Draghounds

Most Drag Hunting packs make use of The English Foxhound, this breed has a long documented history indeed there is proof that Foxhounds were the very first canines in Great Britain to be scientifically bred.

The Bloodhound is of more ancient origin but at the end of the 17th Century a quicker hound was required to hunt wild deer and people devoted to the chase, mainly members of the nobility and large landowners, began to breed for this purpose. By 1710 hounds were to be found in packs, carefully bred and at this time some of the hunts had changed to hunting the fox. Breeding was carried out on scientific principles. Mr Charles Pelham later the first Lord Yarborough was the first to start keeping lists of hound pedigrees and ages.

So when you stand and admire our Draghounds have a little respect – he knows his ancestry far down the years – much further than many of us can trace ours!

Within the Foxhound breed are sub groups breed specifically for particular types of country or terrain:

• OLD ENGLISH- Sturdy and steady with great persistence at working a faint scent slowly.
• FELL- Lighter and more agile which cast freely and rapidly. Bred to cope with steep hills.
• WELSH- Tough and rough coated to resist gorse and thorns.
• MODERN ENGLISH- Bred from a mix of the above, lighter weight than Old English and, hopefully, combining the best features of all of them.
• DUMFRIESSHIRE- A black and tan breed unique in the UK bred to hunt in the rugged hills of the Scottish Borders. They have French blood.
• KERRY BEAGLE- A smallish tough black and tan breed of the Ryan family hunt, The Scarteen in County Tipperary, Ireland
  

Drag Hunts generally make use of the Modern English type bred for speed and persistence they can be a mix of colours from black, tan & white to lemon and white, and pie spotted coats. They are large dogs, powerful in build with large bones. The large brown eyes tend to have a sweet far off expression and they carry their tails (sterns to be more correct) with much animation.

The English Foxhound makes an excellent Drag Hound they are bold passionate hunters who love to follow a drag line and also to bay – there is nothing more thrilling (except perhaps the Bloodhounds voice) than to hear a pack of Foxhounds pick up the scent of the laid line and voice their excitement and enthusiasm, adrenalin pumping stuff for both horse and rider! They are of course pack animals, who must be trained to work together, obey their huntsman and whipper-ins, their natural instinct to scent makes them ideal for Drag hunting and they soon learn to work to the artificial scent that Drag Packs use to lay a line. The Mid Surrey Draghounds are kennelled by the Old Surrey and Burstow and West Kent Hunt at their kennels in Felbridge, West Sussex under the expert eye of Mark Bycroft their huntsman.