Maybe I’m crazy but...

There are nicer packs. Limited experience but of 3 I’ve been out with, 1 was not my cuppa, 1 was ok - nice enough but a bit disorganised and not great for non jumpers, 1 was really welcoming and friendly and good for non jumpers.
 
Your best bet is to actually go and watch a few meets to get an idea of what goes on. All packs are different and so what might be true of one bloodhound pack in terms of speed and difficulty might not be true of another. So it makes sense to get to know the Pack you intend to hunt with. Most bloodhound packs will list their meets on their website and/or FB page. Bear in mind that as mentioned above we are coming to the end of the season when hounds and horses should be fit and therefore hunts are likely to be more testing than those earlier in the season. As for speed our local bloodhound pack are certainly fairly speedy - although pure Bloodhounds are slow dogs, most hunting Bloodhounds have a dash of foxhound blood to make them quicker!

If you are still interested after viewing a couple of hunts then I would plan to start next autumn when the bloodhound puppy hunting starts. Puppy hunts are where they train the young hounds and are generally less demanding than regular meets. In the meantime have a look at what activities your local pack put on over the summer - sponsored rides and hunt rides are a good way to build fitness and accustom your pony to working in company.
 
Leo Walker said:
I've never been but my local bloodhounds pack has a warning on their website:



not sure I'd be going if I wasnt a brave rider with an experienced horse!
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If it’s the farmers BH then you’re right! Don’t go unless you have a horse that will confidently jump round 3ft+, there’s a couple of ways round gates and things but not often!
I thought I’d gone out on a particularly big day, but turns out it was normal for them! Once was enough...I’ll go again when I have something a bit taller and a bit of tb in it.
 
Sad to read some of the poor experiences from people on here. I’ve hunted with six different packs this season, mixture of drag, trail and bloodhounds. Can honestly say everyone has been so welcoming and friendly, sure you get some odd balls or some with no sense but I’ve certainly no unpleasantness. I have enough faith in the hunting community that when I took my horse to my other half’s for the weekend I was quite happy to go off hunting with a pack I didn’t know, and not a single soul I knew, and feel confident I’d have a good day. I did, though finished it with a broken ankle ;)
 
TBF, Michen, it was probably just me - I tend to bring out people's unpleasant side. It's a talent, if you like ;)

I didn't mean to de-rail the OP's thread, I was trying to be helpful at first, then got a bit distracted!
 
JFTD-WS said:
TBF, Michen, it was probably just me - I tend to bring out people's unpleasant side. It's a talent, if you like ;)

I didn't mean to de-rail the OP's thread, I was trying to be helpful at first, then got a bit distracted!
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I’m sure that’s not the case! It’s interesting to hear as given most hunts struggle with funds to survive, you’d think they would welcome and be very polite to any visitors paying a cap.
 
find your nearest pack of 'trail' foxhounds and go with them, once youve been you will be addicted, the sound once they start to speak - best sound ever!

and for the record there are unfriendly people but thats the same in whatever you do - dressage, SJ non equestrian etc this has been my first offical proper season and ive had the best winter ever! 99.9% of the people are super - you just ignore the idiot/s!

i would start next season now as most people have nearly finished good luck hope you enjoy it
 
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