Tally Ho!
I am sooo happy for you!! Please give us lots of details… We LOVE when we can wave the magic wand and POOF! Foxhunter newbie! Now you know how Hinderella must feel!
so start saving for the next CotH hunt. You are invited!
Glad to hear you had such a prompt response & were able to go check things out.
I’m so mentally ready to hunt. I love hearing about everybody who is starting to go out this year! :yes:
As we like to say, it’s the most fun you can have with your clothes on… ;):lol:
Excellent!!!:yes: Glad you got to meet everyone, and even got to follow the hunt with a car whip! Way to go!!
Heck, if it was me, that horse would be loaded that prior night and sleep on the trailer! I sure as heck wouldn’t want to wreck my day with a horse that didn’t load the following morning. :lol::lol::lol::lol: Seriously, a trailer is only a standing stall anyway! :winkgrin:
(My endurance pony (who is also my foxhunter) has spent the night in the trailer several times at endurance rides when the weather turned downright vicious and ugly…and he never had a problem going 50 miles the following day, and top tenning, to boot!! :))
Congratulations WWW !!! Having just gone out on my virgin hunt, I know just how exciting this is. After my great trip to VA I’m doing all I can to prepare to hunt again.
I’m sure your horse will cooperate with you on Saturday…and after that first experience, he’ll probably be standing next to the trailer waiting for you every Saturday 
Well, I’m back!! I had a wonderful time! Its something I definately would like to do again, I just don’t know if its for my horse.
Horse loaded onto the trailer within 5 minutes, but not without his usual antics… but I was expecting that. He was such a gentleman when we got there, and everyone remarked on how calm he was. However, when first flight left, he FREAKED. Did not like being left behind, not one bit. Now I know why foxhunters are so expensive!! lol We had to quit halfway though… he took about 3 really lame strides… but then was fine, so I chocked it up to something minor, like stepping wrong. A few minutes later, he took about 10 really lame strides… and then again, worked out of it. But by this time, we had circled around and were back near the trailers, and I didn’t want to risk it, just in case, so I called it a day at that point. I tied him to the side of the trailer and gave him his hay bag. Then a few minutes later, the whole field came galloping by… and he FREAKED OUT again… rearing and pulling back, calling to them, and trying to get away and join them… so I guess its a good thing I quit while I was ahead… if we had seen the field go by while hilltopping, it would’ve been all over!! There would’ve been no way I could’ve held him back… is there something I can do to prevent this? He does have a bad habit of running off with me… and no matter how much I work with him on the one-rein stop, it just doesn’t work for him. If he gets mad enough at me for holding him back, when he’s ready to go-go-go, he just launches me into orbit.
First off congrats on making it back to the trailer alive and I hope your boy is fine and maybe just stepped on a rock.
Field hunters are a special type of horse, but don’t give up on your boy yet, he may have what it takes, but just needs a little help developing that side of his personality.
There are plenty of threads on here about exercises you can do to help train him how to respond appropriately to the different stimuli he will be exposed to.
One thought, not the only answer, but a thought, could you bit him up a notch to get him to focus on you. It’s great if he’ll go in a snaffle, but if you look around at the horses in the hunt field, they go in all kinds of different bits (gags, pelhams, combination bits, kimberwickes, etc…) Maybe after a few seasons you will be able to back him down from the harsher bit to what he goes in at home. When I started my first hunt horse he hunted in a pelham and schooled at home in a snaffle. After a few years I could hunt him in a snaffle with my hunt, but had to use a pelham if we went to a new fixture or were out with horses he didn’t know.
Do a search for training a fox hunter or newbie tips and then come back with specific questions.
Glad you had fun and hope you get the chance to go out again!!
Congrats on getting out there! A bit of fun is better than no fun at all.
You say your horse is a gent, but then you repeatedly mention the trailer loading problem and now his surprise at galloping horses. Even the best of horses can need schooling when in a new situation. Map out a training plan for him and then go enjoy the fruits of your labor!!! I’m envious of your opportunity, I’m still waiting to get the chance to check out the hunt near Seattle.
[QUOTE=jawa;5163159]
First off congrats on making it back to the trailer alive and I hope your boy is fine and maybe just stepped on a rock.
Field hunters are a special type of horse, but don’t give up on your boy yet, he may have what it takes, but just needs a little help developing that side of his personality.
There are plenty of threads on here about exercises you can do to help train him how to respond appropriately to the different stimuli he will be exposed to.
One thought, not the only answer, but a thought, could you bit him up a notch to get him to focus on you. It’s great if he’ll go in a snaffle, but if you look around at the horses in the hunt field, they go in all kinds of different bits (gags, pelhams, combination bits, kimberwickes, etc…) Maybe after a few seasons you will be able to back him down from the harsher bit to what he goes in at home. When I started my first hunt horse he hunted in a pelham and schooled at home in a snaffle. After a few years I could hunt him in a snaffle with my hunt, but had to use a pelham if we went to a new fixture or were out with horses he didn’t know.
Do a search for training a fox hunter or newbie tips and then come back with specific questions.
Glad you had fun and hope you get the chance to go out again!![/QUOTE]
I’m thinking a different bit as well. I was actually riding him in a bitless bridle, as he does great in it at home (what was I thinking?! LOL). I was really surprised at first when I looked around at how strongly bitted all the horses there were… lol, now I see why.
