house hounds 101
Walker Fox Hounds, According to Kate
My personal experience of adopting a retired Walker Fox Hound.
BACKGROUND
There are numerous reasons why a well bred and sought after WFH may become available for adoption. Typically, a young WFH up for adoption simply has little or no interest in Hunting. As they age, they sometimes fall off the pace and can no longer Hunt with the "Young Bucks". In either case, they make amazing domestic pets.
PERSONALITY
I have one data point, but I find the WFH that came my way to be kind, responsive, and very willing to please. He likes routine, having a buddy, and the new domestic life.
Think about it from their point of view. They are used to living in a large pack. It turns out, I already had a dog at home, so she became his anchor. She knows the drill here, he had an instant friend, and in a way she acts as a babysitter when I leave them home alone.
SETTING IT UP FOR SUCCESS
House Training
They are not proven to be house trained as most likely they have never been in a house. So, lots of chances to head outside for a potty break ensures success.
Fencing
WFHs need a fenced area or yard. Any rabbit, squirrel, coyote, etc. can send them on a long journey. They typically do not have a microchip, so it can prove difficult to find them if they stray.
Exercise
They are used to a very active lifestyle as a working Hunt Hound and need lots of exercise. We walk everyday for several miles and his behavior is very mellow, like a surfer dude. I believe if he had little or no exercise, he would be more work. Plus, it is great outdoor exercise for my personal longevity.
Veterinarian Meet and Greet
Have a meeting with your Vet and go over things that working WFHs may not have in place. My WFH needed mani/pedi work and teeth cleaning. He is doing so well with these delayed maintenance items now taken care of.
Microchip
Typically, they do not get microchipped. So find out if they have a chip or not with the help of your Veterinarian, and go from there.
Training
Their on leash training varies. I was lucky, and the WFH I adopted has really good leash manners. Some WFHs have not had as much training and can seem like flying monkeys on the end of the leash. Patience and obedience training or classes will prevail.
ALL IN
WFHs are super sweet and kind. Not as sharp as some other breeds but definitely loyal and low maintenance. They do not ask for much.
National Pony Express Re-Ride 2024
By Christina
Five years ago, I got bored. My riding had closed itself off from the wide open spaces which surrounded me here in Nevada, where 80% of the land is public lands. I had started my young horse and I wasn’t ready to bring her in the ring yet. I went looking for fun things to do and share with her before we “got serious”. One day I stumbled upon the Pony Express Re-Ride event. A couple of weeks later, I was driving my truck and trailer to a map dot down a dirt road at midnight in a town two hours away. What an adventure. I spent the next several hours waiting. I didn’t know then, but I have since learned waiting and waiting well is a key component of the Pony Express Re-Ride. I sat staring up at the stars in their glory, watching as a full moon rose behind the mountains and I waited. In an instant, the waiting was over. Headlights appeared at the top of the mountain and it was time to bridle the young horse and ride! An hour later with the sun rising behind me, I galloped into the handoff with the next rider. She and many helping hands grabbed the mochila, threw it on her horse, mounted her horse and they were gone. I was hooked!
That first year, it was my parents and me doing this crazy, fun thing out in the desert. Five years later, half our Sierra Nevada Hounds group is showing up to try the Re-Ride. This year we welcomed riders from three additional hunts to the Re-Ride. Thank you Dean Withers (Mecklenburg Hounds), Marguerite Tan (Grand Canyon Hounds), and Hannah Clark (Big Sky Hounds). Seventeen SNH riders, 25 foxhunting horses, numerous supporting people and over 150 miles were covered by foxhunters in Nevada.
The Pony Express is a relay and this year it started in St Joseph, Missouri and headed West to Sacramento, California. The Re-Ride runs day and night and stops for nothing. The Nevada Division divides the state into 10 Sections. Each Section needs a Ride Captain and the length of the section varies. This year our Ride Captains Tess (Sections 7 and 6) and Christina (Section 5) took up the challenge of organizing riders.
Monday June 24rd, Sierra Nevada Hounds packed trailers and cars full of people and horses to started the long drive out to a tiny town of Austin, Nevada. Austin has a wonderful rodeo grounds and we were able to overnight about 16 horses in paddocks and stalls. Typical foxhunters, we threw a party that started early and ended far too late.
