Can I do both Hunting and Eventing?

10wardd

Well-Known Member
Joined
4 July 2014
Messages
83
Visit site
I have recently got a new horse, a 16.2 6yo warmblood gelding and my main plans for him are to event. I do however love hunting and think he would make a fantastic hunter.
Can I both hunt and event him or will the hunting ruin him?
I would only be hunting about 2 times a month at the most!

Would be grateful for any advice or personal experiences in this matter
 

paddi22

Well-Known Member
Joined
5 December 2010
Messages
6,379
Visit site
I chose between the two and picked eventing. I didn't think it was fair on my horse to do a seasons hunting and then go into the eventing season. He needed a break at the end of last eventing season, so I let him off over winter. I did a few hunter trials in autumn and spring but he was off over winter. To keep him hunting fit over the winter would have meant keeping him in fairly full work and i didn't think it was fair after he'd worked so hard during the rest of the year. I'd also be paranoid about him getting injured.
 

spacefaer

Well-Known Member
Joined
3 March 2009
Messages
5,841
Location
Shropshire
Visit site
Yes - I've always hunted my young event horses (unless they proved to be temperamentally unsound for the winter game! )

Made them better xc, gave them manners in company etc

I would mostly hunt them til Christmas then do indoor sj/ dressage til the beginning of the season. Sometimes I'd do a novice team chase just to get them going outdoors before the 1st event

My best horse hunted 3 seasons with the Ledbury (until he went Advanced and got too valuable/precious! )

Only time I found it a problem was when we went down to Portman and we were stabled at the Hunt Kennels - very interesting dressage! !
 

Honey08

Waffled a lot!
Joined
7 June 2010
Messages
19,536
Location
north west
Visit site
In the past nearly all event horses hunted to give them their xc skills. It shouldn't ruin them at all. I wouldn't however do a full season of eventing (as in two or three a month) and hunt every week all winter personally. However if you only do five or six events a year and the same no of hunt meets its no problem.
 

spacefaer

Well-Known Member
Joined
3 March 2009
Messages
5,841
Location
Shropshire
Visit site
I currently event a horse which hunts*quietly every Saturday with her owner, and we do 4 events over the summer on a ticket

She is now 18 so we have just dropped her down to BE90 Open but in her heyday, she was eventing 2-3 times a month at Novice level and then hunting with her owner's daughter with a fast, jumping pack.

She'd have a month off work in April and she doesn't "do" autumn hunting, so there was a natural gap between her last event and Opening Meet.

She's still going strong at 18 so it can't be too hard! *
 

chestnut cob

Well-Known Member
Joined
24 November 2004
Messages
14,992
Location
Shropshire
community.webshots.com
I plan to do both. Mine has worked fairly hard so far this year (not hard compared to something doing, say, Novice, but reasonably hard for a leisure horse I think and certainly does the most work of anything on the yard), starting with plenty of UA DR and SJ, then some BE80 and 90s. He only events max once every 3 weeks though, but he does work consistently in between and is fit. If everything comes together and I get in, I'd really like to finish my eventing season with the BE90 at Weston Park then do a few days' hunting. I feel like he deserves a break from lots of schooling and SJ, and I think a few days' hunting although it will be hard work, will be fun for him and freshen him up. I won't hunt him all season though, will prob just do a few days early in the season then give him a month off (no shoes etc) maybe December time.
 

Orangehorse

Well-Known Member
Joined
25 November 2005
Messages
13,712
Visit site
I did with mine, but we weren't really eventing seriously, we didn't go up and down the country, only did local events that we could travel to and from in a day. And in those days there was a spring season and an autumn season. I went hunting once a week on average. I never had to worry about whether the horse was fit enough or not, because he never had a long enough break to get unfit. He had a holiday when I went on holiday and I used to hack and go to shows. He was turned out every day and I didn't ride him every day. I wouldn't say that he was overworked and he was a mature horse when I got him, so I wasn't doing too much with a young, growing horse.
 

Laafet

Well-Known Member
Joined
17 June 2006
Messages
4,590
Location
Suffolk
adventuresinblackandwhite.co.uk
I used to hunting with Farmers Bloodhounds/Old Berks/Heythrop and compete at BD, sometimes we'd go out on a Wednesday with field and then on a Sunday I'd be at Blewbury BDing. He was stuffy ID x Arab and it really helped his forwardness for the dressage.
 
Top