so angry pheasant shooting

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crestagold

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Well today the pheasant shooting was awful - the bangs scared the living day lights out of my two horses - more so then usual. One poor pheasant got so scared flying away from the noise that he hit my window and broke its neck - what a cruel world we live in!
My horses are still cantering now - some of the shooters were sitting on our fence and they could be seen from the house with their guns pointing at the sky.
What to do? Where do I stand? They shot for an hour with no warning and once my horses are cantering round i can't catch them for hours after!
 
Presumably they have permission from a landowner to shoot where they do? Can't you ask for advance notice so you can put your horses away for the hour or so they are there?

I've kept horses on land that had a shoot over it, after a while they don't even notice! At the moment the rape field next to my paddock has a bird scarer in it, 4 bangs every half hour - my two don't even stop grazing
 
With regards to shooting, it brings a fortune to the economy, the birds are, on the whole (on proffesionally run shoots etc, not the tripe the anti's put out - there is a STRICT code of practice all good shoots adhere too) well kept and free range, and game as food is healthy, as well as being a great way to support your local economy.

Whose land are they shooting on?

I would ask them to shove off of your fence, and talk in a friendly way to the gamekeeper and ask if he will let you know when they are shooting next so you can sort your horses out. On the most part, if you approach them politely and in a friendly manner they will be more than happy to help.

We all live in the countryside and love it, shooters have as much right to go about their business as horse riders and ramblers, but like anything if there is an upset, a bit of peaceful negotiation can go a long way.
 
Loads of shooting on the estate next to my yard
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But they let me ride wherever I like on the estate for free so can hardly complain!
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As above ask if they can give you some notice...
 
We have lots of shoots on the estate in the village. All five of the horse got used to it very quickly, including a 2 year old and a rescue pony. They did get a bit excited when the hunt was on the other side of the valley but not enough to bring them in.
 
The yard i was on had a container on it, that was hired out to a bunch of loud and arrogant shooters. The YO obviously knew he was onto a good thing money wise and didn't seem to care that the horses were going mental and in my particular barn style block the shooters were shooting over it causing the empty shells to fall onto the roof and scare the life out of the horses. All over the farm land were tons of cages with poor birds in waiting to be freed to be shot....nice.
 
In fairness, they don't all get shot - ask my dogs, who are constantly putting up and trying to chase and devour the many wild pheasants that escaped the guns and now strut around like they own the place
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It is a huge industry and a cog in the mechanism of country life - if it went, many other pursuits and traditions would follow.
While they are caged for the early parts of their lives, these birds are essentially raised and die in the wild and I vastly prefer this to factory farmed chickens, which have a horrible life and a horrible death.
Without shooting, there would be no spaniels, labradors or indeed ANY gundogs.
These birds are going to die and we are not the only creature who would hunt them - that they die quickly and cleanly by a shotgun cartridge than by some other way.
 
Yes it's a country sport, yes people are entitled to do it blah blah but I personally dont like anything to do with guns, I'm not into banning this that and the other but I dont like killing for "sport", however if you had a hunt/shoot for murdering paedophiles muggers ect I would probably sign up.
 
Just like it is in the horse world, there are people who behave properly when shooting and those that don't have any regard for other people. There is a shoot on a neighbour's field. The first year, the gamekeeper very kindly warned me when their shooting days were just in case I wanted to keep the horses in. But they soon got used to it. Now when they see the beaters arrive and the flags waving, they know what's happening and tend to wander up the far end of the field, away from the bangs before they start. The shooters are always at the bottom of the field, as far away from the horses as possible. Funnily enough - it's not the shooters that sit on our fence - it's usually got lots of pheasants on it on shoot days! I would have a polite word with the gamekeeper and ask him to let you have a list of shoot days as your horses have been frightened and the "guns" have been using your fence as a seat. It is the shoot's interest to keep neighbours happy.
 
[ QUOTE ]
In fairness, they don't all get shot - ask my dogs, who are constantly putting up and trying to chase and devour the many wild pheasants that escaped the guns and now strut around like they own the place
tongue.gif


It is a huge industry and a cog in the mechanism of country life - if it went, many other pursuits and traditions would follow.
While they are caged for the early parts of their lives, these birds are essentially raised and die in the wild and I vastly prefer this to factory farmed chickens, which have a horrible life and a horrible death.
Without shooting, there would be no spaniels, labradors or indeed ANY gundogs.
These birds are going to die and we are not the only creature who would hunt them - that they die quickly and cleanly by a shotgun cartridge than by some other way.

[/ QUOTE ]

Yes i know your right. I guess with most things like this, you have to look at the bigger picture. Still...not on my watch
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My Oh shoots on our land - not frequently - but at least 6 times a year - he shoots rabits, magpiesa and the odd game birds, the horses don't even look up, so I personally would ignore it ( last week this week anyway) and I promise your horses will get totally used to it and what better way of de sensitising them to gunfire - you are safe and they are safely loose in their fields
 
I would certainly ask the gamekeeper to give you some warning, if not a list of shoot dates. My two are quite used to the beaters and guns after so many years of being on this estate, but I can understand why you're upset if it's worrying the horses.

I would NOT, however, want them sitting on my fence. Do you know the gamekeepers? We stay on very good terms with ours and have a lot of dealings with them, as we farm on the same land that they keep on. Always better to have a good relationship and work together in my opinion. I'm sure if you mentioned the fence business to them they would make sure it didn't happen again.
 
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The phesant season finishes on 1st feb. My cousins run a shoot around here, we just ride in the afternoon on saturdays rather than the morning. They are very good though, times when we have been caught out, they will halt the shooting until we are out of the way. And they always drop in a few phessies
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yummy!!
 
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