The Cobbydog Boys
Cobbydog: Big Enough to Cope - Small Enough to Care
by Midge Todhunter
l-r: Cobbydog staff Danny Leigh, Eddy Horner, Chris Leigh, and Mark Houte
Cobbydog’s Hunt Kennel Mix: if you haven’t heard of it, you’re not close enough to the coal face of hunting, as this hound food made by E&S Feeds in Yorkshire supplies more than 100 hunt kennels across Britain. And as the slogan on the bag says: “3,000 hounds can’t be wrong.”
E&S supply three Cobbydog hound mixes: Hunt Country Mix, Hunting Kennel Mix, and Summer Mix. Most used is the Hunt Kennel Mix, a complete balanced daily diet, rich in good protein for the working hound - although the protein content can be lowered for the less active summer months. The Mixes contain 26 ingredients, to numerous to call here. And the secret ingredient? Good old-fashioned beef dripping…
“Yorkshire is the dripping capital of the world,” says Eddy Horner, senior partner of E&S Feeds. “It is human consumption-quality dripping we use, so it’s the very best, and only available in the quantities we need, in this area. This top quality protein is what our reputation has been built on.
“We strive to make kennel foods that do the job well, and our best accolades are when the huntsmen tell us their hounds come back from hunting - still with some energy in the tank. It’s a balanced diet, with all the vitamins and minerals needed, but it’s the quality of the protein in our Mixes that provides sustained energy.
“We don’t use the traditional meat-and-bone meal - we only use meat, and the calcium, etc; traditionally from the bone-meal part, are in the other ingredients we add - some of which we make ourselves here at our West Yorks, Keighly plant.
Eddy explains: “It’s little known that canine cannot digest raw cereals - it can’t digest the cellulose, so we only use cooked cereals in our feeds. It’s probably why some of the huntsman using the earlier bagged hound feed commented that: “the problem with bagged feed is - it’s all on your kennel yard next morning. But that doesn’t happen with our cereals, as they’re all pre-cooked.”
Danny Leigh with proteins E&S
produce for other manufacturers
Cobbydog was began 34 years ago by Eddy Horner, an engineer by trade, and his brother-in-law Stephen Leigh who was a butcher. (sadly, Stephen died in August 2009). The idea came when Stephen had left-over meats at his butcher’s shop, and they began a small business of supplying meat to local kennels.
Next they were asked for more comprehensive dog foods, so they began producing dried dog food to order. These needed animal protein, so the two partners tapped into the local market of beef dripping and began manufacturing their own brands, including the opportunity to make specialised foods for show dogs, etc. And the E&S Feeds Partnership was up and running. The partnership firm now provides jobs and a good living for six members of the family. In terms of growth, cannot export due to restrictions on animal protein etc; so they are now where they want to be. A happy little family firm.
The hound feed section came some 10 years later, again in response to an order. Eddy said: “Michael Hedley at the Border Foxhounds was one of the first to use our feeds when they stopped their flesh round in 1985, and it’s been word of mouth since then.”
John Goode, huntsman of the Brocklesby Foxhounds in Lincolnshire, said: “Our 44 couple of hounds are fed the Kennel Mix all year round; our hounds thrive on it, they look well, and hunt well - proof of the pudding is in the eating.”
Eddy says: “We knew at the outset we had access to the better quality protein; that was the deciding factor, and cereals are easy to source. We knew if hunting hounds were fed regularly on this diet based on best quality protein, (cooked only) cereals, dried blood, etc; they would thrive, keep their condition, and have lots of working energy. It’s also a very easily digestible, balanced food, so the hound gets the full benefit.
“We began by including a far more extensive range of vitamins and minerals in our feeds than most others put in their top quality dog food. And we still do this today. We also pellet and supply our own quality protein to other dog food manufactures, which is now a sizeable part of our business."
The E&S Cobbydog works is a busy little place, has four different plants going all the time: two machines processing protein, one machine making hunt kennel mix and other dog foods, and another machine packing into bags.
And the secret to success? “Two main factors,” says Eddy, “The unique quality of our protein, and word of mouth marketing – it’s that simple.”
Eddy Horner
Our Eddy
Eddy’s dulcet tones over the telephone will be familiar to most, but few have met this Cobbydog main man. He’s as warm as his voice suggests, and he’s one of those people who are natural born salesman. He doesn’t have to try. And he says he plans to make more time for visiting hound shows to meet all the hunt staff who use Cobbydog Feeds.
He’s an engineer by trade, starting with textile engineer, then went to the high sea for five years as a marine engineer, the worked in the Health Service as a Hospital engineer. This ability, he says, pays off when installing new machinery into the plant.
Feed Stats
One bag of Cobbydog will feed one couple of foxhounds for three weeks
- Cobbydog have an agent in the West Country: Bandcock & Evered in Somerset.
- Contact: Tom Horn 01984 640412
The Great Soaking Debate
Some huntsmen soak the Kennel Mix a while before feeding it; others don’t. So what does the manufacturer say?
Eddy: “I would advise to soak the Kennel Mix for at least an hour before feeding. That way you double the bulk of the feed at no extra cost, and the hound gets its proper amount, rather than gulp it down dry and then be constantly going to water so that it swells up inside them."