Riding with hounds

Training your dog and horse to accept each other is vitally important for them to co-exist and work together on the farm, says Dr Mac.

- Dr Mac

The expression ‘riding with the hounds’ dates back to a time when a pack of dogs were taken out to hunt foxes, deer or wolves by huntsmen on horseback. The mounted huntsmen managed the hounds, and riders followed the hunt, jumping fences and galloping through streams until the hounds caught their prey. Hunting horses and hounds had to learn to get along with each other. Even today, dogs and horses can be trained to help herd and move farm animals like cattle and sheep. However, horses, like other farm animals, can be chased and bitten by a pack of dogs.