I have a little horse that I believe to be a pretty good sport about most things. I would like to try out fox hunting this fall/winter. I am in the south west if that makes a difference. I understand that many horses can become less manageable when out hunting. I am a strong rider, and not worried for being able to deal with antics, but I would like to make this experience as positive as possible.
What is activities are recommended to prep for hunting? We have been eventing a couple of times, but that does nothing about the baying hounds and horses galloping. Any ideas? Or do I just haul her out and wear my sticky britches?
See if the local hunts are doing trail rides.
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I am far, far from an experienced foxhunter, but for lack of responses I thought I’d add my $.02 cents. I introduced my horse by attending hound exercise in the summer. It was informal, laid back and not fast paced. A great way to introduce a new horse. There are also “Intro to Foxhunting” clinics put on by two of my local hunts, which is an easy way to get started. Another option would be to contact the local Masters and see if you can ride out with them on a non-public hound exercise day. Not sure if your local hunt would offer that, but worth asking. Good luck!
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I will second finding clinics and going to hound walks.
Hunting really is unlike anything else we do astride. I, too, come from an eventing background and have a solid citizen and thought “how hard could it be?”…and then I learned how hard it can be. 
Which is not to discourage you in any way…just to offer a real perspective one what it’s like. For me, the hounds were not an issue with either of my mares, both of them are very interested in the pack and tolerant of them moving around under foot and in the way (remember that this is actually a dog sport–we’re only mounted to keep up with them–and they ALWAYS have the right of way). It can be a bit unnerving to some horses to see the whole pack coming at them at once, but what I have seen more of over the years is that many horses cannot cope with hounds running up behind them or popping up out of nowhere in the field.
Also in my case, noise wasn’t ever an issue. The horn, the hounds, radios, gunshots, cracking whips…all good with my girls. But the big mare has a REAL issue with other horses galloping by her and staying politely where she is supposed to be in the field. And standing at checks? Ha. That actually seems to be pretty common with horses new to hunting. Many will learn to cope with it, some will have accommodations made (moving up to a faster flight, becoming a whip, etc), some will just never be able to handle that particular brand of chaos.
Prepare yourself and your horse in as many educational situations as you can…then put on your sticky breeches, a pair of good gloves, and your best cross-country bit.
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Piggybacking on ecileh’s excellent advice above, the best thing you can do to prepare to hunt is to hack out in a group and practice controlling your horse and maintaining a safe following difference at all paces and at all positions in the group. Make your horse go in front, in back and go in the middle, make them regulate their pace to the horses around them; and really focus on that safe following difference.
There are lots of things about hunting that turn the most dead-head schoolie into a fire-breathing dragon, but moving on in close quarters with other horses is what really trips the trigger. Then, add in hounds, the hunting horn (most horses figure out the hound music and horn calls long before their riders) your nerves and the thrill of the wide open spaces…well, let’s just say the advice for sticky breeches, gloves and bitting up is spot on.
There aren’t a lot of ways to practice standing quietly at checks, but your hacking out group can certainly stop, stand, and pass a bottle of water around, or stop, stand and time yourself for 5 or 10 minutes. (It won’t be the same as when they can hear hounds and huntsman, but it’s a start.) You can also practice making your horse work away from the group and to stand quietly when the group moves away from you.
Hound walks and hunt trail rides are great experiences. I would also recommend car following the hunt, and maybe borrowing an experienced field hunter to take out your first time so you’ll better understand what you’re introducing her to.
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Thank you all for the advice! I’ll contact the local hunt and see if there are any opportunities to dip my toe in before I go whole hoof.
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If you can’t get to any of the trail rides, or if hound walking is only open to members, you could also get an idea of what is required out hunting by car following.
I second all of the above advice.
A couple of things to practice on your own:
-Will your horse get off of the trail and keep its hind end facing away from the trail while others ride by?
-Can you meet other horses on the trail head on and keep control of your direction of movement and keep the hind end from bumping others?
-Can you have your horse stand on a loose rein at various locations out on the trail? Can you do the same after a working trot? canter? Gallop?
These are skills that the average rider doesn’t think about, but they are great ones to have in the bag before heading out to a hunt. They will make it a safer and more fun experience.
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I agree that it is the group thing that gets to most horses, and that is the hardest thing to practice. Also, most horses do fine their first couple of hunts, then get really hopped up once they figure out what is going on, so be prepared for that. I wouldn’t go full tilt the first few times. It is really important to know what is going on and to pay attention. Keep your horse a safe distance from the others and stay in the back if you are a newbie.
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I just did a horse trial this weekend, and the warm up ring renewed my respect for people who know the rules of riding in groups safely. I imagine it’s even more important while out hunting and all of the dogs/sights/sounds that it entails. I don’t usually bit up for xc, but I think I’ll look into getting something with a little more beef if I am going to hunt. Dearest mare is a lovely snaffle ride, even in the open, but if someone falls while galloping in front of me I can see why stopping RIGHT NOW can’t be a discussion. I don’t think I’ll do more than hilltop this first season. Besides all of the regular hunting obstacles there are cactus here to avoid. I’d better go slow until I develop an eye!
I agree, xerox. It’s pretty common for a green horse to hunt fairly calmly and well for the first 3 - 4 times and then suddenly decide this is the most fun they’ve ever had in their life, forget any flat work you ever installed and say “Weeeeeeeeee!” all the way back to the trailer.
Some crusty old foxhunters say you don’t really know what you have until they’ve hunted a full season; but IME, if they don’t have a complete brain melt by around the ~ 6th time out, you can work with them and develop good hunting manners.
I think the key to making this a positive experience is to understand all the possible situations that may come. Hunts are very high excitement and energy. It’s important to keep safe for you and your mount but to also keep in mind that you can’t turn off and block the response to that energy either. The key is to manage it in a productive way. Know when to let them go loose and go for a good run, and know when to bring things back and collected.
Make sure you can handle cantering and galloping for long periods of time in a very large groups. Make sure you can also cross country over many different types of natural obstacles from trees, logs, culverts even!
All horses get excited and want to get going, but you don’t want to be fighting them the whole way. There has to be a proper give and take between the two of you and rewarding as you go.
Fox hunting is it’s own sport and it’s own category and I don’t know that there is anything you can do to get yourself prepared or ready for it other than know your mount very well and being able to anticipate what their behaviour might be like in certain situations and learning to manage the energy that will be produced by the entire group.
Well, if no hound exercise or group trails now, you could ask about bringing the horse out to the kennels just to look at and hear the hounds. Even if you don’t get on and just walk up and down a bit. I bet the huntsman would let you do that