[QUOTE=Gestalt;5163182]Congrats on getting out there! A bit of fun is better than no fun at all.
You say your horse is a gent, but then you repeatedly mention the trailer loading problem and now his surprise at galloping horses. Even the best of horses can need schooling when in a new situation. Map out a training plan for him and then go enjoy the fruits of your labor!!! I’m envious of your opportunity, I’m still waiting to get the chance to check out the hunt near Seattle.[/QUOTE]
He is a really great guy, I used to lease him out to several different little girls (ages 6-12) to learn how to ride on. He actually loads really well in a large trailer, like a large stock trailer, or my old trainers 6 horse head-to-head. My stock-type trailer is a lot smaller, its 10’ long, by 6’ wide, and 6’-6" tall… plenty big enough, but tiny by comparison. I think he’s a little claustraphobic in it. Honestly, I think his reaction to the galloping horses is due to the fact that he lives alone, and his interaction with other horses is very limited. He just wanted to join them, and didn’t want to be left behind. Unfortunately, I’m not in a position to either get another horse, or board him out, right now, as I lost my job about a month and a half ago. He’s been laid up with an injury for about 9-10 months, and is just now being ridden again. He is definately rusty (we both are!), and needs to be ridden… Bless his heart, he thought he was retired…:winkgrin:
:eek:You are a brave soul to go bitless!! I would make sure to school at home in the bit you want to use in the hunt. Some horses will have some pretty extreme reactions to bits they aren’t used to, and the hunt field is not the place to find out.
I’d practice the loading and unloading thing without going anywhere until he self loads. Before he gets his breakfast and dinner he loads on the trailer. There is nothing worse than be all dressed up to go to a hunt and then have your horse REFUSE to get in the trailer! Ask me how I know!!:lol:
Until your horse has had a few seasons hunting under his belt (more than 6-8 hunts a season), I would load him on the trailer at the end of the day, so as not to have to worry about what antics he’s up to while you’re enjoying the breakfast. We had a horse from our hunt break away from the trailer after the hunt while everyone was inside eating breakfast. The horse was missing for a couple of days. She was finally recovered and taken home, but it was something that could easily have been avoided.
If you get to go again, keep us posted. We’d love to hear about it!!
I hunted my last horse bitless and people always thought I was crazy but it was enough for him.
With my current hunt horse, an OTTB, I found that after we’d hunted a few times a snaffle just wasn’t enough for him. I now hunt in a Kimberwicke and he’s far more polite.
I think the first time you hunt it can really surprise a horse. The true test comes after about 4 hunts. Then you’ll know what you have. I generally hilltop a new horse for awhile so that they can get used to the concept of hunting before going full tilt!
One of the hardest things for horses is to feel “left behind” by the field. If you ever get the chance to ride with others, practice leaving the group so your horse gets used to the idea. I once lost a shoe right before the first check and had to hack back to the trailer. It was a real challenge at first for my boy to leave the others and he threw a pretty good tantrum. Now I do it on a regular basis so he knows he must focus on me.
There’s no harm in stopping a hunt after the first or second check. My feeling is that it’s always best to end on a positive note and then build on your success the next time out.
Good luck!
[QUOTE=jawa;5163605]
Until your horse has had a few seasons hunting under his belt (more than 6-8 hunts a season), I would load him on the trailer at the end of the day, so as not to have to worry about what antics he’s up to while you’re enjoying the breakfast. We had a horse from our hunt break away from the trailer after the hunt while everyone was inside eating breakfast. The horse was missing for a couple of days. She was finally recovered and taken home, but it was something that could easily have been avoided.
If you get to go again, keep us posted. We’d love to hear about it!!:)[/QUOTE]
I thought about putting him the trailer, but he hates it so bad, I was afraid that he would either get so upset he would colic, or he would kick the door off… lol. After he loaded to go that morning, he started kicking, and kicked several dents in the door of my brand new trailer! Ugh!:no:
[QUOTE=Bogie;5163743]There’s no harm in stopping a hunt after the first or second check. My feeling is that it’s always best to end on a positive note and then build on your success the next time out.
Good luck![/QUOTE]
I was afraid that I would look like a quitter, but now I’m really glad I did, when I did. I didn’t want to risk it in case there was something wrong with his foot, and its better to still be alive with the desire to go again, than getting thrown from my horse so he could gallop off to join the first flighters.
Thanks everyone for the advice… googling bits now… 
Hey, you got there, you survived, and you want to go again… you’re my hero!
As for the bitless bridle :eek:. I read somewhere the saying “there are fools, damned fools, and those who hunt in snaffles.” Umm… wonder what they would have said of bitless?
C’mon, everyone knows foxhunters are crazy! Just one more example of it. :lol:
LOL! I’m going to dig out my kimberwicke and see what happens…:winkgrin:
The vet did come out and check him this morning to make sure that there wasn’t some weird lameness issue going on… he said he thinks he just must’ve stepped wrong and tweaked something, he was fine today. Since he was out of work for 9+ months, he thinks it was more of a fitness issue than anything else (aggrevating his old hoof injury). So its time to bring out the lungeline and make him sweat! :winkgrin:
Yeah! I wasn’t quite sure I would make it this week. Last week was my first “scavenger hunt” and this week’s items were a bit tougher for me for some reason.
