Fox hunt

[animalpro24]

Here's a video (in parts) of a fox hunt! There's a man in the group with a camera on his helmet. There's around 30 riders, maybe more, out there! I thought it was really cool and fun to watch! If you go to John3028marsh's channel there will be more vids and the other parts to this video. Just wanted to share this with you guys! Hope you enjoy it, I did! Here's the County Clare Hunt:

 

[animalpro24]

Oh you never see the fox BTW. They have a pack of dogs with them.

 

[danischi24]

Very cool. Like the Henny thing.

 

[Matthew3590]

looked more like 60. Even kids got to join in the fun.

But they would get all those people for one fox?

 

[animalpro24]

Quote:
From what I've seen there's 4 or 5 people with the pack of dogs that are always in the lead, the rest of them might just be riding along. But I'm not sure... In the end of the last part of the County Clare ride at the end they talk to a lady who say she saw the fox running through a field so there is a fox involved. Maybe they're just chasing it not hunting it? Pretty cool though!

 

[animalpro24]

Quote:
Yup! The Henny video is also fun to watch!

 

[welsummerchicks]

Check this out!!!!

where it starts - at the bar -

Bray Hunt:

sounds and images of irish fox hunt:

calls on the horn - doubling:

calls on the horn - gone away:

Bear Creek hunt:

fingal:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FM-h5Fzhgdw&feature=related

incredible, the famous Scarteen:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WyZusCtBhsI&feature=related

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J09QBNGo5jg&feature=related

Kerry:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aBkEpweXdzg&feature=related

the Bray Harriers:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aBkEpweXdzg&feature=related

best of the Bray:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zo8LHxmyTVE&feature=related

another Best of the Bray:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z8tC-cXO0Jk&feature=related



http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DNKfucd0HYo&feature=related

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K6CwgybLB9E&feature=related

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V5hBhrLnb58&feature=related

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Sx7XlwJROwE&feature=related

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RdIYB9-DhlM&feature=related

closing in:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GtNnejOaB3o&feature=related

getting close:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Sbp1yimi3mU&NR=1

It's not just the love of riding, but also the love of the countryside and the love of watching a great pack hunt.

In English style fox hunting, there is always a small group in the lead, with the hounds. That is the master of hounds, and his helpers, the whippers-in. Everyone else ('the field') is supposed to stay back where they can see what's happening, but not up where they are going to interfere with the master working the hounds.

The main idea is to give everyone in the community the opportunity to watch the master work his hounds. It's really incredible - every hound knows his name and responds to commands, and it's amazing to hear the hounds 'give tongue' when they get on the scent of the fox. It's about understanding scent, wind patterns, land and plant types, as well as the behavior of the hunted and the hunter.

The other advantage is that fox hunts tend to help with conservation in the areas where they operate.

In rough country like County Clare, where a lot of the running is on narrow muddy lanes, the field gets pretty spread out, and the field can split up into several groups, taking various routes and fanning out over the countryside - having someone along who knows the roads and paths can really help, as can having a fast horse. The challenge is to be there at the end, when the fox is killed.

English style fox hunting came about during a period in history when woods were cleared and people settled in the country side.

With the 'Clearances', the fox population zoomed up alarmingly high. Foxes were killing ducks, chickens, lambs, baby goats, even family pets like cats and small dogs.

The intention was to kill the fox, no apologies made. The fox population was out of control.

But quite often the huntman and his hounds would only succeed in getting the fox out of a covert (brush, bramles, etc) and get him to go on the run across several fields, then he'd go down a burrow.

The reason for the chase on horseback was that the fox was such an incredibly intelligent animal and would pull incredible tricks, all the way from running on the backs of livestock to wading up a stream to kill his scent. Huntsmen have even reported seeing a fox jump into a tree and sitting and watching the hounds running past below with an amused expression.

If the fox ran down a burrow, a small terrier (fox terrier and other terrier breeds) was used to try and dig the fox out. If need be the fox was finished off with a pistol but usually it was a quick kill from the hound pack.

Rabbits were also a serious problem - and when the rabbit population is out of control so is the fox population. Rabbits were so numerous that they could ruin a whole season's crops.

Harriers and beagles packs were used to try and get the rabbit population under control. Most often harriers and beagles were followed on foot. There was some pretty athletic running over rough country, involved.

But what arose out of necessity became a tradition for long after. Rural life in England had a lot to do with horses and farming and fox hunting became a part of life there. When the British came to the US they brought the tradition here.

Today, much fox hunting in the USA is actually on coyote - the American Fox Hound already tended toward a taller, longer legged sort anyway, so it worked to put these packs on coyote.

Various means have been attempted to control the coyote population, hunting them with a fox hound pack is viewed by many as safer than poison or shooting, which could wind up harming other animals and family pets.

In the USA, 'Long Dogs' are also used for coyote control - they are cross bred with sight hounds and hunt by both sight and scent. Some used mixed packs of various types of hounds with some sight hounds to spot the coyotes over long distances. Long Dogs aren't hunted in the traditional English Fox hunting way.

Other option is to use a caged fox, and to re-catch the fox at the end of the run. Another popular option is a drag hunt - a scented bag is dragged along a route chosen for safety and jumping opportunities (and not crossing dangerous high speed roads) and the hounds and the riders get a good day's exercise. Drag hunts have become more popular as farm lands have gotten more and more crowded.

Recently, fox hunting was banned in England. I read that there is a big movement afoot to get the law repealed, and I don't know what the status of the law is in England, Ireland, etc, right now. I'll see if I can find anything out about it.

 

[Matthew3590]

Thanks for all the info! It looked like in one part of the video they actually paid the farmer to keep going.

 

[animalpro24]

Very cool! Thanks for the information! Now I can understand what there doing better! I did see them paying that man, interesting. I would love to do that one day!

 

[welsummerchicks]

Definitely, the big fox hunts in England are well known for supporting farmers and paying for conservation.

That's one of the biggest problems with the fox hunting ban. The hunts have a lot of positive effects that the countryside can't really do without.