Hunting people - are your horses machines?

[buckybee]

I am a young hunting person and have always been tought to look after my horse and would never EVER take him if I thought he was a bit sore/pissed off/ill etc.etc.

However, a lot of the more welthy people in my hunt tend to think "oh well they are a bit stiff, give them some bute, and if they get knackered well there is always another"

I think that is WRONG!!!!!!!!!! Wondering what you lot had experienced?

 

[mad_egg]

I think this is an issue across the horse world - not just hunting! Competition horses are generally treated 'as machines' - but I think they get a good lifestyle in return, with experienced handlers/riders (compared with horses on the brooke adverts as just one example).

 

[Loopy_laura]

i hunt but only if my boy is fit and 100% sound! if i feel he is lagging i pull him up and head home! he is treated like a king and i would be mortified if anything happened to him!
he pulled a shoe off last saturday hunting and was lame sunday morning, i sobbed! gave him bute and wrapped him up, and had the vet out to him monday to check him over. thankfully he will be ok and has only strained himself but if it was anything more i would have been deverstaed! he is booted to the eye balls whenever i go out to protect him as much as pos!

 

[SSM]

Now I can say Donkey is a hunting machine I can comment

I have never pushed a tired horse, my last mare (centuries ago) would take her shoes off in ploughed fields, I would then have to walk miles back with her just to try and stop her going lame (she had nearly always bruised her stupid white soles on flints so not sure why I bothered!!!)

 

[RunToEarth]

Alex actually calls his horses machines as well Sarah, have you noticed that? My horse has to last me the entire year, I dont have five horses for five horse sports, so I look after mine

 

[Coffee_Bean]

i don't hunt........ but i also think its wrong to call any horse a machine-they are not and i would never do an endurance ride (or hunting if i did it) or go to a show if i thought the horse wasn't 100%

 

[Troggy]

I was begining to think I was in the minority, I have been hunting once and loved it (December time) however since then, one thing after another has stopped me, either pony has been stiff with arthritis or ground has been swamp like so I haven't risked it (very heavy clay) however I always wonder when I see everybody else going regardless! I only have one pony and would like to do stuff over the summer so can't risk it if she or conditions aren't right, which unfortunatly means this year, not going more than once

 

[pagancluf]

I agree with you Troggy - would only carry on hunting if he was enjoying himself and a ok, otherwise would head back (even on foot) if had to. Will see on Monday first hunting outing, yee haa!!

 

[metalmare]

I have never hunted for a mixture of reasons (though I would really like to).

I have never had enough time or money. I don't think I am a confident enough rider (not over jumps anyway, I'm ok with flatwork and training). I don't have the right clothes. I don't understand hunt etiquette. But the main reason is that despite having ridden over 30 horses in four and a half years I have never had a horse that would hunt. Yes I have ridden horses that would hunt as one offs, but I have never had proper access to a hunter, despite many people having given me the ride of their horses. Make sense?

 

[buckybee]

Not really. Most horses will hunt fine and really enjoy it. I've only ever known a couple that you can't hunt, and it's because they can't cope with all the excitement!

 

[Kristine]

There was a bloke out yesturday who's horse caught his leg on the way to the hunt so he bandaged it up and when i was doing one of the gates his bandage was hanging off it took us five mins to get it untangled and off

 

[metalmare]

Well, thinking of the horses that I've had good access to, I couldn't have hunted Bow because she was arthritic and couldn't really jump or gallop, little Rosie who I used to ride had wasn't fit and would have bucked for England, Pearl was traffic shy in a really big way so dangerous off the yard, Raffles was too old and had back problems so was a light hack only...

I don't have much luck. You don't get much for free :grin:

 

[metalmare]

And I have ridden some nice horses, race horses, etc, but none of these have been mine to ride regularly - just one off hacks and exercising for people.

 

[buckybee]

umm, ok I see your point then! But most young, fit and sound horses will hunt ok!

It's a shame you don't get much for free isn't it! Although a wowan in our hunt has managed to get a quite lovely novice eventer who isn't very good at dressage FREE to a good home!! I'n hoping he will be too much for her and she will give him to me!!

 

[AmyMay]

"oh well they are a bit stiff, give them some bute, and if they get knackered well there is always another"

I find that very, very hard to believe. It takes years to 'make' a good hunter. And those lucky enough to own a horse like these appreciate their value enormously. You will obviously come across the odd person who does have the attitude that you are talking about. But they are few and far between.

Remember - a lot of people like to be heard talking in a non sentimental way about their animals - but when it comes to the crunch they are as daft about them as the rest of us.

