The stupid hunt ....

[Toffee_Monster]

I have always brought in when the hunt go past as Molly used to canter round like a looney and i worried she would hurt herself - then we had a horrid accident .......

About 4 years ago we werent aware and the hunt actually went THROUGH her field but my friend and i arrived to see the hounds and whippers in going through the turnout field. Molly's friend, Bob, was lame as hell from all the galloping and Molly was dripping under her HW rug, the other coblet was dripping also.
We went to get them in and caught them ok but the big coblet barged the gate when he saw the hunt again and all our horses got away from us and ran through the yard, the gate was open (such a rare occasion so god knows why) and off they went.

We were in a hamlet which had a gated road as the only route out but the hunt had left the gate open and Molly and Bergie the cob took flight. They were being chased by the hunt followers in quads which made them worse and they left the hunt and ran for miles down the village roads and at about 5:30pm they crossed the busy A45 !!! Thank god the cob's owner got in front of them just in time to drive into the road to stop the traffic - god knows what could have happened. We caught up with them a good couple of hours of searching later and found them at 8pm in a field some 14 miles away in the pitch black. Thank fully that side of the A45 was a deer park so all enclosed.
Molly had been down 2 cattle grids and skinned her legs but luckily wasn't lame at all - the vet said she was lucky to even HAVE her legs still, let alone not be lame !!
As i ran after her and confronted the hunt they offered me a free days hunting ! GREAT. Only 1 person from the hunt helped us and that was a local lady who got her lorry and brought them home for us. After a couple of letters threatening legal action they paid my vets bills and were apologetic!

Anyway - this was the worst and most scary moment of my horse owning ever and from that day on i always worried about the hunt
Moral of my story is ....
KEEP THEM IN IF THE HUNT ARE DUE TO GO THROUGH - BUT DONT TRY AND BRING THEM IN WHILST ITS GOING ON !!

 

[Guest 2]

Thanks for the replies.
I will see where she jumped may possibly keep her in mondays weds and saturday.
The thing is the hunt yard is about 5 mins away so they could have let the farmer know, they have never come this way around our fields since I have been there usually they do road work
Hopefully it is a one off.

Thanks for the suggestion of higher fences though
Oh and yes any vets bills will be going to them if they have caused any accidents without telling us they were coming our way

 

[BIrish]

Excuse me ? Do the hunt have special rights over the countryside that exclude them from common curtesies observed by other users ? I don't think so. Are farmers supposed to move their livestock, stud farms to move their herds because the hunt are pursuing a leisure activity ? Can I gallop my horse through fields of sheep,cattle, or alongside other peoples grazing horses or children leading horses in from the field ?

Thats a little strong

Of course people aren't expected to move animals about etc for the hunt to do their thing.. whether you do or not is up to you. It's all about risk assessment .. things happen around horses & handlers all the time that aren't always what we would want (Artics ? Boy racers ?) but we deal.

i.e Stan is an angel 99% of the time. Anybody can handle him. But if I had mad roadworks on the road by the yard gate I would recognise this as a risk and not let my child/inexperienced handler lead him.. Hunts like other things are an outside influence they have no right to dictate what you do but neither have you any right to dictate what they should do..

 

[spamchops]

Keep my horse in three days a week just so the poxy hunt can do their thing? I don't think so. But then, there is no way on earth I would ever let them on any land I owned anyway...

 

[Cate Ged]

So far in my experiance, which is only one hunt and at least 10 years ago they are like the pheasant shotters they go where they want, they were NOT allowed on our land but still tried!, and showed no concern for people or animals, galloping through a field of sheep was not a problem the dogs got them to move out the way or they would get stood on.

As for the fact the hunt will pay my vets bill if damage occurs! Sorry but I don't see why I had to worry about the damage in the first place due to them being inconsiderate and silly. (However as I said this was in the past and things may have changed)

And it was my yard that they rode over between my house and the stables, they were not too impressed when they realised that the gate was locked and they couln't get up to the hill anymore what a shame!

I would like to think that hunts would nowadays let people know when and where they are going to say that it's to put the sabs off, well they just follow anyway, and I think that mine and my horses and other animals lives are worth far more than a few people having fun,

 

[mikh]

Excuse me ? Do the hunt have special rights over the countryside that exclude them from common curtesies observed by other users ? I don't think so. Are farmers supposed to move their livestock, stud farms to move their herds because the hunt are pursuing a leisure activity ? Can I gallop my horse through fields of sheep,cattle, or alongside other peoples grazing horses or children leading horses in from the field ?

