Galloping on hunts

temujin

hi, i was just knew if anyone knew much about hunting. i have an 8 yr old cob who likes to do full on bucks when galloping which can be very awkward as i can't really turn around and lash him because i'm struggling to regain my seat.i wouldn't really stress about the little ones because they're not so bad. any ideas??

CarlaAnkiah

Keep his head up. Its harder for them to buck if they can't get their head down. Also don't beat him, horses buck for a reason. Its either excitement or pain. If its excitement then if you keep his head up and drive him on forward the bucks will be small enough and he will stop it in time. It could also be pain from an ill fitting saddle, get it checked by a saddle fitter!

JennaJameson

I would definitely look at the saddle, although I'd expect any pain that was caused by an ill-fitting saddle to show up in other gaits as well. It's always worth checking it out though, along with his back, teeth, shoes etc.

Horses regularly buck out of excitement or happiness. Riding your horse regularly with other horses may help him relax, it won't be such a big deal for him when he's hunting then.

I would also gallop as much as you can, provided your horse isn't bucking out of pain. If it's less of a rarity he'll be less excited, although I would still expect one or two bucks. A hunt is an exciting thing for a horse, as is the opportunity to gallop.

Long reining or lunging ahead of the hunt will help relax him too, as he'll be less fresh.

If it's one or two bucks, I wouldn't think much of it, it's probably excitement, and it will pass.

If you gallop in a two-point jumping seat, similar to how eventers ride between fences in the cross country phase, you will be better balanced and will have greater leverage to keep your horse's head up, as CarlaAnkiah said.

If the bucks are persistent, and you're worried about losing your seat, turning him in circles will help. He won't be balanced well enough to buck. I know it can be difficult to do this while out hunting though, as your horse will always want to follow the other horses.

It may be helpful to get some lessons or schooling for yourself and your horse together, as there may be something you are doing subconsciously that is causing your horse to buck. An instructor would spot this and be able to help you break the habit. It would be difficult to gallop in an arena, so I reckon your best bet would be a cross country schooling course.

FMTAILOR

Hi! I been ridding for just over a year now and seriously thinking of hunting this season. I have a horse but hes a flighty thoroughbred so I think I'll rent an experienced hunter. although I'm not ridding long I have a fairly secure seat and enjoy speed but how good a rider do you need to be to hunt? Its hard to get an answer to this question. I'd love to just do it but I don't want to give myself a horrible experience, also i don't really know anyone who hunts so I'd be going on my own. Any advice for a 1st timer would be appreciated- where to rent hunter, prices,what hunts to go to etc, are there hunts for beginners? (but not kids- I'm well in my 20's) i live in Cavan/Meath area. Thanks!

JennaJameson

I haven't hunted yet, but I've been involved with hunts and worked with hunting horses. I would say you would need to be a fairly advanced rider, or at least a good one.

When out hunting, the horses run as a herd, and it can be incredibly difficult to control a horse in that situation. You will have to be willing and able to jump any height and any material; fences, bushes, gates, stone walls, ditches, small rivers etc.

I would say the best people to contact to suss out whether you're ready for a hunt, and to discuss renting a horse would be hunts in your area. The Ward Union Hunt operate in Meath, along with Ballymacad Foxhounds, Fingal Harriers, Tara Harriers and a few more. Drumlin Hounds operate in Cavan.

CarlaAnkiah

FMTAILOR wrote: »

Hi! I been ridding for just over a year now and seriously thinking of hunting this season. I have a horse but hes a flighty thoroughbred so I think I'll rent an experienced hunter. although I'm not ridding long I have a fairly secure seat and enjoy speed but how good a rider do you need to be to hunt? Its hard to get an answer to this question. I'd love to just do it but I don't want to give myself a horrible experience, also i don't really know anyone who hunts so I'd be going on my own. Any advice for a 1st timer would be appreciated- where to rent hunter, prices,what hunts to go to etc, are there hunts for beginners? (but not kids- I'm well in my 20's) i live in Cavan/Meath area. Thanks!

