British Fox Hunt

 　　Many people have seen the cross-country obstacle course. In the competition, the rider and the horse crossed one obstacle after another, and the moment the horse galloped past, the audience enjoyed the speed and elegance, and at the same time, they were impressed by the perfect cooperation between the rider and the horse. However, the true origins of show jumping are little known, and it stems from an ancient British outdoor sport: fox hunting.

　　"Fox hunting" does not mean that one or several hunters go to the forest to catch foxes with shotguns or other tools for their livelihood, but a sport exclusively for nobles. The tradition of hunting has a long history in England. In 1066, the Duke of Normandy of France conquered England, and the hunting tradition of the Normans also came to England. At that time, hunting was a leisure sport advocated by the nobles, mainly the royal family led the guests to hunt in the royal forest, and the prey were mainly deer and wild boar. Initially, ordinary people were punished very severely for poaching, and slowly the government eased the restrictions on hunting and other landowners were allowed to hunt too. By the 16th century, farmers in England found that foxes were more and more harmful to their farmland. Some farmers began to hunt foxes with their hunting dogs. At the same time, the number of people's favorite hunting objects-deer gradually decreased, although hares also Can be substituted, but with a lot less fun, so foxes make ideal prey. During the Stuart Dynasty in the 17th century, people respected hunting, believing that hunting could keep people away from the hypocrisy and treacherousness of the city, get in touch with nature, and cultivate noble sentiments. At the same time, some people began to train foxhounds to hunt foxes. At the end of the 17th century and the beginning of the 18th century, organized fox hunting activities gradually developed and became a favorite leisure and entertainment activity in the British upper class. Before the First World War, fox hunting became a very popular outdoor sport in Britain, and gradually developed into an important industry. and Foxhound. At the same time, the establishment of the Fox Hunting Association has carried out orderly management of a large number of fox hunting activities. British fox hunting is considered a traditional aristocratic sport. Throughout history, British fox hunting has been taken wherever the British Empire was built. For centuries, fox hunting is still reminiscent of the United States, Canada and India. The glory days of the British Empire. But this is not to say that fox hunting is an invention of the British. Many European countries have a long history of using fox hunting dogs. For example, France, Italy and Ireland all have a flourishing fox hunting sport, but the details are similar to the British fox hunting. difference. To this day, fox hunting is still sought after, where is the fun of fox hunting?

　　It was dusk, the weather was getting cooler, and the sound of dogs barking and running could be heard in the distance. 15 to 20 pairs of foxhounds rushed to the woods under the command of the dog watchers and the horns. Hunters and entourages in traditional fox attire ride or walk behind foxhounds. The greatest fun of fox hunting lies in the pursuit process. Most of the hunted prey are red foxes. Red foxes generally lurk during the day and come out for activities at dusk and morning. Once the red fox finds the foxhound, it becomes very alert and begins its own escape. The astute red fox is good at hiding its tracks, but its smell is hard to hide; the foxhound is specially trained to track by smell and can closely follow the smell of red foxes. Foxhounds do not walk very fast, sometimes slower than red foxes, and sometimes lose their prey, but the lucky red fox can continue to enjoy a free life. But there are not many lucky red foxes, and most of the time, the foxhound can find the trace of the red fox again and continue to pursue. The red fox is cunning and elusive, and the foxhound is also well-trained, following closely behind, locking the target for the master. Fox hunting is not just a game for foxhounds, horses and riders on horseback must cooperate tacitly, pay close attention to their whereabouts, and choose the nearest route to follow. There are no special requirements for the breed of fox hunting horses, but fox hunting horses must also be trained. The horse must be calm, brave and stamina. Because the terrain of the jungle is more complicated, there are often natural obstacles such as bushes and flowing water, and the horse must succeed. Only by crossing these obstacles is it possible to hunt down the prey. The rider has to learn how to control the fox-hunting horse. If the rider hesitates a little, the horse will refuse to jump, and the prey may escape between the hesitation of the man and the horse. Foxhound chasing red fox is similar to cat and mouse. They are not eager to catch red fox. Foxhound often enjoys playing with red fox. Sometimes the red fox burrows into the underground passages and burrows. Even if the foxhound knows the location of the red fox, there is nothing to do except bark a few times. This is the time for the beagle to show his talents. Small terriers can burrow into underground passages and smash into burrows to kill red foxes, or drive red foxes to the ground to be attacked by dogs.

　　In traditional fox hunting, the red fox that was rounded up by the hound was eventually killed, its head, feet and tail were chopped off as a trophy, and the rest was thrown to the hound. It would be cruel to say that the whole fox hunting process is mostly fun and beneficial to the body and mind. For a long time, some people are in favor of fox hunting, and some people are against it. After entering the 21st century, this debate has become more intense. In February 2005, the law to ban fox hunting in the UK was officially implemented. So how to satisfy people's hobby of fox hunting? There are still ways. People are still fully equipped and set out to hunt with foxhounds, and the foxhounds still follow the smell, but the foxhounds follow the artificial preset smell, and there is no real prey. In the fox hunting activities, people enjoy the fun of hunting, enjoy the idyllic scenery, get close to nature, and ultimately no prey will be injured, but because the taste route is artificially set, it is less fun to track in an unknown state . An alternative approach is to hunt down the prey without killing it in the end, a compromise to protect animal rights.