What if hunting blows my perfect horse's mind? (long, sorry)

[RedVendetta]

Ive done a fair bit of Drag hunting with the North East Cheshire and I love it, and know what to expect. I did that with my super connemara pony who I have now sold for a bigger version.

My horse is a showjumper. I have taken him to XC courses and comps as well, and he was fine, but I prefer showjumping and so does he. He's careful, scopey and calm and very fast in a jump off. He's my dream horse. He's 11 and never hots up.

I love hunting as well but due to most of my spare cash going into showjumping I tend to stick to that. Our yard is run by people who are very involved with the hunt and I would love to take my current horse out as the hunt goes very locally and there's even a hunt from our yard.

But..... what if it blows my horse's mind and ruins his calm attitude?? I know he won't bolt or do anything stupid but he can rear if he gets too excited or nervous. I dont think it would be dangerous to hunt him, I just worry I might lose the wonderful showjumping attitude he has. Is this possible or am I being a complete numpty? I have heard of it affecting horses before, and Id rather not hunt if that was the case as Id probably only hunt once or twice a season anyway.....

Let me know what you think, especially the seasoned hunters!!

Thanks

 

[lauraanddolly]

I can't see it would do any harm really, but to be honest you'll never know until you try! I doubt one day hunting would make that much difference to his attitude! Then you will get to see how he copes with it - and make a decison on whether to go again or not as the case may be.

 

[Starbucks]

I had a horse that I SJed and evented - I had a seperate hunter (lucky me!!) at the time so I didn't need to take him but fancied a go anyway. I canconfirm it DID blow his brain and he really did scare me a lot!! :crazy: I think I was out for all of 15 minutes!

However - it didn't affect him in any other way afterwards. Some horses can't cope with the excitement of hunting but it doesn't mean they loose the plot in every other apect of their lives.

Just go for it!! Horses are there to have fun on!

 

[Nats_uk]

I have a very sharp and spooky WB who doesn't have any balls when it comes to XC fences and can be very spooky with fillers SJ. He has always made a very lovely shape over a SJ fence (currently jumps 1.10 tracks) and also does dressage currently up to Elementary level.

I took him hunting for the first time last winter and I was very nervous as I thought it might blow his brain but he absolutely loved it :grin: I ended up putting him in a pelham so I could have brakes, he was always at the front of the pack, jumped ditches like a stag but was an angel and stood still when the other horses did.

This year I took him to Ely RC ODE and for the first time ever we went clear round the XC and came individual 6th :grin: It has made him very lively in laps of honour now as when the others go he wants to go but it hasn't affected his SJ (apart from possibly making him a bit bolder) or his dressage at all. I am def. going again this year.

 

[RedVendetta]

Perhaps I should give it go at local hunt then I can hack him home if he starts playing up, and hopefully it wont affect hm too much! Im doing pairs XC this weekend so if he behaves for that Ill give the hunt a go.
Thanks for your help, any more advice is greatly appreciated x

 

[runaway]

If it is going to "blow" his brain IMHO it wont be a long term issue. Just be prepared that he may be a different horse for up to x months afterwards. All horses are different so any one persons experience is going to vary. My Dads horse was terrible hunting to the point dad gave up going - a yr or so on the same horse is now whipping in with my dad and has done so for the past 3 seasons!! Make sense of that - he's an absolute gent now and a fantastic whips horse. He does still look for hounds a day or so after going tho!

My mum's old horse did change after dad took him hunting and it ended up with mum giving up riding him but then she was a nervous rider anyway. He didn't do anything serious but he did have more oumph afterwards.

Your idea of taking him when they're near the yard is good. Just see how you go and take things at your pace, by that I mean don't feel you have to be tight up with everyone. Give yourself some pace and follow at a distance if you want. If you're not happy go home.

Above all have fun - what else is having a horse ment to be?

 

[Chumsmum]

It did blow my quiet pony's mind to a certain extent - he gets more excited in company than he did before - but we only went a couple of times so can't really tell if he would have settled down - he now has Bone Spavin and hunting is a no-no. I accidently set off the alarm on my mobile the other day (hunting horn) and he went bonkers, galloping around the field and looking for the hunt - he has only been twice with me but boy did he remember!

However, I would still say go and try it, the horses love it so much.

Have a great time!

 

[RedVendetta]

Ill report back once Ive been, which will hopefully be the 4th October from the local pub! I can hack back if necessary and my friend is coming with me and OH will follow in his car so if I need to come back on the main road alone he can chaperone me!
Thank you!

 

[Minnies_Mum]

My dad hunted my loan horse and it didn't really make her any different to ride, but if she heard dogs barking she went nuts, thinking she was going to a meet. Trying to do dressage at a venue where the beagles are kept next door was an interesting experience!

 

[RedVendetta]

Well Ive decided not to take him hunting, too much risk - took him pairs XC yesterday with my old pony and his current owner (the one I used to hunt!) and although we went clear my horse thought it was highly amusing to throw in excited bucks all the way round and run off with me. He was going way too fast and that was with only one horse in front of him!!

 

[Starbucks]

That is a shame.