do you hunt?

Drag hunt.

Route is planned so that there are no ditches. Each field will have a gate or path or something.

byhookorbycrook

re different coverts, what happens if hounds find? You can't predict which way fox will run. Also who takes the non-jumpers from covert to covert?

Why would you want to hunt and not jump?There are plenty non-jumping ride-outs.

doctor evil

convert wrote: »

That's fine if you're on a drag hunt, but it's a completely different story when you're really hunting. As byhookorbycrook mentioned, you don't know where you're going or what you're going to meet. It's not like you can tell the fox/hare/stag where to run. I don't think it's fair to the sporting and generous landowners who open up the land to hunts to say 'most of us can jump, or negotiate whatever obstacles come up, but there are a few who can't, so is it ok that they take other routes across your land so they can follow us'.


I always welcome newcomers out to the hunting field, and it's always great to see new people joining, but you can't expect members to babysit them all day, or teach them how to jump. That should be done at home before they go hunting. It's not like a young horse would be taken anywhere before it had been schoold to a reasonable standard at home in whatever discipline it was competing.

With foxhunting you may not know the exact route but you do know what land you are allowed on. Obviously this can be worked with (knowledge of routes, change/fix gates with owners permission).

There are hunts that have more than one master often one for a non-jumping route or have a trusted follower or whipper in just starting out.
Hunts/hunters can't keep making excuses they must find solutions in all aspects if hunting is to continue. I'm not saying that people should learn to jump while on a hunt, that should be done in lessons.

Some hunts as well will have a nanny to look after a new person and to keep an eye on them. An attitude of 'I'm alright Pat' is nothing but damaging to the future of hunting.

doctor evil

Deleted User wrote: »

Secondly, etiquette. From my time hunting, I am sorry to see that this appears to be dying. Hunts exists soley by the grace and goodwill of those who let us ride through their land and when you get complete ****s who refuse to ride the headlands (or who are unable to control their horse so that he stays in by the headlands) then these people are endangering the whole hunt.
Also, when it comes to jumping, I don't like to see people schooling horses and jumping the ditch back and forward, back and forward as if everyone did this then there would little left of the ditch and the hunt won't be asked back into the land.

Responsibility of every participant to report to the Master. Also a good idea to check if anyone knew understands the etiquette.

doctor evil

byhookorbycrook wrote: »

Still can't see how a jumpless hunt works,how do you get from field to field?Wire cutting is not always an option and a wobbly rider and strands of wire to jump are not a good combo.

Fences can be amended before/after. Any kind of a 'feckless' attitude will kill hunting.
I agree with the last part.

doctor evil

byhookorbycrook wrote: »

Also who takes the non-jumpers from covert to covert?

Why would you want to hunt and not jump?There are plenty non-jumping ride-outs.

A person (master/whipper in/follower) delegated to be in charge of the non-jumping group. Or jumps on easier days will have a way around them with the main body of the hunt.

No offence but the last sentence raises my heckles.

It is an elitist attitude. Heaven forbid if one day you should lose your bottle and still want to take part in a hunt for the craic and a good day of riding on land you would not normally have permission to be on.

byhookorbycrook

Dr Evil, I can no longer hunt as my legs won't allow me to jump. My attidude is not meant to be elitist, but the Stephen's day field of 150, where about 50 know what they are at does not endear us to landowners . As a horse mad child I hunted when I was good enough to be able to stay on and cross country unaided(mostly) with the Duhallows, where you jumped or got left behind.
30 + fences on an average day, because dairy fields tend to be smaller.

Here in Leinster it seems to be more galloping than jumping,due to large cornfields,but I still feel if you are not secure in the saddle enough to jump, then you need to wait and aim towards the day that you will be.

You wouldn't go to a hunter trials to hack round the course,so I can't see why you'd want a day out hunting if you plan to do the same.


Hunt canters, over a pre-set course with non-jumping options are now common, surely it makes more sense, in the same way as we aim not to over-horse ourselves,we should aim not to over-face ourselves .

convert

doctor evil wrote: »

With foxhunting you may not know the exact route but you do know what land you are allowed on. Obviously this can be worked with (knowledge of routes, change/fix gates with owners permission).

I actually think it's completely unacceptable to ask a generous and sporting landowner to give permission for the hunt to take more than one route through their land. I certainly wouldn't give that permission. As well as having young stock on the farm, it's also a beef/dairy farm and some cattle are kept out quite late in the winter, depending on the weather, and if the hunt approached me to ask if they could take a second or subsequent route through my farm I'd tell them where to go... Harsh, perhaps, but a view that many landowners would take.

doctor evil wrote: »

Hunts/hunters can't keep making excuses they must find solutions in all aspects if hunting is to continue. I'm not saying that people should learn to jump while on a hunt, that should be done in lessons.

I personally feel that having riders who need 'non-jumping' routes out hunting will actually do more harm to hunting. As area manager for our hunt, there has been an increasing number of complaints from landowners asking 'why did some of the horses not go through the route that everybody else took'? Or 'Why did horses go through the recently sown field/field with cattle in it instead of following the normal route?' What are we going to tell them? Some of the people aren't capable of jumping and need to take alternative routes? I doubt such an answer would be too well-received, especially if a landowner is worried about insurance and liability.

