What exactly is fox hunting? Do young people fox hunt as well as middle aged and older people? Is fox hunting fun? Do you really kill foxes? I am currently in dressage and I started out with a STRONG passion for it. Read everything I could. I was so darn nit picky about myself and my rides. It has only been about six months since we startd dressage but I feel lost. I feel like I was so so into it that I burned myself out. I want my horse to be happy in her work and I am not sure if prancing around the arena would make her as happy as she can be. I find myself wishing that I could hack outside all the time and just have fun! I considered eventing but my horse probably is not going to be a jumper. We tried that and it didnât go well. I love my horse and I would never sell her just because I want to try eventing. Anyway, I think fox hunting would be pretty fun to try. All I know is that it takes place outside. That one thing is what has me interested. My horse loves riding outside. So I guess what I am asking is: what is fox hunting like? Is it hard to find a trainer for lessons?
Extremely broadly, one person (huntsman) supported by other people (staff) ride out with a group of dogs (hounds) looking for the scent trail left by a fox. If one is found, the hounds âsingâ and run, and everyone else runs to keep up. The regular hunt members follow in groups, some going very fast and jumping while other groups may walk/trot and not jump. Everyone listens for the hounds and tries to catch a glimpse of the fox. In other words, it can have a lot in common with an exciting group trail ride for which you wear special clothes and then have a potluck after the ride. Many hunt clubs do not kill anything.
In addition to the actual hunt season, there are usually tons of riding and social opportunities year-round. Many of the riding opportunities are walk/trot/canter and donât require jumping. If your horse is good on trails and riding on groups, youâre most of the way there already. Iâd strongly suggest talking to your local hunt club(s) and, if you donât find it the right fit to join, be aware that hunt clubs usually also offer riding events open to the public (like hunter paces). And, yes, thereâs generally someone who works with riders and horses to prepare them for the hunt fieldâjust ask.
[QUOTE=Haleye5197;6273084]
What exactly is fox hunting? Do young people fox hunt as well as middle aged and older people? Is fox hunting fun? Do you really kill foxes? I am currently in dressage and I started out with a STRONG passion for it. Read everything I could. I was so darn nit picky about myself and my rides. It has only been about six months since we startd dressage but I feel lost. I feel like I was so so into it that I burned myself out. I want my horse to be happy in her work and I am not sure if prancing around the arena would make her as happy as she can be. I find myself wishing that I could hack outside all the time and just have fun! I considered eventing but my horse probably is not going to be a jumper. We tried that and it didnât go well. I love my horse and I would never sell her just because I want to try eventing. Anyway, I think fox hunting would be pretty fun to try. All I know is that it takes place outside. That one thing is what has me interested. My horse loves riding outside. So I guess what I am asking is: what is fox hunting like? Is it hard to find a trainer for lessons?[/QUOTE]
âPrancing around the arena?â You read all about dressage and you call it âprancing around the arena?â And all you know about hunting is âit takes place outside?â
Honey, you are SO NOT ready for an extreme sport like foxhunting. Foxhunting is rough, fast - killer fast at times - demands a well trained savvy horse that is unphased by anything and outstanding with the hounds, and a smart, athletic, well seated rider who is sharp, fast, and can think on their feet without warning. It is the hang-glider, bungee-cord jumping, riding-the-tube surfing sport that beats all equestrian sports - including racing and steeplechasing - for the adrenaline rush. And it is a PRIVATE sport - you have to be invited to cap, and receive an invite to hunt for a season.
If you want to find out what itâs all about, hire a horse to carry you foxhunting, obtain an invitation and permission to cap with a local hunt, and see for yourself. Then decide if this is a sport you want to take up.
If you want to simply hack out all the time and have fun, join a local riding club that does trail rides. You donât need lessons for trail - although flatwork will certainly improve your riding and your horseâs balance - and you might find that trail is the end goal that you and your horse need to be happy.
Fox Hunting; http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FXtrv11h8tE
Fox Hunting; http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Dd1306XFT7k&feature=related
Haleye, while pdq has described how hunting can be, itâs not always like that!
Fox hunting is pursuing fox with hounds bred and trained for that purpose. Anything after that depends on the club and the country. The hunt I belong to has 3 flights (levels), so you can enjoy being out and following hounds without having your life flash before your eyes. If you love riding in the country, and love watching happy dogs doing what they were born to do, you can find your comfort zone.