My advise... before you hunt see if you can get to a novice hunt or fun ride. They are usually well organised and the route is planned so there are ways around most fences or obstacles (at least they are in our area). It will give you an idea of what you may have to deal with out hunt baring in mind out hunting there probably won't be ways around the obstacles.

Main requirements for your first hunt... a steady experienced hunter, confidence, and a hip flask, lol :P

Seriously though... ring your local hunts and ask for details about novice hunts and fun rides. Try one or two of those first then if you think you are ready to go on a hunt give it a go. I am in Cork and the fun rides and novice hunts here range from 20-25euro. I don't subscribe to any of the hunts but I do attend a couple of meets that are local to me where I only have to pay the cap of 30euro.

monflat

as others have said
why is your horse bucking ??
he is communicating something to you pain , discomfort, excitement has he galloped in a group before ??
why would you need to give him a few lashes ? ? i dont understand ? maybe less of the whip and more of learning to understand how horses communicate to us - through their body language would help you.

is the horse easy to lead when you on the ground ? When you ask him to walk on a lead rope and headcollar do you ask and he immediatly respond??

or do you ask and he plants his feet like a donkey and with a pull on your rope he eventually moves slowly forward??
if it is the latter you need to get to his feet and make him USE his body more on the ground first before you get on his back you will find a horse who has done a lot of ground work will b much lighter more responsive under saddle .

Clogsworth

FMTAILOR wrote: »

Hi! I been ridding for just over a year now and seriously thinking of hunting this season. I have a horse but hes a flighty thoroughbred so I think I'll rent an experienced hunter. although I'm not ridding long I have a fairly secure seat and enjoy speed but how good a rider do you need to be to hunt? Its hard to get an answer to this question. I'd love to just do it but I don't want to give myself a horrible experience, also i don't really know anyone who hunts so I'd be going on my own. Any advice for a 1st timer would be appreciated- where to rent hunter, prices,what hunts to go to etc, are there hunts for beginners? (but not kids- I'm well in my 20's) i live in Cavan/Meath area. Thanks!

This may be too far away but the North Kildare Farmers do mock hunts, their new timetable is up here
http://www.abbeyfieldfarm.com/nkf-calendar-page.html
The routes are all planned and i'm pretty sure you can go around any jump you dont want to do. Abbeyfield rent out hunters for these hunts, I think its about €150 to rent a horse but i'm not 100% sure on that.

monflat

answer to FMTAILOR q . - how good a rider do you have to be to hunt ? you dont have to be a rider at all just a pilot will do
i have experienced hunts in various parts of country and there are all sorts of pilots and riders at them all

it depends what your definition is of a rider. .

i know of someone spent €5000 on a hunting mare real quiet and experienced and he never sat on a horse one day in his life and off he went hunting .
Could not do rising trot spent the whole day swinging out of the horses mouth to MAINTAIN balance as he had none to start with and rode with his hands not his legs so needless to say it was not a confortable experience for the horse.


There will be plenty of stories like this up and down the country where people go hunting for the fun of it - but those people do not think of the horse who has to carry the lump around for anything up to 4 hours with the jaw being pulled off for no mistake of their own.

In my opinion like mentioned above go on a charity ride stick near the back with a small group get your horse used to going out with groups of other horses then up the pace a little .
it is easy to go fast and gallop along but it is very difficult to hold back a horse who is used to tearing along with no control . its better to start with control and control the pace to what you want it not what the horse wants

byhookorbycrook

FMTAILOR wrote: »

Hi! I been ridding for just over a year now and seriously thinking of hunting this season. I have a horse but hes a flighty thoroughbred so I think I'll rent an experienced hunter. although I'm not ridding long I have a fairly secure seat and enjoy speed but how good a rider do you need to be to hunt? Its hard to get an answer to this question. I'd love to just do it but I don't want to give myself a horrible experience, also i don't really know anyone who hunts so I'd be going on my own. Any advice for a 1st timer would be appreciated- where to rent hunter, prices,what hunts to go to etc, are there hunts for beginners? (but not kids- I'm well in my 20's) i live in Cavan/Meath area. Thanks!

