At home with hounds

What really goes on in hunt kennels? How are hounds exercised and fed? Beanie Sturgis reveals the daily routine for two very different packs of hounds

- Catherine Austen

IS there ever a moment that ignites more passion and excitement in a hunting soul than the sight of a fit, happy pack of hounds bouncing into a meet? The hopes and expectation for a great, a middling, or indeed any sort of day are why we all polish, clean and scrub tack, horses, kit and children. Then we run around trying to get every one to the meet on time while not treading in every muddy puddle before even getting on a horse.

We all know our own routines and timescales, but how much do we really know about what goes on behind the scenes on a hunting morning in the kennels? Does the calm demeanour and immaculate turnout of hunt staff really indicate what has to happen to make such an impact?

Will Goffe hunts the Warwickshire, one of a handful of four-day-a-week packs, and has a fascinating morning every day of the year caring for his hounds. During hunting “proper”, he and his whippers-in, Brodie Lee and Olly Webb, start work at 6 am. While that is a joy to think of at this time of year, the freezing cold, dark winter months are not so glamorous.

“Bassets can have a reputation for being highly sensitive to change and rather stroppy”

The first job of the morning is to wash down the hound yards – one for the bitches, one for the doghounds and another for the hot bitches (those in-season). The hounds are moved out into a holding yard while a high-pressure hose swills down all the mess. A stiff broom does the final finishing touches.