I really want to try hunting, but can't afford it! Any ideas?!

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hesychia

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Hello, I'm 15 and would love to try hunting, but I don't have a horse and I'm seriously skint! Any ideas to help me make money to get a hireling and go hunting with the North Cotswolds?! I go to school 5 days a week and work 1 or 2 days at a stables for my lessons at the weekend, but most of my evenings are free. A bit difficult!! I'm going to sell loads of stuff on eBay, but that never gets much, so any other ideas?

Thankyou!
Coley xx.
 
I'm not sure, you'd have to ring the secretary BUT i don't think the cap will be a lot for you... As for a hireling however, well they aren't so cheap!

Not really sure how you could make that money tbh! But anyway i will have a look around see if i think of anyone who could possibly lend you a horse!
 
sounds daft... but are you any good at ironing or dog walking or something like that?

a friend of mine (about 30!) does a basket of ironing for £7 (takes her about an hour per basket she says). Another friend (who's 17) walks the dogs in the village for £4 per dog for an hours walk, usually taking 3 or 4 at a time depending on the dogs.

think of little jobs that people don't want to do and offer to do it for them. Do you know how much a hireling and a days hunting will cost you? Find that out and at least you have a target to work towards!

Best of luck, and let us know how you get on.
 
And yeah, I'm superb at dog walking!! Not so good at ironing... =D

I need to call the secretary, but I only have a mobile and can't call mobiles from here, and my mobile has no signal - grr!
 
A lot of the "girls" round here help out at the yard that has the hunt horses, they get lots of days in return! Though our Lady does run a Riding school as well.
You can always go out on foot with them which would not cost you or no more than a few £ a the most. OK it is not the same as galloping & jumping across the fields but will get you known & someone may offer you a pony for a day??
Best way is to get to know the people that hunt & weddle yor way in!
Best of luck & am surer you will enjoy it when you get out with them!
 
Lol! Sounds good to me! I'll have to ring the secretary (when I get signal!!) and see what yards around offer hirelings. I'm definetly going on foot first to see what it's like, to meet people and generally observe so I'll be better at doing whatever they do when I go mounted! And hopefully I'm going with a member of the hunt, who can show me the ropes!

Thankyou!
 
HI SSC,
Im from North Cotswold country and there is a very well known hireling/riding centre smack bang in the middle who lots of school age people work for. Its bloody hard work and pay isnt great but lots of riding and they do seem to gets lots of hunting (especially at the beginning of the season, giving experience and accompanying new hirelings) PM me of you want the name.
Else it might be worth asking the kennels in Broadway if you can help them at weekends in return for helping with second horses. You wont get free days hunting for nothing but it sound like your are prepared to put in hard work. (Also remember that the pony club cap is much lower than the usual one). Good luck!
 
If you're a competent rider, you could offer to help any private owners of 2 or more horses that you'd be prepared to help exercise their horses in aug/sept to get them fit, and do the early morning pre-hunt prep in return for the opportunity to "lightly" hunt their surplus horses.

We have about half a dozen of such people in our hunt who're lucky enough to have surplus/spare horses - even with full time grooms, they still appreciate regular help from reliable people.

Also why not offer to be the gateshutter for free, if anyone will loan you a hack? It'll mean dawdling at the back, but you can have a fab time gossiping, get to know loads, and in late afternoons often have a mad fab time trying to catch up again! Gateshutting is a bore if you want to stay at the front, but each member is usually expected to do one day a season. When I was tight for time off to go hunting, I used to pay others to do my gate day for me, so if you can swing a horse, you might even get some cash too!

Put the word around the hunt, hunt supporters club, go to all the meets on foot, help whoever whenever you can, attend the socials, snog the whip (joking!), & get your face known.
 
I'm very glad you were joking about that!! Sounds like some brilliant ideas, hopefully I'll be going on foot next week, maybe saturday, so I'll try it all out then! =D
 
Can only reiterate what the others have said - if you get to know people round the hunt, by following on foot and get fully involved with helping out at events. then people will always ask 'why don't you ride to hounds?' - they will usually then be able to rack their brains for someone with a spare speed who might be prevailed on to give you the introduction to mounted following. It isn't a fail safe method though, so as a back up plan, slog away at school and get a well paid job, when you will be able to afford your own hunters.

To date Plan B has failed for me...so I am thinking of a Plan C....
 
y dont u ask the stables u work at if instead of having lessons u can work so u can borrow a horse for a meet if get wot i mean lol im not the easiest person 2 understand!!! [color:pink] [/color]
 
Other forms of hunting involve hounds working too, not just beagling, you just get a different perspective from a horse.
Besides years ago beagles were also followed on horses. It is the nature of the quarry that will sometimes make it easier to see hounds working on foot or by keeping up with a horse.
 
I'd like the horse part, not the hunting part, gooseman. And EmzChloePony, my stables don't have any horses suitable for hunting, they're either show horses or too old or can't jump!!

Does anybody know of any Minkhound hunts near Stratford on Avon/Alcester? =)
 
Minkhound packs tend to have massive hunt countries to take in enough river basins. You could try the Three Countie who have Herefordshire, Worcestershire & Gloucestershire and go as far up the Avon as Stratford or the Valley Mink Hounds which go more in a Berkshire direction on the Kennet, Thames & Lambourn Valleys.

As M_G rightly says it is entirely on foot, but being the only form of hound activity over the summer is often a good and relatively cheap way of meeting people, seeing close up what houndwork is and an enjoyable way of spending a Saturday afternoon.

I whip in for a pack in East Anglia so if you are interested in knowing more just holloa and I'll do my best to help with any questions. Even if horses are more your thang, mink hounds can be a fantastic way to further your hunting education.
 
Cheers everybody :) I'm currently in the process of attempting to find a job, and it's going okay! Just need to find some smart, comfy shoes now, that's the new problem!

Can't wait till Autumn hunting when I have enough money saved for a hireling :D
 
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