A lot depends on the part of the country, how would you be coming off the top of a 5 ft bank over a large drain?It's not like cross country, you literally may have to jump off a road over a huge ditch with no "run up".You will be going through narrow thorny gaps,possibly jumping wire or loose stone walls.How high can you jump-there is often no choice but to jump what's ahead?Would you be comfortable cantering along the road?

Then you must consider if your horse will kick hounds/other horses, can you stop your horse running up the rear of other horses or how will your horse react if someone else does tht to you,will your horse go first or last,can you get down to open/close a gate/gap as needed and will they stand quietly when hounds are drawing.

I rode for 4 yrs before I hunted and I had a very experienced cob who had enough cop for both of us. So much so,that the guy who owned him tied a knot in the reins and told me to hold onto the martingale strap and to let the cob alone:D

I am not trying to put you off, but a few hunt canters-where the course is pre-determined and you know the hedge won't have barbed wire in it and that there may be a way around anything you aren't happy to jump is probably a good way to go for a while.

Green Hornet

As said above, I'd be careful with going on a real hunt. I'm riding a few years and go cross country every week but I dont think I'm ready to go on a real hunt yet. I've gone on mock hunts and you really need to have your wits about you even on one of those. The horse will want to go full on with the rest of the hunt and it can be difficult to stay in control. The biggest issue though would probably be that there's no "out" if you came across an obstacle that you were not comfortable with.

ecaf

@FMTAILOR - there is a hunt on in Longwood, Co. Meath on St. Stephen's day. It's a children's hunt run by the Tara Harriers, but we used to go to it a good bit. I always loved it and found it a 'gentle' hunt - I had an accident when I was younger so I was a bit of a nervous rider. Haven't been in years, but I'm sure its still the same. It's a drag hunt so the route is already set out and never too difficult.
You could also look out for Hunt run's in your area. There used to be one in Johnstown (near Navan) every year at the start of the season, they'd be like a drag so again a set course.

I had a cob who would buck like crazy when excited, and he was very easily excited. He was prone to setfast (azortoria I think), unusual in a cob, but turned out this was the reason for his bucking fits. When he got excited he would tense up and his back would freeze, soon his legs too, we all know how setfast works. (It was an unusual condition with his digestive system that led to him suffering it, not being stabled and a very strict diet helped). He would buck because he was experiencing these cramps. Little star still did half a cross country course with his back frozen, when he struggled to get over a tiny log fence I realised he wasn't just being an eejit, he was hurting. Worth looking into this too, some horses buck to try to stretch their backs while jumping.

Failing a vet report on the reason, just keep his head up and ride him on strong. I had a bucking broncho with no reason other than he got over excited. Just keeping his head high, and riding him on hard (no whip, just heels) would get him focused, and he outgrew the bucking when he was about 12.

convert

Some horses will just buck from excitement (have one at home! :rolleyes:) and it can prove very annoying. Try riding your horse between the hand and leg - i.e. making sure that you've lots of impulsion and that the horse isn't just running along on his front. That way you'll have much more control and will be able to pull up your horse's head when he goes to buck.

Might be worthwhile checking the tack fits your horse properly and that the girth isn't pinching (especially if it's an elastic girth with foam on the inside). If it's fine, then you might consider getting the horse vetted to make sure that everything is ok.

On the hunting bit: if you cannot pull your horse up quickly without using the horse in front of you to pull up, then you should not be going hunting or cross country rides. I've seen far too many injuries to both horses and riders which result from people galloping into the horse in front of them - one horse had to be put down a few months later as a result of the injury it received.