a summer hunt trail ride and for starters see how he is in a group of horses. Useful information- he could be great in the hunt field and lousy as a staff horse, or the other way around- you’d need to know all that before you could advertise him as a prospect. And prospect it is unless you know for sure the horse has fairly hunted for at least a season, preferably two or more, at least if I’m looking.

[independentlyawesome]

You can advertise anything as a prospect for anything else :lol:
IMO, that term means basically nothing.

I wouldn’t advertise him as a foxhunter until he’s gone out for several hunts and done very well (some people say a season or two). There are certainly pros who can take your horse out hunting, but you have to decide whether it’s worth paying for that versus retraining.

[Hinderella]

If you know the barn in Georgia, contact them to seeif you can get any direct, confirmed evidence that he has hunted.

[Bogie]

I agree that you should try to find his previous owners and learn more about his experience.

Until then, you don’t know if he was a good foxhunter or a total nut. I had a friend who bought a horse that was supposed to have hunted. He reared and bolted in the hunt field, so that was an optimistic description.

We have pros who will take out a horse and hunt them for you. I know several friends who have taken advantage of their services and it was a great way to start their horses in the field.

[Martha_Drum]

Another way to look at it is from the other end. If I am considering buying a horse advertised as a going foxhunter, I will request the name and number of the MFH or field master of that hunt, so that I can call them up and get their report on how the horse behaves in the hunt field.

Frankly, unless I really know the seller well, whenever I see an ad for a “Fox Hunter Prospect,” I assume that at best it’s not attractive to look at and moves like a crab (which would not, necessarily, disqualify it from being a good hunt horse), or at worst, it is bat$hit crazy and is being sold by someone ignorant enough to think that foxhunting is four hours straight galloping, no manners required.

[xeroxchick]

If he was a good foxhunter he would not have been at an auction. They are hardley even advertised and change hands privatly and quickly. Many horses who have hunted are not actually desirable mounts in the field. Even staff horses might really not do well in a group.

[gumtree]

Every hunt country is different. As are members idea of a good days outing. Some quite stout and require a horse with endurance and a very good jump. Others hunts have easy ground with little to no long runs and few jumps or tricky terrain.
So, without knowing who the horse hunted with and that’s hunt’s idea of what is required of a good field hunter. Just saying the horse has hunted and not knowing by what kind of rider really doesn’t tell much about the horse. Or how to value him.

We hunt with Cheshire which has some pretty stout country. Long runs, tricky terrain, lots of jumps of all kinds. A first flight Cheshire horse for sale gets lots of attention and commands a good price. But so do 3rd flight horses. As do horses from Elkridge, Green Spring, and hunts in Northern VA that I have been out with IMO.

We start our hunt prospects with hound walking. IMO this will give a pretty good idea of the nature of the horse and go from there. Cheshire will start hound walking in the near future. I am pretty sure people can still “subscribe” to hound walking or just pay a small fee to go out a time or two. We’re land owners so I am not really sure of how this works but you can check with the hunt. This would be a very good way to start so as to ascertain things. It is also a nice way to spend the mornings.

We are located in SE PA just outside of Cochranville. We have lots of jumps of all kinds. Schooling jumps that would be typically found in our hunt country. Trials and jumps around our woods. If you would like to bring him here we could go out and see what he has to show. No charge. Clicking on my screen name will give a link to our home page and my direct email.

[BeeHoney]

I agree. I don’t think you can market him as a foxhunter. First of all, you are relying on speculation and second hand information that he ever even hunted. Secondly, even if he did hunt, you have no idea how he did. Maybe they tried to foxhunt him and he failed miserably and decided to sell him on to a new career. Many horses are unsuitable as hunt horses. Lastly, as others have pointed out, most people looking for a serious foxhunter are going to me making a phone call to someone in the hunt to confirm details of how the horse behaved in the field.

My advice would be to put some ring training on the horse and then to test him out on group trail rides and over natural obstacles. If that goes well, then consider trying to get the horse out in the hunt field this fall.