 

[WelshRareBit]

Thats very true Amy May. Good point. Hunting is the same as any horse sport - you get people who do it right and people who do it the wrong way. x

 

[buckybee]

I find it hard to believe as well but i promise you it is true! Tends to be hunt staff more than anything.

 

[AmyMay]

Ahh - well yes for hunt staff it is different. Their horses are tools of the trade - and despite what people may believe, there is not the money out there to continually replace these animals. Therefore they are patched up and sent out day after day, until they just can't do the job any longer. They are then shot and given to the hounds.

 

[buckybee]

It ends up being more expensive tho because they have to buy new ones!

Suppose it's different for them because they can't really not go can they, still, glad i'm not a huntsmans horse!

Saying that I'd rather be a huntmans horse than a Dressage horse!

 

[AmyMay]

No it doesn't. Because they buy youngsters at rock bottom prices, and teach them the trade. The horses will last about 6 - 7 seasons. So they get more than their moneys worth from them.

 

[buckybee]

The horses will last about 6 - 7 seasons

If they are lucky! Our last huntsman went through 6 - 7 PER season!

 

[AmyMay]

Ah, well the Masters should be investigating that one then - as there's obviously something seriously amiss.

 

[buckybee]

Not to worry he's gone now. Current one has some kind of wonder horse that has managed all season.

I think it would just be nice if some people appreciated there horses a bit more.

 

[silversox]

Before I ever had the chance to hunt I always said I would never let me horse canter on the road, but of course, we finished up by doing just that. Why is it that when hounds move off, followed by the field, at a brisk trot, the tail-enders, usually including me, have a job to keep up? Weird!

Our hunt staff are very good at looking after their horses but when it comes to taking care of vehicles like the lorry, flesh-wagon and quad-bike then it's a different story. Thank goodness for the Hunt Supporters' Club!

 

[vix564]

My horse is the only horse I have. If she goes lame, then I don't have a ride (well I could 'borrow' one for hacking) so if she's not 100% then she goes nowhere.

She does enjoy hunting, but also shows, showjumps, does games and anything else I ask of her.

In relation to hunstmen, I know several people who have hunted the same horse, week and week out for a good 10 + seasons....the horses are still going strong and would know nothing else than hunting. They would be gutted if anything happened to their horses

 

[tinker88]

I know many people who treat them like machines (funnily most are men!! - sorry all you nice caring men)

And i agree buckbee and rosie posie hunter that alex does (i used to look after his horses for him - fed well but the are machines)
he once got a horse in to try in went lame 1st day out hunting so they buted it up for 3 weeks till the end of the trial just so he could hunt it!! i felt so sorry for them. The injuries they got too were horrendous. He never checked that they were ok after hunting.

 

[buckybee]

Didn't put the post up to slate individuals in public so sorry to mentioned individual!

So where about do you live tinker? Where d'you work now??

 

[SpruceRI]

tinker88 - I agree about most blokes I know who hunt, treat their horses like machines. i.e. lame today, and not tomorrow, then hunt it. Lame today, and tomorrow: give it some bute and hunt it. Hunt only lasted for 4hrs and wasn't fast enough, take it for a quick thrash round the woods after.

Horse looked after perfectly well in between, but treated like a cowboys horse: galloped across the plain all day yesterday, can gallop across the plain all day today. No thought that the horse might be tired, stiff and still lame. As long as horse is still on 4 legs - just, then it can keep going.

 

[tinker88]

exactly not all men - but alot of them!

Im in Barnsley - working in an office now!! Too many of my own to look after other peoples!!

 

[vicijp]

Id never hunt a horse that wasnt 100% sound, although I will take a horse that isnt fit and have an easy day. I tend to get mine fit through hunting, rather than fit to go hunting. This year my big horse had his shoes on on the Tuesday and went hunting on the Saturday. Meet was only up the road and planned to go for an hour (Jez had a 7 hour day on the Tues), ended up staying out 4hour (they tend to go round in circles so if you walk, you always find them).
New Years Day horrified me. There was this fresh one at the meet, unclipped, mane unpulled - looked as though it had come straight out of the field. We had a hard galloping day and it went like stink, it had already pulled 2 shoes off at the meet. Come 5pm I left and started to walk home, by now the horse had lost all of its shoes and could hardly walk. Everyone was all 'thatll teach it' 'thatll settle it down' 'oh its only a bit footsore'.
I turned round and said 'more likely to f#cking kill it - thats not just footsore, thats tied up to [****]'.
I know a girl whos frends with the owner (owner wasnt riding it) whos report was 'oh it hasnt been out of the stable for a week, pulled a shoe off and is still sore'. Bullsh#t!
People make me so mad.
ETS - turned out it hadnt come staright out of the field, it had been in walk work for a week!