David Hindle
Bassets Column
David Hindle
David Hindle trained as an agronomist and intended to be a farmer but, on leaving university, went into the agricultural seed industry where he spent the rest of his working life. He is now retired and lives in Lincolnshire. A former Master of the East Lincs Harehounds, he was later a Joint-Master of the Colchester Garrison Beagles before they amalgamated with the Sproughton Foot to become the Stour Valley Beagles. He has been Chairman of the Masters of Basset Hounds Association since 2003.
Basset Hounds
I have always been told that each of us has a book in him or her, and I have spent the best part of the last 12 months writing and publishing mine - about Basset hounds. It has been a fascinating process and a labour of love.
The Hunting Basset by David Hindle
ISBN: 0-947805-40-0
However, I did not dwell in the book on how I was first introduced to them and so I thought, in the absence of Edna Philp (who is abroad), I might write a few lines describing my early days with Bassets, and attempt to convey the absolute joy of hunting with these wonderful hounds. Unfortunately, much of what I will be describing is now, of course, illegal under the terms of the Hunting Act 2004. But I am sure you all realise that.
My wife and I both first “discovered” hunting in the late 1960s with the local Foxhound pack. We began as car followers when our children were very young and too small to follow on foot, and too big to carry. We were always fascinated with the hounds and took delight in watching the pack work, even from a distance.
Then in 1972, a pack of Basset hounds re-located to our area because they were beginning to run out of room in their Hampshire countryside, due among other things to the construction of the M3 motorway. The Master had looked at the map of registered hare-hunting countries, and had seen a blank space in our area. He brought his hounds up and settled here, so we decided to take a look at them. We were immediately captivated and followed them for the next three seasons: at first by car and as the children got older, on foot.
The great joy was to watch the hounds work out the line taken by the hare and, because she usually ran in more or less a rather wide circle, it was possible by using one’s ears and head to more or less keep in touch with the pack and observe much of the real hunting: what I suppose used to be called venery.
This was more difficult when foxhunting, because much of the action took place in coverts, or at least in places which were more difficult to get to on foot. Foxes also tend to run in straight lines. Hare hunting usually took place on open land, was much more accessible on foot, and more visible.
We carried on with the Basset hounds for three good seasons and then, in 1975, the Master decided to move to Ireland. He was, nevertheless, very kindly prepared to leave the rest of us a nucleus of hounds so that we would be able to carry on after he had gone.
There were not many of us, because it had been many years since a foot pack had operated in the area, and our own history had been relatively short. We were somewhat short of experience but, nevertheless, we had much goodwill and were determined to continue.
A few of us got together to form a committee. We met in a pub and nobody appeared to want to take up the role of Master so, consequently, I was more or less cajoled into volunteering to do it. I knew next to nothing, but agreed to do it for the first season. We were all amateurs, but keen to learn and we decided to try and run things as professionally as possible, despite our inexperience. We read a lot of books on the subject, and took a lot of advice!
We found and adapted an old farm building at a convenient location for our kennels, and the hounds arrived in late June. I remember about six of us sitting on a wall at the new kennels trying to learn the names of the hounds. As usual in such organisations, 80% of the work is done by 20% of the people, and so it was with us.
There was a core of about ten of us, which included my wife. In those days she ran the fallen stock service, collecting the flesh in the boot of her car and taking it to kennels. If the animal was a large one she used the hound trailer. The flesh was later skinned by our amateur huntsman (later joint-master), who lived close to the new kennels.
I ran the country and arranged the meets…again, with much help from my wife. The members of the Masters of Basset Hounds Association were very helpful to us with both advice and draft hounds - some of the older hounds proved very useful, but occasionally cantankerous. They obviously thought (and were of course, quite right) that they knew more than we did…
We usually took out hunting between eight and a half and ten and a half couples, and we had a lot of fun. In our first season we were out on thirty five days and, as far as we were aware, made no major mistakes. I cannot remember the tally, but I remember it was then considered “respectable”, and I was asked to stay on.
We decided, that summer of 1976, to show willing and enter some of our hounds in the MBHA annual show at Peterborough and, much to our surprise, we won the bitch championship. However, full credit had to be given to the previous Master, as he had bred the bitch before we took control. Nevertheless, it gave us much encouragement.
Hunting the hare with Bassets was what I considered then (and still do) the cream of all hunting. The Bassets were not slow because they were what is known as English Bassets. In other words, rather like French Bassets, but crossed with a harrier way back to get rid of the crooked legs, very long ears, and the stuffiness associated with the Hush Puppy type. Our hounds were about 16 inches high at the shoulders and more active. On a good scenting day they could be quite difficult to live with unless you were young and fit. Ah…happy days!
The pack in 1978
We took them by invitation each year to meet on the Pennines and were initially concerned about the height of the stone walls, but we need not have worried. They managed very well. When people ask me how hunting the hare with Bassets compares with Beagles, my response is that a pack of Bassets is really more like a collection of like-minded individuals who more or less agree to work together by mutual consent. The Beagle has been around as a pack animal for longer, and the breeding is more stable. I view the Basset as closer scenting; able to stick to the line more truly, and having a better voice. But I do admit to being biased!
David Hindle
The Hunting Basset
This book is to be published in May and is the story of the hunting Basset Hound in Britain. The author is David Hindle, the chairman of the Masters of Basset Hounds Association (MBHA), who has made use of its archives as a source of much of the early material. The book tells the story from the time of the Basset first arriving from France during the second half of the nineteenth century. It explains how the Basset Hound first became popular in the showing world and then why the hunting world went its separate way in 1912 with the formation of the MBHA. Each of the member packs of the MBHA hunting in Britain today is featured and the whole story makes fascinating reading.
The book is in hardback form and extends to over 40,000 words and 180 pages, with a comprehensive appendix. It is illustrated with 114 images in both colour and black and white, some of which are more than 100 years old.
The book will be published privately in a limited numbered edition and the author intends to give any profit from the publication to the MBHA in support of its work. It will be available in May from the address below at the price of £28.00 (inclusive of postage and packing in UK).
Cheques with order please, payable to: David Hindle at:
The Hemmels, Brinkhill, Louth, Lincolnshire LN11 8RA