THE TRAIL HOUND

CHAPTER XVIII

THE trail hound is a product of the North Country, whose ancestry dates back to the time of the old Trail Hounds, which were originally bred from the earliest existing type of fox-hound. He is bred and trained specially for racing, and is a light-boned hound of the fell type. His business is to run a drag in competition with other hounds, and the sport is known as hound trailing. His master is usually a working man, for comparatively few of the sporting “gentry” go in for keeping trail hounds.

Hound trailing, or hound racing, is a summer sport, which helps to tide over the time between one fox-hunting season and another. Hound trails are held at most of the local shows and sports meetings, and it being then the “season” in the Lakes, tourists and visitors are more familiar with this branch of sport than they are with winter fox-hunting.

While the majority of trail hounds are bred with the object of producing a real “flier” on the drag, occasionally one or more of a litter refuse to run it, and may find their way to the fox-hound kennels. Every owner lives in the hope of breeding a prospective champion like the late “Wyndham,” a hound famous in the annals of Lakeland sport. A trail hound is nothing more than a well put together fox-hound of the fell type, light of bone, with hare feet, and well let down and strongly muscled behind. As he is used solely for racing, he should possess plenty of stamina and courage, and as much pace as possible. His nose is not called upon to any very great extent, for the drag, consisting of aniseed, turpentine, and paraffin is strong, and generally lies breast high so that hounds can run with heads up, and sterns down.

The speed at which trail hounds run is remarkable, when one considers the rough country and the steep gradients over which the average trail is laid. Hounds have been timed to do 15½ miles an hour, on a course which rose to 1,250 feet in the first mile and a half, after which came a steep descent, and then another rise of 400 feet, followed by the long run downhill to the winning point. A fox-hound bitch drafted from a Midland pack as being too fast, could not come within three minutes of the trail hounds over a distance of six and a half miles.

Except for puppies, no trail shall be less than eight miles, the trail being laid as near as can be estimated of half an hour. Should the trail be under 25 minutes or over 40 minutes, the prize money may be withheld according to the decision of the Committee. The sport is held under the auspices of the “Hound Trailing Association.” All hounds are registered in the books of the Association, while the men who lay the trails are licensed annually by the Committee. Where practicable, all trails are required to have a straight run in of not less than a quarter of a mile for the finish. All sorts of out-crosses have been tried in an attempt to improve trail hounds. Pointer blood was at one time resorted to, in order to make hounds carry their heads higher. Grey-hound, blood-hound, and even Russian retriever has been used, the latter however proving a rather expensive failure, as the hounds so crossed exhibited a decided penchant for mutton on the hoof. This fault is of course fatal in a district where Herdwicks swarm all over the open fells. As a trail hound does not do his three days per week like the fox-hounds, his owner has therefore to keep him in condition for race running. His condition depends on the amount of time his trainer can devote to the business. Proper feeding, plus practice trails and road-work keep him right inside, open his pipes, and harden his feet.

Owners and trainers have their own pet methods of getting hounds fit, some of which are rather carried to extremes. It is seldom one sees a trail hound with a really good coat, many of them having the appearance of being hide-bound. This is to some extent the result of clipping hounds, under the fond impression that by so doing they will run faster. As a hound sweats chiefly through his tongue, and the hair cut off weighs practically nothing, clipping simply has the result of ruining the hound’s appearance, for a coat once clipped, and often very badly clipped at that, never grows to its original perfection again. Condition does not mean a tight skin and a skeleton appearance, as some folk seem to imagine. More than one Waterloo Cup winner—to turn for a moment to coursing—has been fed on “ ’taters and buttermilk,” and a well known trainer who adopted this diet said that when a dog was fit, he should feel as if he could turn himself inside out when you picked up a handful of loose skin. Common sense applied to the feeding and training will get any hound fit to run for his life, and the harder and less pampered his surroundings, the better he will be. Depriving a hound of his natural body covering by clipping exposes him to wet and cold, and necessitates his wearing a rug when standing about during inclement weather at a meeting. Stimulant in various forms is sometimes administered to trail hounds just prior to the start of a race, but it is a practice that should be severely condemned, as if persisted in it utterly ruins a hound’s constitution. If a man cannot get a hound fit by means of common sense training, he had better turn his attention to some other job.

A trail is laid in a wide circle of from eight to ten miles, two men going out to the farthest point, where one turns right and the other left. Each drags behind him a bunch of material soaked in the ingredients constituting the drag. The state and direction of the course depends on these trailers. They can for instance cross scree-beds or very rough ground, or make the going easier by avoiding such places. By choosing rough ground the trailer makes is own job harder, and lays the hounds open to injury in the race. Again, it is useless to lay the trail at a turn, in a circle of small radius, for hounds will shoot straight across, the scent of the drag being strong. A hound that cuts corners is liable to gain a lot of ground in this way during the run.

Just prior to the arrival of the trailer at the starting point, the canine competitors are lined up, and on the signal being given they are slipped. The start is generally in the bottom of a dale, from whence the hounds can be viewed over a greater portion of the mountain course. For the last few miles they may be out of sight, and excitement waxes high amongst the spectators as to which hound will be the first to appear. The finish is generally at a wall or a fence, the first hound to drop into the field on the near side being declared the winner. The trainers stand together, and as soon as the hounds appear in view, they set up a chorus of shrill whistles and halloas. A hound trained to such sounds will come straight in, in an “all-out” finish. This practice of whistling and shouting is an objectionable one, but it occurs at most meetings. Far better is it to let hounds run the trail fairly to a finish, and keep quiet. Hounds give more or less tongue on the trail, and the trainers can of course recognise the voices of individual competitors.

At one time hounds were often trained over the actual course before a meeting. The trailer would pick up the drag at some unseen spot, and travel some distance before he put it down again. On the day of the trail, the local hounds, wise to the trick, would shoot straight ahead, leaving the visiting competitors searching for the lost line.

There are usually several judges at the finishing point, as the race is often very closely contested. The prize-money and trophies are found by entrance fees and subscriptions. Prior to coming under a recognised association, hound trailing was in none too good repute, for it attracted the undesirable element at meetings. A lot of money changes hands at the various hound trails, for betting is really the chief incentive on the part of many people. This at times lends to malpractices, no matter how careful the supervision. From a purely sporting and spectacular point of view, a hound trail is an exceedingly interesting sight. Being a summer sport, the weather is generally fine, while the surroundings at many of the Lakeland meetings are extremely picturesque. Last year (1921), an innovation in the shape of a straight-away trail was run from the head of Thirlmere to Rydal Park. As the trail was in full view from the road over Dunmail Raise and through Grasmere village, the highway was thronged with cars and motorcycles, carrying crowds of enthusiastic spectators. Lord Lonsdale is a patron of both hound-trailing and fell fox-hunting, one of the principal meetings being held at Lowther. Lord Lonsdale is always the central figure at the Patterdale gathering, where he judges the young entry of the Ullswater Hunt, and officiates as starter and judge of the hound trail. The other chief hound trail fixtures are held at Grisedale Hall, Mr. Harold Brocklebank’s place near Hawkshead-in Furness, and at Grasmere sports.