Fernie

Season 2008-09

Up to January 2009

 

 

Hunting this season has continued to go from strength to strength, despite the restrictions of the 2004 Hunting Act.  Most of those who have been hunting will be aware that the three principal exemptions to that Act under which we currently operate are trail hunting, hound exercise and flushing coverts to a bird of prey.  However such activities still very much involve scent, and every hunting person knows this can vary greatly, not only from day to day but also within the individual day itself.  Thus some days still prove to be very much more interesting and exciting than others.  At least we are still operating in the glorious Leicestershire countryside, with the scenting powers of the foxhound and the skill of the huntsman and his assistants (who of course now include the bird operator).

 

During the months of September and October, the young hounds, who have never been in the countryside before, have to be educated about their “responsibilities” (e.g. not chasing sheep etc.), about how to get through thick covert, as to what “scents” are and are not acceptable (albeit some of this comes naturally to them) and about all the other myriad of things which the canine equivalent of a teenage child might have to learn in order to operate acceptably in the countryside.  Many of a hound’s actions are instinctive but others have to be learnt from an early age.

 

During the summer, some of the hounds including some of the young or “unentered” ones, may have made a visit to the show ring, which may well have improved their manners, deportment, confidence and poise.  Their gentleness with humans and their ability to smell certain scents is bred in them, but their own conformation is very much influenced by their breeding.  Hence the apparent mysticism of “old English” bred and “Welsh cross” hounds, which all go to make up the modern British foxhound.  The conformation of the Welsh outcross, so widely accepted in foxhound breeding today, is to be preferred, particularly in respect of durability, but it is interesting that Derek has been noticing of late how often the leading hounds amongst the pack in the field are those with a considerable dose of old English blood in them.  The draw back to combining the best of both is the lack of size of the English compared to the Welsh, which it is almost impossible to breed out.

 

This autumn went well, with almost all the young hounds “entering” well.  We then had a period after the Opening Meet for 5 or 6 weeks through to mid December when scenting conditions seemed to deteriorate and we had few good days.  Over the years this is an oft repeated phenomenon in Leicestershire and may have a lot to do with the cooling down of the ground and particularly of heavy clay soils.  Suddenly around Christmas, we began to have a much better time with some excellent days following the meets at Billesdon (Dec 17), Lubenham Lodge (Dec 23) and the Children’s Meet at Gumley Lodge (Dec 29).  Then the frost came down for a fortnight, which was more of a disappointment to the children and young people in their school holidays, when 4 successive days were lost.  With 5 days lost through frosts (Dec 10 was also lost to frost) – and a further one curtailed by fog from Mowsley on Nov 29, we have so far been more unlucky with the weather than in recent years.  However hounds remain sharp and in good form, and we started again with a particularly nice riding afternoon from Foxton on Jan 17 (after a rather disappointing morning in heavy going).  Let us hope good scenting conditions continue to hold up for the remaining 7 weeks of the season, and that all that hard work put in by Derek and his staff during the long summer months to ensure the proper fitness of horses and hounds through a long and arduous season continues to pay off.

 

Joe Cowen