While it's always fantastic to have people who support hunting, I just don't think non-jumping routes are feasible for any form of hunting except drag hunting. There's no way you can which direction the quarry is going to run, so it is impossible to have a pre-assigned 'non-jumping' route. As by hookandbycrook said, there are plenty of 'rideouts' with no jumping.

convert

Anybody manage to get much hunting done over the Christmas?

I only got out 3 times, including Stephen's Day (gate shutting ) and New Year's Day (because it was only a mile down the road!). Had planned to go out a few other days, including Monday, but the meets were cancelled due to the severe frost we've had over the last while! Typical... Just as I get my horse fit enough for a full day's hunting and as I just have my young horse ready for a few more 'longer' days (ie - not just the hour or so I've been doing with her for the last while!)

andy2854

love hunting!!! ward union hunt:eek::eek::eek:

kick-on

any of ye go with the north kildare farmers????
its like a drag hunt for charity where we go over a set course in a different place every week, you can go round most jumps (but wheres d fun in that), nobody has to jump but we do go at a fair fast pace like!!!!!!!!!!!

convert

Is it a drag hunt? I was of the impression it was just a charity ride with no hounds?

kick-on

yea, i suppose it isnt really a hunt

Mad craic tho!!!!!!!!

Ticktactoe

Hunting is a great adrenaline rush, not just for the rider but for the horse also. Therefore with that in mind, its really not for the nervous rider. Confidence and experience play a big part with each participant. Any hunt that i have taken part in (which is quite a few years of it) I have never seen a 'calm' horse. Once the hunt takes off, its none stop. Jumping is a big part of it imo and as a previous poster mentioned holding back and been patient rarely works as people will jump on ahead of you especially when the horse is mad to go. Jumping through bushes, briars, drains, muck is hard on the rider but is all part of the fun too.
However if you have never hunted before, it can be a bit daunting and nervous but the best thing is to bite the bullet. If you have plenty of riding hours under your belt and have skooled over jumps in your spare time then you should be well able.
Responiblity on the riders part is a big thing as well. I think its important to throw your eye over any jump you going to put your horse over just to make sure there isn't a big lump of wire sticking up as the last thing you want to do is badly injure the horse, which i have seen also - not a pretty site. Also this craic of people schooling horses over ditches and other parts of the fields fences really isn't on. If the farmer gave permission for the hunt to go through the land then really there should be a bit of respect in play otherwise it might just be the last time the hunt will be allowed through the land.
I think horse hunting is savage and a great way to spend your saturday or sunday!

bogshepherd

do you need your own horse to join a hunt club or are they able to provide horses?

ive been taking riding/jumping lessons since september 08, i can jump at 1.10m pretty comfortably. im fairly confident with my riding and ive practiced on grade A showjumping horses but do you think this would be enough experience to go on a hunt. its something id love to try at some stage. any info u can give me wud be much appreciated...

thanks!

K-Bowie

Yes, have you never been to a hunt you have kids of like 7-8 on there ponys at a good few of them.

Hobbidance

I think K-Bowie means that yes you would be able. Even though it'll still be an experience and a horse (usually) acts totally different in a field of horses and hounds than in an enclosed sand arena.

Try a few cross country courses if you can over the summer. They're great practice and will teach you how to handle ditches and fences you might meet out hunting.

Hunt clubs dont provide horses, at least I've never known one to, but you can usually hire horses from riding schools to use in hunts.

monflat

Hi Bogsheppard
yes a good few of the hunts i know do hire horses usually about €150 for the day and then if you are not a member of the hunt which you probably wont be if you are only going to try it out first .
the visitor cap for a day ( a visitor is someone who is not a paid up member!!) can be anything up to €120 at the discretion of the club.

it is an expensive day but it is well worth it.
Hunting is now finished and will not resume until Nov so you will have plenty of time to practice - get out and do some cross country.
The height of the fences you are jumping is fine but you need to get out and jump outside the confines of an arena if you have not been already.

If you can get some experience riding different horses and ride somewhere where they offer hacking (where you can gallop and go at a fast pace)
This all will prepare you for hunting as sometimes i know of people who ride in arena all the time but cannot get used to the fast pace of hunting and even riding in a group of horses 50 or more!! being squashed in !! Or everyone riding at a afast pace towards a gap in a corner of a field and coming to a standstilll virtually from gallop


With regards to the XC if you can get your balance jumping up on a bank and jumping off this will help you no end.

Your riding maybe fine but as i said before it may be the fast pace that you need to get used to .
If you are brave you will enjoy it and seeing the countryside is great too

What part of the country are you in i could PM you details of the ones i know that do hirelings for visitors.

bogshepherd

thanks for all the help! i live in county monaghan, im hoping to buy a horse in the next few weeks and i have a bit of land here to practice on, the problem is that il be moving to limerick for university next year so il probably only be home once a month so i wont have much time for it...

kick-on

id say ull b grand if u have that much experience!!!
once you have mastered the basics of cantering, galloping etc you should be able to get by, best way to learn will be doing it, just be prepared for a fall or two