The clubs are private, but usually very hospitable to visitors. Contact the MFH or secretary of your local club and enquire about hunting-I would be very surprised if you donât thoroughly enjoy the conversation.
My suggestion would be to first go out with a car follower. You will get a âbirdâs eye viewâ of hunting with someone who can explain everything thatâs going on.
If you think you might like it, by all means pursue it. You will have more fun, meet the nicest people in the world, and make the best friends ever.
You will understand why your instructor kept telling you to get your heels down and sit up, too!
Do it-youâll love it!
Donât scare the poor girl half-to-death, PDQ! Yes, fox-hunting can be a"wild" ride. But it can also be fairly sedate if you go with hilltoppers (the third field that doesnât try to keep up with the hounds). You donât say what part of the country you are in, but there are fox hunts nearly everywhere. Contact your local hunt for information. Most are very happy to help newbies get involved in the sport. Every spring and fall there are ânewbieâ weeknds at Hunters Rest in Virginia that are exactly for the purpose of introducing people to the sport. I have attended several of these specifically for COTHers - you will see posts on these in the hunting forum. They are a blast! Lots of fun people and perfectly behaved horses to rent, so you donât have to bring your own the first time you try it! You will get a feel for what the sport is all about and whether you will like it. PM me if you would like more info. Welcome!
Yes, donât let pdq put you off. You may or may not be ready for hunting, but thereâs not enough information in your first post to know that. If youâre not ready, you can work hard to improve your riding and become ready.
Iâm new to hunting, but Iâve found the folks who hunt to be amazing hosts and teachers, and more than ready to help someone whoâs genuinely interested to learn.
I was drawn in by this thread, started by PleasantMeadowFarm:
http://www.chronofhorse.com/forum/showthread.php?t=214578&highlight=newbie
And hereâs my own thread:
http://www.chronofhorse.com/forum/showthread.php?t=268425&highlight=newbie
Both are full of information from the many wonderful and helpful riders who post here.
You should also read the MFHA site:
http://www.mfha.org/home.html
Foxhunting is indeed, as Hunterâs Rest has said, an extreme sport. It requires you to be fit and attentive, and it certainly requires a certain level of riding ability. If you are going to hunt your own horse, your horse must be calm and comfortable about riding in the open, in groups or alone, and must have a decent set of brakes 
I STRONGLY urge you to consider visiting Hunterâs rest for your first hunting experience. She has wonderful made hunt horses who can take care of you in the field, and she is the master for the third field at Old Dominion Hunt, where new hunters are welcomed. That web site is here:
http://www.huntersrest.net/
I was fortunate enough to have all of this help and information at my fingertips, and have had several amazing experiences hunting with Hunterâs Rest, Whicker, Waterglen, PleasantMeadowFarm, JSwanâŠthereâs not enough space to list all the great riders who have enabled me to hunt.
If you canât make it to Virginia, then by all means contact the hunt nearest you (the MFHA site will help you find the nearest hunt) and inquire with them.
I am now hopelessly bitten by the hunting bug, and nearly every time I get on my pony, itâs with the goal of becoming good enough to hunt competently and ably. It stirs your soul in a way that no other riding can.
Good luck, and report back 
OP, why not also consider trail riding and endurance riding?
Newbie too!
I am new to the sport as I have only been out twice. Once on my horse & once on a friendâs horse. Loved it, loved it, loved it!!! I found out the hard way that my horse needs some training to get used to hunting (taking care of that at the present time) so make sure to do some trail rides with groups that will work with you to see how your horse will react to being in such a group. Also, as mentioned before, hire a well mannered & seasoned hunt horse to get a feel for it (promise you will love it too). If, by chance, that it is not for you⊠then at least you can say you tried it! Let us know how it goes OK?
Thanks much guys! I have some more questions. What saddle do you ride in? As in dressage, endurance, jumping? Is it mostly like cross country with lots of jumps? And is endurance even a discipline? That would be so much fun! Anyone in Central Ohio? I have heard of Rocky Fork Headley Hunt but I would be open to any suggestions. How does cross training with dressage do? Would it be possible?
Haleye5197:
Rocky Fork Headley is a fun group. There are others around Ohio too. The www.mfha.org side has a geographical directory. There are a number of eventers that also foxhunt, so a number of people in the field have some dressage exposure. In my opinion, basic dressage work helps all disciplines. A jump saddle would be the appropriate one. Whether you are jumping or not you need to be able to get up off your horseâs back. As otherâs have mentioned, many of the hunts do summer activities such as trail rides, paces, etc. Find one convenient to you and get in touch with them.
