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What kind of horses are used in English fox hunts?

6K views 12 replies 7 participants last post by  4horses 
#1 · (Edited)
Are English-style fox hunts still in operation in America?
What are the kinds of horses are so used?
Are live foxes pursued and killed in the American versions of English-style fox hunts anywhere these days?
Some such 'hunts' in California use dummy foxes that are dragged.
If I were to fox hunt, I'd want to pursue a live fox with the possibility of shooting it.
What is "hunter seat equitation" specifically?

Why do the tails look goofy on the horses in this video?
Is braiding the manes of hunting horses the custom?
Are mane braids just for show?

 
#2 ·
Yes Fox Hunting is still going on in the US.
I have never hunted in the US but believe that it is different to the UK in that they rarely ever kill th Fox.

Any horse can be used for followimg Hounds, they all love it. A good Hunter in the UK can fetch £15,000. +

When Hounds follow a laid line it is called Drag Hunting, which is what all Hunts in the U.K. are meant to do after a ban on Hunting with Dogs was passed in 2004. Hunts try to adhere to the rules but quite often foxes jprun across the Drag line and Hounds follow that.

It is traditional for manes to be plaited and the reason some tails look funny is because they too are plaited and turned up to stop them getting so muddy.
 
#3 · (Edited)
My take on hunting: if there is no real intent to kill the animal pursued, it's fake. If hunters carry no guns, they are phony. If real dogs don't follow live foxes, it isn't fox hunting to me. I think there also has to be a horn blower in the hunting party too. Stupid laws have ruined many genuine traditional things over the years. America is plagued by bad game laws to boot. The American South remains most loyal to hunting traditions but there can be a lot of troubles with the landed gentry. Tension between hunters and landowners persists.

No, I don't like it when hounds tear foxes apart. Flushing to guns is humane.
 
#5 · (Edited)
I still find much more thrill in hunting with tools that go BANG! What if I were to want to save the fox pelt to make a nice presentable mount for my hunting lodge or barbershop?

In Britain there have been violent confrontations between fox hunters and animal rights activists. I used to think the Brits were so civil, refined and polite, but all that all ends when fox hunters and fox-huggers meet, no, clash:

 
#9 ·
This is all second hand information from a retired doctor and fox hunter who gave a presentation on fox hunting to my daughter's 4-H club recently. Fox Hunting or Fox Chasing as they prefer to call it now is alive and well. He actually belonged to two hunt clubs located within 3 hours of each other. They don't kill the fox as they have no use for a dead fox and they might want to chase the same fox or it's progeny in the future. He said in his 40+ years of Fox Chasing he had only seen a few foxes killed when the hounds caught a sick one or the fox went across a road. Rather than a hunt that developed in England as a way to rid the countryside of a nuisance predator it has evolved into a social event on horseback steeped in tradition. There was no mention of anyone being armed. He was careful to point out that they don't want to end up like their English counterparts and have their sport banned. One of the youth asked about horses and he said anything goes as long as English tack was used and the horse and tack was neat and presentable. My understanding was that the horses were divided into 3 groups or fields with the first being the daring and fast riders who rode Thoroughbreds or Warm bloods. The middle field was a bit slower and some would be on Quarter horses and the third or last field was the novice riders or those on green horses.


As a farmer with a back yard flock of laying hens that my kids tend to and sell their eggs I have no love of foxes who have on occasion taken a chicken or 18. I have two college buddies who come once a year with their electronic calls and rifles to harvest a few foxes. The pelts are sold even though the fur market is way down. If you want to shoot and kill a fox I suspect you would be better received by a poultry farmer than a Fox Chasing club so long as you are a responsible hunter.
 
#10 ·
Several of the big organised shoots, before the season starts, will ask the Hunt to put the Hounds through the land to ensure the pheasants take fight.

The big problem in the UK is that there are to many bunny huggers that want to protect wild animals. This is well and good but like anything they need to be managed.

The red fox is a very clever beast and now has taken to cities and towns, living off scraps and people feeding them. I could not believe my eyes when one sunny afternoon I saw a fox walking across my cousin's lawn feet in front of her house. He was enormous as tall as a springer spaniel and obese. Not just fat but gross.