My point simply was if you don't want your horse tagging along with the hunt bring them in or move them for those who ar eon grass. You can gallop where you want that's up to you. The hunt presumably was only on the land because they have negotiated it with the land owner, hence why some preperation would have avoided a horse deciding to tag along, I'm sure the land owner knows when the hunt is going to using their land...

 

[gordysgirl]

My point simply was if you don't want your horse tagging along with the hunt bring them in or move them for those who ar eon grass. You can gallop where you want that's up to you. The hunt presumably was only on the land because they have negotiated it with the land owner, hence why some preperation would have avoided a horse deciding to tag along, I'm sure the land owner knows when the hunt is going to using their land...

Yes but you can understand a horse owners frustration if they had no idea the hunt were coming..which is applicable to this situation. As a rider would you not consider other people or animals on land you are on or adjacent to? I would. If I thought me fying past a horses field at speed was going to upset it I would slow down.

 

[mikh]

Yes but you can understand a horse owners frustration if they had no idea the hunt were coming..which is applicable to this situation. As a rider would you not consider other people or animals on land you are on or adjacent to? I would. If I thought me fying past a horses field at speed was going to upset it I would slow down.

When I put my first post there was no mention of liveries not knowing, personally I do show a lot of consideration for others and their horses. I woudln't be taking the blame on the hunt but land owner/livery yard manager for lack of comms. At my old yard all hunt dates were known well in advance, especially if there was any chance of them passing us.

 

[Cate Ged]

Only handy if the local hunt are willing to tell you when they will be out your way. It is not always possible to leave your horse in the stable evertime the hunt are out just in case they happen to ride past..

 

[mikh]

Only handy if the local hunt are willing to tell you when they will be out your way. It is not always possible to leave your horse in the stable evertime the hunt are out just in case they happen to ride past..

I'm sure if you explained to YO that you'd appreciate if they could stress to the hunt the importance of them letting you know they would. They obviously don't want a loose horse trying to join in the parade, and they are horse lovers/owners so will prob be sympathetic. And you're right it's not possibly to prepare for every eventuallity but maybe higher fencing would help.

 

[Cate Ged]

My experiences, as explained above, took place a good few years ago when we had our own small farm, we, parents and myself (was only a kid) asked the hunt repeatedly when they were coming out our way. Most times we found out when they were either galloping up OUR drive, they new they were not allowed on our land after the incident in the field, or when they would gallop up the horses field or alongside it, never once saw them walk past our livestock. The hunt new how important this was, my friend and I ran the high risk pf being killed that day in the field but basically they didn't care.

However this was a good few years ago not now, I would like to think things have changed, and if the hunt don't tell you when they are going past after being asked and do cause any damage to yourself or to horses then I would say seek legal advice.

 

[ameliet1971]

...due to incidents with hunt sabotours (of which Ottis has had experience with & landed him in jail!!!).

I'd like to point out that Ottis Ferry is not behind bars for the robbery and assault charge but because he allegedly tried to pervert the course of justice.

Also, the person he allegedly attacked and robbed was a hunt monitor, not a saboteur..big difference!!!!

 

[poppy 99]

The hunt presumably was only on the land because they have negotiated it with the land owner, hence why some preperation would have avoided a horse deciding to tag along, I'm sure the land owner knows when the hunt is going to using their land...

Sorry but hunts regularly go where they are not supposed to! My friend was asked permission to ride on her land, she said no but they went across it anyway. This is not the only example I know of. Also why should paying livery customers change routine to accomodate the hunt? I would be furious if I had to. They should show more respect to land owners, horse owners and road users. AND so what if they might pay the vet bills of injured horses, the horses shouldn't have been put in the position that they became injured in the first place!

 

[Camyds]

Thanks for the replies.
I will see where she jumped may possibly keep her in mondays weds and saturday.

sorry, i dont know how to multi quote on replies....

WHY???? on earth should you need to do that? I would be most ANGRY, if i needed to do that....my hoss needs to be on the move for his health!!!!

xxxkristinaxxxwrote.....

Thanks for the suggestion of higher fences though

Camyds wrote.....

Why??? should you have to pay to make your fences higher than normal keepers of livestock, most fences are 3ft, unless you keep deer

Guest2 wrote....

Oh and yes any vets bills will be going to them if they have caused any accidents without telling us they were coming our way[/QUOTE]

Camdys wrote......

