What do I need to wear?

Please be smartly turned out. For hunting that means a black coat (ladies may wear blue), black velvet covered hat, beige or tan breeches, long boots and a white or ivory stock.

Children may wear hacking jackets, ties and jodhpurs.

For hound exercises members of the mounted field wear a tweed coat and tie.

For the hunt rides we run through the summer you can wear whatever you like.

I've never hunted before and I don't have all the correct 'kit'. What can I do?

We don't expect you to spend a fortune just to come and try hunting with us. If you do your best to look smart no one will mind if you don't have everything.

My horse has never hunted before. Do you have any advice?

If you want to try a more low-key day to start with we would recommend coming on one of the hunt rides we run through the summer or on hound exercise in the autumn. However all of our meets have a non-jumping as well as a jumping field master and there will be plenty of people on hand to help and advise if you have any problems.  

Hirelings are available from Deb Kane 07814372383.

I would like to jump but I'm a little nervous. Are there any options for me?

We have both a jumping and a non-jumping field so you always have the option to go round anything you don't like the look of. If you let your field master know that you would like to jump but only the smaller stuff, they will be happy to let you know when a smaller jumping line is coming up.

Where can I buy knee boots? 

The Four Shires Bloodhounds does not endorse any one make of knee boots and there are a variety of types you can buy.  A few examples are given below, others may be available.

• Saddler Robert Hepworth custom makes wide-coverage leather knee boots designed for jumping.  He can be contacted on 01777 248541.
• Jeffries Jumping Knee Boots.  Jeffries make a skeleton knee boot with elastic side straps designed for jumping.
• Your local saddler may also be able to make up knee boots for you in leather.

Important

You should be aware that jumping stone walls comes with risks that the use of safety equipment goes some way to mitigate, but can never completely remove.  All boots can fail and you should make your own enquiries as to the boots most suitable for your own horse.

Please do feel free to contact our hunt secretary for any other questions on This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..  She will be very happy to help.