Hunter

The best hunters are produced in Ireland. They are likely to be Irish Draft crossed with Thoroughbred or Cleveland Bay and may even have some pony blood. Hunters vary from region to region, depending on the countryside in which they are ridden.

In largely flat, grassy areas the hunter needs to have a higher proportion of Thoroughbred because the speed of the hunt is that much faster. In areas of heavy clay ground, or rough land, more of a half-breed is required.

Qualities of the Hunter
A hunter needs to be a good weight; that is, he needs to have plenty of bone and be strong and sturdy. However, he also needs to be built for speed and should have powerful hindquarters.

A major criterion for a hunter is stamina. Many enthusiasts hunt at least once or twice a week throughout the winter and often in bad weather. The hunter needs to be a horse that copes with this workload, which is considerable when bearing in mind the long days and fast galloping that go with hunting.

They need to be particularly sound in wind and limb to stand up to the rigors of the job. Sometimes people take two horses to a meet and swap horses halfway through the day — this is especially useful when hunting over thick and heavy ground, which tires even the fittest horse.

Appearance
Hunters should have an attractive head with an intelligent, bold eye. The perfect hunter has a head that shows the quality of the Thoroughbred, with the sense of the Irish horse.

The ideal hunter should have a long neck, to give good length of rein, and a broad and deep chest. The body should be compact and deep through the girth with wellsprung ribs.

Conformation of the shoulders needs to be good to allow for a long, ground-covering stride. The hindquarters should be muscular and reasonably broad and the hind legs need to have a well-muscled second thigh.

They need to have strong, tough legs which stand up to galloping and jumping. The hunter needs to be athletic and bold to cope with the fences it may meet — this is very true of the Galway Blazers, an Irish hunt which is famed for its daredevil jumping.

It is very important for the good hunter to have excellent manners, to stand when asked, open and shut gates, and stop quickly if need be. They range in height from 15 hh to 17 hh to suit their rider and there are also many ponies that hunt admirably.

The Show Hunter
In the showing world, there are show classes for light-, middle- and heavyweight hunters, as well as for working hunters.

The light-, middle- and heavyweight show hunter classes are for horses that are full of qualities, similar to those of the hack class, but with more substance and bone.

The working hunter class is aimed for horses that actually hunt. They are required to jump a course offences as part of the competition and may be of a lower quality than the show hunter with more substance and bone.

There are also show classes for working hunter ponies, generally divided by height. Working hunter show ponies have, like the horses, extreme quality, but, of course, many ponies of all shapes and sizes can be seen out on the hunting field.
 
Horse Fact:
Horses, like humans, have the five main senses, hearing, seeing, smelling, tasting and feeling; but it is generally considered that they also have a 'sixth' sense. This is their ability to sense imminent weather changes, danger, and also to pick-up on human feelings,