Horse & Hound’s hunting special issue goes on sale today (27 October).
The 22-page hunting special includes the following features:
- A special souvenir cover
- The first in the Hunt Heroes series
- A full hunt directory of mounted and foot packs in the UK and Ireland
- Embarrassing moments on the hunting field
- The effect of weather conditions on the scenting ability of hounds
- How hunts can survive in times of change
- Families that hunt together
The magazine features a special cover that readers can unfold to see the beauty of the Dartmoor hunt country — a simple reminder that riding to hounds is one of the best ways of being able to cross wonderful countryside.
The nine-page detailed hunt directory provides all the necessary information required to set you up if you want to visit another pack this season. Contacting the hunt secretary is the best place to start and they can usually help with meets and parking arrangements.
Hunting is a great way to spend the day with the family but have you ever wondered just how some families manage to turn out six horses and ponies without appearing to turn a hair? Getting one hunter plaited and turned out immaculately can be hard enough so look out for some top tips on saving time that might come in useful.
For those who have ever had the misfortune of embarrassing themselves on the hunting field — perhaps by failing to do up the girth tightly enough before attempting to mount in front of the master then sliding ungracefully under your horse, or “missing” when being given a leg-up — this is a very entertaining read not to be missed.
Related articles:
- 12 ways to make sure your day’s hunting goes as smoothly as possible
- Misty mornings, tiny tots and golden leaves: autumn hunting 2016
- Huntsman acquitted of GBH ‘should never have been prosecuted’
The finer details of how a huntsman decides which way to take his hounds into a covert or how the weather conditions may influence the order of the draw on a day’s hunting are the subject of former master and huntsman Adrian Dangar’s feature on scent. Meanwhile Frank Houghton Brown tackles the delicate subject of amalgamations and other ways that hunts can survive in difficult financial times.
Opening meets are upon us so let’s make the most of every day following hounds this season so you too can concur with Whyte-Melville when he said: “I freely admit that the best of my fun, I owe it to horse and hound.”
The H&H hunting special is on sale today, 27 October.
