Posted by David Bamford on November 05, 2002 at 22:09:00 from 203.10.110.131 user David.
In Reply to: Re: FOX HUNT posted by Peter H on November 05, 2002 at 20:48:14:
Well, being on the antpodean side of the world and safe from the British Press, I will try to clarify acouple of points for Ed.
1. Foxhunting is a social occasion, much like going to the horse races so that you can be seen there. It is/was participated in by the relatively affluent who could afford to keep a horse for the purpose. The horses are/were specially bred for the purpose and were called "hunters". I suspect that the steeplechase races originated out of the foxhunting. The object of the exercise was to keep up with the hounds without falling off your horse.
2. Foxhunters are not beloved of farmers, who could have a cereal crop ruined by a bunch of indifferent horsemen and women ploughing their way through it, not to mention damage to hedges.
3. The Foxhounds are also bred and kept for the purpose.
4. The red coats [which are called "pinks", by the way], are a sort of equivalent of "Fashions on the Field" at the horseraces.
4. Henry Williamson wrote magnificent accounts of this practice as he saw it just after the Great War. He was a wonderful observer, and wrote many stories of British wildlife, the best known of which is "Tarka The Otter". He wrote with great sympathy for the fox.