Our first riders had a pickup point at Grubb’s Well, the start of Section 7 and another pinprick on a map in the middle of the desert. They left the Austin Rodeo grounds about 3 am on June 25th and picked up the mail just before 6 am. The mail moves at about 10 mph. So at 4 am, the next 2 riders left and so on. Thankfully, no one really wanted to sleep because by 6 am, the rest of us decided it was time to feed the remaining horses and humans. By 9 am, a hitch in the plans was discovered when a rider turned left when she should have turned right. That cost us an hour. By noon, the next big group of riders was loading horses and headed out.
The day was (for Nevada) unusually humid. The temperatures were in the mid 90’s and thunderclouds started to build. Nevada monsoon’s are not to be trifled with. Fantastic winds of 90 mph are common, thunder, lightning, rain, hail, flash floods and more are all normal for a monsoon. By 2 pm, we rode straight into the first of the storms marching their way across the desert. It's good incentive to ride faster. The handoff between Section 7 and 6 is at Railroad Pass, originally scheduled for 2 pm, the handoff occurred about 4 pm.
Section 6 is mostly flat, but has one mountain crossing where trailers can’t get through. The rider must make the 15 mile ride without the support of trailers or other riders. And Ride Captain Tess was right when she said it had to be the thoroughbred that took that piece. I had him tacked and ready when the inbound rider galloped up, I think he knew we were running short on time. Because no sooner had I swung a leg than he decided it was time to boogie. The first 4 miles of Spring Creek have about 500 feet of elevation gain, but most of it is in the last ½ mile to the summit. Stopping him for the gates and treacherous footing was a chore, but my worries about his fitness faded with every mile. I briefly met a brown bear and what was either a fox or coyote as I vainly attempted to keep our pace to something that could be maintained. Buddy, we still have 10 miles! We found the ruins of several ranching cabins. We handed off the mail to another SNH member just after 6 pm. She had 7 miles to the drop off with Section 5, where I was supposed to be Ride Captaining! Thank goodness it was more SNH riders for the first 15 miles of Section 5 and I could properly care for my boy.
The Section 6 riders handed off to Section 5 at 7:20 pm. Go Pony Go as the first rider of Section 5 headed out at a ground-eating gallop.
The sun sets in the desert about 8:30 pm right now. With one hour of daylight remaining the Section 5 riders flew along trying to get as much of the section finished before the dark settled. There are no towns, no light pollution, when it gets dark, when the storm rolls across the sky and blocks out the setting sun and the full moon, you can’t see the hand in front of your face. And the lightning was not a reassuring source of illumination. The rain continued to beat down on the riders and the land. The frontage roads which are typically the safest place to ride became quicksand as the playa doesn’t absorb rain. It was a relief when the ground began to rise off the salt flats and gave way to the final mountain in Section 5. Only 6 miles and 1 rider left and it was me. My big black mare has done this ride for the last 4 years and knows this piece of the trail by heart. Which was good because with the rain coming down, my headlamp was a flimsy attempt at lighting the path ahead. With the scheduled handoff time at midnight, my time was running short, we had to gallop.
130 miles later, the last rider of the day handed off the mochila at 11:40 pm on June 25th. Don’t worry that the adventure ended there, because at 3 am on June 26th guess which crowd grabbed the mochila and galloped off again! Good thing no one wanted sleep right?
The mountain passes are difficult terrain, 1000’s of elevation gain or loss within just a mile or so, the trail exists in theory and riders pre-ride the sections and perform any of the trail maintenance or marking that they require to complete their section. Usually, the difficult sections are handled by Pony Express members who have ridden the sections for years and when it is time to turn those sections over, they help the new people learn their way. Other parts of the trail are ridden along the roads. The gravel shoulders provide ample space for a single horse and trusted friends drive their cars close by to prevent accidents.
The flat valleys in our high desert are great places to make up time. The mountains might be rough, but the valleys are sandy and wide open. A great place to have a big galloping thoroughbred or warmblood. Go Pony Go! Is the rally cry!
Sierra Nevada Hounds promised to the Nevada Division of the Pony Express Re-Ride about 150 miles. The SNH riders (and friends) sped across the desert and delivered the mail in exactly the amount of time allotted for the sections we chose. The mail arrived 20 minutes early in Section 7 and we dropped it off to Section 4, 20 minutes early.
