Matthew Higgs
Beagles Column
Matthew Higgs
We take hounds to several shows through the year either putting them in a pen or parading with them in a ring. It can be a chore and is certainly tiring (I write after spending two days with hounds at shows!) but is, I believe, part of the duties of any pack
I’m firmly of the opinion that our hounds are our greatest allies in the struggle to put harehunting’s case before the general public and we should miss no opportunity of letting people see for themselves they are the marvellous creatures we know them to be.
I prefer to have hounds in a pen rather than just parading them and if we are only doing the latter am always anxious to allow the public into the ring as soon as is possible into the display.
While the foxhounds can put on a wonderful show galloping around the ring (the memory of the late Tom Teanby, huntsman at the Fitzwilliam, flying around the ring at Peterborough with his hounds all but in full cry lives long in my memory) it is hard for a pack of beagles to mirror that excitement and there is little merit in endlessly circling the ring in decreasing circles while a boring hunt history is intoned.
The worst parades create an image of hounds as the ravening beasts of the anti’s imagination, corralling them up in a tight group and giving the impression that they need to be kept away from the public at all costs.
It would be worth masters and staff immersing themselves in the crowd when another pack is parading because you can learn much from peoples reaction to behaviour we might see as unremarkable. One whip flailing whipper in, one hound dragged or worse still picked up unsupported by its scruff, undoes all the good a parade might otherwise do to improving our public perception.
My particular dislike is to see a pack emerging into the ring having obviously not been walked out beforehand and then emptying themselves all over it. That can win few friends I feel! We carry plastic bags with us against the inevitable hound that slips through every attempt to wring it out before we arrive at the show and clear up after them as appears to be the norm now among every urban dog owner.
It, of course, should be de rigeur in an urban setting but it appals me how the countryside at home is littered by little plastic bags of sh**, some even thoughtfully hung up in the bushes, by dog owners walking their darlings. If you are going to pick it up in the countryside for God’s sake take it with you (though perhaps not hooked onto the tow hitch of your car as we witnessed the other day!).
I feel it is important to convey the charm of our hounds to the watching public and to this end it is sometimes necessary to relax discipline a little. As annoying as it might be to see a hound slipping off to another pack when several are in the ring together it does not merit frantic waving of whips and shouts of anger and equally if you suffer the ignominy of losing the lot to another huntsman the best reaction is to laugh and treat it as a joke. While it is impressive to see hounds return strictly to their respective packs after they have been muddled up while children are in the ring if it is beyond one or more packs it is best to do it back at the boxes and not in the ring, as unsuccessfully attempted it can be an unedifying spectacle.
Beagles huntmen at Lowther 2007
One “jolly” we have adopted at some shows where the ring is big enough is to let the children run with the hounds, it gets quite chaotic but both beagles and children seem to love it and both get under the huntsman’s feet!
My preference is to have hounds in a pen as it enables you to engage with the public more and correct their preconceptions (though it does get boring endlessly explaining that no, the grizzled bitch in front of them is not a puppy!). Ideally children ought to be able to get into the pen with hounds.
The experience has more impact on them and the passers by who see beagles and children in fond embrace than anything we can do in the ring. It is hard work and some children and their parents can be extremely wearing (the lack of parental control or sense can be astonishing, several times we have had to rescue tiny babies that have been dropped into the middle of the pack without any preamble or inquiry as to whether it is a good idea and manners can be at a premium!) but it is very rewarding.
In all honesty we get few questions about hunting and the link between the hounds and the sport is tenuous in most peoples minds unless you emphasise it to them but the obvious docility and tolerance of the hounds is a powerful force for the good.
We usually take just bitches (doghounds are apt to water the odd unsuspecting leg!) and most enjoy the attention. It is also a good idea to ask the show to provide some antiseptic wipes or at least know where the nearest washing facilities are as, to this antique correspondent at least, the modern child’s obsession with “cleanliness” is extreme beyond comprehension!
There was an Association of Masters of Harriers and Beagles judging course at our kennels earlier in the month. I think it went quite well. Steve Batchelor, the Stour Valley huntsman and his son James brought some of their hounds over and we spent an enjoyable afternoon poring over a variety of hounds in the sun.
With luck this and the next course at the Dummer kennels will widen the choice of judges available for both puppy and the major shows and I urge the various show committees to look at the AMHB “ judges list” before making their choices for judging next year- there are some good youngsters coming up through the ranks.
Under the chairmanship of Nick Bannister and with the enthusiasm of our Director Lizzie Salmon the AMHB has really embraced the promotion of our sport and the need to involve the many keen youngsters there are about more fully.
The AMHB has recently revamped its website at www.amhb.org.uk which has both public and members only sections. It is well worth a look and at the beginning of the showing season has some excellent diagrams of good and bad hound conformations.
Matthew Higgs