Her neighbour put out three chickens a day to feed them plus other scraps.

Mr Charles went his normal route to go up the drive, cross the road and onto the Downs where he no doubt lay up until hos next dinner was served.

Except ........... as he reached the front of the house my dogs in the car with the windows down, saw him and the chase was on. I doubt Charlie had run for a long time but he did on that occasion. I called the dogs off. Guess the exertion was to much for him as next day on his way to his dinner he just dropped dead on cousin's lawn.
 
#11 ·
I hunted for about 12 years with Iron Bridge Hunt in Maryland and 2 years (when I moved) with Marlboro Hunt in Maryland.

In those years of hunting we never killed a fox. What would we hunt the next week if we killed our fox? I have seen many foxes while hunting and have never seen one panicked. The fox outwits the hounds in many humorous ways. In the old days, it was called "riding to hounds" and that is precisely what we did. Our foxes had many holes in which to "go to ground" if they had had enough.

With the horns ta-raaing, the hounds barking, the bits jingling, no fox that didn't want a run for his money would come out. But they usually did feel like a nice chase, and came out. The master of the hunt frequently led us, "the field," to a place where we could watch the fox, and then later, the hounds work.

I've seen some clever ruses that the fox laid on the hounds, like crossing a log halfway over a creek, then jumping into the water and swimming for a bit. Once, the hounds were going crazy circling around a heavy bunch of brambles and brush. Suddenly the fox burst out of the thicket, jumped across the backs of the hounds and took off away. As @RMH said, there is a lot of fun socializing, a bit of dangerous riding and jumping, and enjoyment seeing the fox and hounds try to outwit one another.

When the fox gets tired of the game, he just goes in one of his holes, and the chase is over for that day. Then we'd ride to another fox's territory and try for that one. Many hunts, including ours, had 1:00 foxes or 4:00 foxes--certain foxes would be waiting for the hounds to show up so he/she could have a romp with them.

If you saw the foxes, you would know they were enjoying themselves. The word I would use is "jaunty." That's how they moved.

Perhaps because the hunts I rode with were in Maryland, but we did not cross any roads and kept away from people's property.

Both Iron Bridge Hunt and Marlboro Hunt were not clubs for rich people. Our Hunt Master owned a small town hardware store. Our Field Master was a truck driver. About half of the hunt field were young people and mothers looking after their young people. The hunters were teachers, students, farmers (lots of farmers), and small business owners.
 
#12 ·
In my opinion chasing any animal to it's death is just wrong. In the Uk fox hunting still exists, they pretend to lay drag trails but everyone knows it is just for show.

I keep chickens but still rejoice if I see a fox in the field. My chickens are safe as I keep them safe and that is my job, it is not my job to complain if the fox kills them because my defenses are inadequate.

Back to the original question - any horse or pony can go hunting, they just need to be fit enough and able to keep up and sane enough not to gallop off and ahead of the Masters.
 
#13 ·
I believe many hunts in the U.S. try not to kill the fox. I watched a t.v. show on one of the breeders of Foxhounds. They emphasize that any dog that doesn't fit with the program is sold. They only want dogs that can live happily in the pack, that are well socialized with people, that are okay with horses, and don't go off chasing deer. They want dogs that will chase the fox without killing it.

This reminds me of the Labrador my neighbor had. One of my ducks flew the coop into my neighbors yard. Their dog grabbed my duck, brought it back to me, and handed it right to me. My duck had not a single scratch or injury. My neighbors totally ignored their dogs, so this wasn't training, this was good breeding for certain traits. My grandmother had a dog with the same instincts. She brought me a baby bunny and handed it to me unharmed. My grandmother wasn't so pleased, because in her mind, rabbits in the garden get shot. Well, not that rabbit. My grandfather and I gave it to a rescue.

I had a dog catch a squirrel. He immediately snapped it's neck. He's the same one that was so determined to get those rabbits, he dug a 4 ft trench in the 95 degree heat, and surely would have heat stroked. Talk about strong willed determination and stubbornness.
 
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