The Miami Valley (Dayton) website has a list of events that includes some of the Rocky Fork paces etc
http://mvhunt.net/calendar.htm
Iâm guessing the OP may be rather young??? Just a hunchâŠ
Indeed, I believe she is. But hopefully the OP will contact one of the hunts directly, so they can point her in the direction of any program they might have for juniors. There are many young riders who enjoy hunting, but they do so under the supervision of a willing adult.
To the OP, if you are young (as in not adult age) you may need an adult âsponsorâ who will introduce you to hunting at an appropriate level. In the meantime, please read as much as you can about hunting. There is a wealth of information out there,and you can prepare yourself to ask good questions by doing your research first. I read a great deal about hunting before inquiring about trying it.
In another post she says she is 14.
I would suggest that OP take some time to research these different disciplines herself. Do a little learning. Itâs all on the WWWebs, ready and waiting.It is also important that she have access to horse transport.
prepare to have a blast
Go out and have some fun! The fox is rarely killed except by automobiles; you will do a lot of standing around watching/ listening to hounds work; shorten your stirrups, get strong in your two :yes:point; whipping around corners , jumping whatever is in front of you; lining up to jump a coop or panel; the jumps and terrain depend on the hunt/ location you are in; they are usually coops. walls, panels and gates are common; plus an occasional hedge; be prepared to gallop up and down hill, get used to grabbing mane :yes:again
Hayele - Forget the foxhunting. You would be better off looking into CTR and maybe the Endurance sport with your Arab. From your past posts on what you know, and your horseâs issues, I think just doing trails will make your horse happier. The horse doesnât like the ring, and doesnât want to jump. Distance sports might be the ticket, however.
Look into some distance rides - there are Endurance (with LD) rides in Ohio - see if your parents will take you to visit the rides and let you talk to people to learn the ins and outs of the vetting, the pacing, the trail, etc. Your horse might love doing a sport in which her breed tends to excel, and you will find the people who compete are both friendly and welcoming. You WILL need an adult sponsor to ride in a distance ride, however. Just giving you a heads up.
And donât stop taking the flatwork lessons. At 14 you have a long riding career in front of you. Get as good as you can be.
Rocky Fork has a number of âIntroduction to Foxhuntingâ clinics scheduled for this summer. I believe one for adults and one specifically for juniors/young riders each month. Check the calendar for dates and a flier with the description: http://www.rfhh.net/Calendar/CalendarTemp.html
Thereâs also Miami Valley Hunt, located a bit further west. (ETA: Oops! Just saw Mudroom posted their site.)
I have looked more into it and I am hoping to participate in the young rider meeting in June!
http://www.rfhh.net/Calendar/RFYRProgram.pdf
I am so excited! They have a middle division which is walk trot and canter without jumps! I am going to stick with dressage and do both!
Now here are some more questions:
What are some things I need to do with my horse to get ready?
How long do hunts last?
Any pointers?
Hopefully you have someone you can ride with outside the arena. The best exercise to practice is to basically go for a trail ride, but have the other person lead. The lead person should go at different speeds without warning you if she is going to speed up, slow down, or stop. Your job will be keeping your horse going calmly about 1 horse length behind at all times. Itâs harder than it sounds. If you have more people, practice with your horse in the middle as well as the back of the line. You can also all stop, turn your horse around in place, and ride back the way you came or pick a place in the trail for the entire line to do a U-turn (this, also, is harder than it sounds since many horses object to walking forward while another horse is walking back past themâthey want to just spin in place). Also make sure youâre comfortable doing this up and down hills and wading through streams and mud. RFHH hunts usually last about 2 hours.
Just be clean, neat, no bling, safe tack, and approved helmet. Being polite and wanting to learn is always a winning combination, and donât be afraid to ask quesitons.
Iâm glad youâre sticking with dressage. Think of it like a conditioning program that helps your horse get stronger, more balanced, and be a better athlete. Dressage basics span pretty much all the disciplines (yup, even western riders do it, though some of the terminology is different). If youâre having a lot of trouble applying it to other disciplines, try riding with different trainers to find a good fit. Some trainers are pure dressage for the sake of dressage, while others approach dressage as a tool to use for other disciplines.