Rite, dont fancy your chances of getting a payout

 

[peppip]

I never had any problem with the hunt, they came over land next to ours and my old mare was very excited, and they thought she was going to jump out and follow them so after that they phoned us the night before and gave warning that they would be riding our way. They also invited me to join the hunt but I declined.
That was 20 years ago so perhaps things have changed.

 

[colettybetty]

Thats a little strong

Yeah, twas, I surprise myself sometimes. To be honest, I'm all for people enjoying themselves, but get a little miffed when ambassadors for the hunt are disrespectful to the local community.A little bit of thoughtfulness goes a long way.

 

[Guest 2]

xxxkristinaxxxwrote.....

Thanks for the suggestion of higher fences though

Camyds wrote.....

Why??? should you have to pay to make your fences higher than normal keepers of livestock, most fences are 3ft, unless you keep deer.

Found out which bit I think it was and it was a bit lower than usual. So I could sort it out so she doesn't try it again.


We have now told them to let us know when they are going to be here again(in advance).
I think boxing day is a definate though by the sounds of it.

 

[Gimp]

I have always brought in when the hunt go past as Molly used to canter round like a looney and i worried she would hurt herself - then we had a horrid accident .......

About 4 years ago we werent aware and the hunt actually went THROUGH her field but my friend and i arrived to see the hounds and whippers in going through the turnout field. Molly's friend, Bob, was lame as hell from all the galloping and Molly was dripping under her HW rug, the other coblet was dripping also.
We went to get them in and caught them ok but the big coblet barged the gate when he saw the hunt again and all our horses got away from us and ran through the yard, the gate was open (such a rare occasion so god knows why) and off they went.

We were in a hamlet which had a gated road as the only route out but the hunt had left the gate open and Molly and Bergie the cob took flight. They were being chased by the hunt followers in quads which made them worse and they left the hunt and ran for miles down the village roads and at about 5:30pm they crossed the busy A45 !!! Thank god the cob's owner got in front of them just in time to drive into the road to stop the traffic - god knows what could have happened. We caught up with them a good couple of hours of searching later and found them at 8pm in a field some 14 miles away in the pitch black. Thank fully that side of the A45 was a deer park so all enclosed.
Molly had been down 2 cattle grids and skinned her legs but luckily wasn't lame at all - the vet said she was lucky to even HAVE her legs still, let alone not be lame !!
As i ran after her and confronted the hunt they offered me a free days hunting ! GREAT. Only 1 person from the hunt helped us and that was a local lady who got her lorry and brought them home for us. After a couple of letters threatening legal action they paid my vets bills and were apologetic!

Anyway - this was the worst and most scary moment of my horse owning ever and from that day on i always worried about the hunt
Moral of my story is ....
KEEP THEM IN IF THE HUNT ARE DUE TO GO THROUGH - BUT DONT TRY AND BRING THEM IN WHILST ITS GOING ON !!

Jesus christ almighty

I find it disgusting also that they 1, went through a turnout field.. what were they thinking!!
2, argued over vets bills!!
3, offered a days hunting !!!!!!!
4, sounded very unconcerned and unaware of what they had actually done... !

 

[Toffee_Monster]

yes it was horrid I have never been so distraught in all my life and not a situation that i EVER wish to be in again.

Once i'd taken legal advice and sent a few letters to the master / sec / h&h things eventually got sorted pretty quickly and the master even came to see Molly and apologised

But i do think that if they put a sign up on the gates of local yards before they went through things would be MUCh safer and easier - especially now they follow a laid trail and not just wherever a running fox wants to go !

 

[BIrish]

I last replied to this thread this afternoon.. and now reading through it I am quite shocked that people are so convinced that the hunt should be responsible for the reaction of other peoples horses

Why should they ? They are an outside influence and how you deal with their presence is your responsibility. I can't imagine there would be all this negativity if there was a farmer making an unholy row with a combine harvester over the hedge and causing horses to belt about the place.. I assume people would just think.. "better get the horses in until he's finished" ..

If you don't allow them on your land then thats fine but you can't really complain if they are on next doors land - can you ? really ? Surely you just have to accept it, deal with it and be done with it ?

We have a popular, well subscribed shoot roughly 1/4 mile from the end of our valley field.. used to send the horses dotty (they are as gun proof as working labs now) .. I don't want them shooting on our land but I would never whinge that just because they are shooting the coverts above our little valley that they should not due to upsetting the horses.. I have no right to complain and I chose to move the horses the first few times.. and no.. they didn't tell us.. first we knew was when it suddenly sounded like the landing at Dunkirk outside on a Sat afternoon