Speaking the Language of Hounds, Horses, and Hunting
Guide to Foxhunting Vocabulary and Terminology
Riders often seem to have their own language, at least as far as non-riders are concerned - a distinct dialect in which we can converse fluently, but even within that vernacular, each discipline has its own lingo, and foxhunting is no exception.
Brush up on your terminology before going foxhunting, so that when the Field Master tells you you’re being a thruster, or tells the coffee house to hark, you won’t find yourself embarrassed.
Babbler - hound who speaks out of excitement, rather than when on the scent
Basseting - hunting on foot with basset hounds
Bay - the quarry is “at bay” when it stops running and turns to face the pack
Beagling - hunting on foot with beagles
Biddable - a hound who obeys commands of the huntsman and staff
Billet - fox droppings (also scat)
Bitch - female hound
Blank - a covert in which the fox/quarry is not found
Brace - two foxes
Brush - the fox tail
Burst - short, fast run
Bye Day - an extra, unscheduled or unofficial hunting day
Cap/Capping Fee - fee paid by guests or visiting riders, which goes towards the upkeep of the hounds (originally paid into the outstretched cap of the field secretary)
Casting - command to the hounds to spread out in order to find the scent
Charlie - the fox
Check - when hounds lose the scent
Chop - when hounds catch the quarry quickly, before it has a chance to run
Clicketing - when foxes mate or pair up
Coffee House - when members or riders are chatting instead of paying attention to the hounds working
Cold Line - an old, faint scent
Cold Nose - a hound who is able to detect a very faint scent
Colors - the specific livery of a particular hunt, OR when a member of a hunt is awarded the honor of wearing the hunt’s colors
Coop - wooden jump, shaped like a triangle on the ends, often built into fencelines
Couple - two hounds
Couples - two leather collars joined by a chain, used to train young hounds by “coupling” to an older, more experienced hound
Course - when hounds switch from hunting by scent to hunting by sight (coursing the quarry)
Covert - area of woods, brush, or scrub where animals seek protection
Crop - the stiff part of the hunt whip
Cry - the voice of the hounds speaking to the quarry (see: giving tongue)
Cub - young fox
Cubbing - early season hunting, before the formal season begins
Cur dog - any dog that is not a hound
Double - a series of short, sharp notes on the horn, indicating that the quarry is afoot
Draft - hound cut from the pack
Drag - the line the quarry has traveled, leaving its scent OR an artificial scent laid for the hounds to follow
Drag Hunt - hunt which follows a drag rather than hunting live quarry
Draw - deployment of hounds when searching for quarry
Drive - a hound who goes forward well with the line
Dwell - a hound who stops to enjoy the scent rather than pursuing it
Earth - underground hole or burrow
Enter - when a young hound is added to the pack (entering the pack)
Fault - when hounds lose the scent and check (stop)
Feather - when a hound finds the scent and wags its stern (tail)
Field - riders who follow the hunt
Field Master - leads the field of riders, keeping them an appropriate distance from the hounds
Find - where the fox is found
Fixture - location of the hunt
Fixture Card - schedule of dates and locations of hunts throughout the season
Foil - any scent that masks the scent of the quarry, such as livestock, manure, vehicle fumes, etc.
Full Cry - when the whole pack is speaking on the line of the quarry
Give Tongue - when hounds speak to the line of the quarry
Giving Best - to give the quarry the victory, having evaded the hounds and hunters
Gossamer - fine, filmy cobwebs on the grass or brush
Ground - when an animal takes shelter, it has gone to ground
Hack - ride to/from the meet
Hark - from the huntsman to the hounds, it is a command for the hounds to honor (help) another hound who has found the line. From the field master to the field, it is a reminder to be quiet and listen.
Headed - when the quarry has been turned in its direction of travel, such as by a person, car, etc.
Headland - command from the field master to stay off the grass or crop or to stick to the edge of the field
Heel - the line of the quarry in the opposite direction it is traveling
Hilltoppers - the slowest field, observing the hunt from afar and passing through gates instead of over jumps
Hireling - leased or rented horse for foxhunting
Hold Hard - command to the hounds to stop and stand still
Honor - when hounds respect another hound’s finding of the scent and hurry to assist/pursue
Hound - foxhunting hounds are NOT to be called dogs (which means a male hound)
Hunt Box - a small house or cottage, rented for the hunting season
Hunt Livery - the unique colors, collars, and buttons of each individual hunt
Lark - to gallop or jump for pleasure, even when the hounds are not running, or over jumps the field has not jumped
Lash - the cord at the end of the whip thong
Leash - three foxes
Lieu In - command to hounds to enter a covert and search for the quarry
Lifting - when the huntsman calls the hounds away from a line
Low Scenting - a hound who can detect low levels of scent
Master - the MFH (Master of Fox Hounds) who commands the hunt in the field and the kennels
Marking - when hounds dig, scratch, or or speak at a spot where the quarry has been
Mark - fox’s head
Meet - assembling for a day of foxhunting
MFHA - Masters of Fox Hounds of America, the governing body for foxhunting in the US
Mute - when a hound runs a line silently, instead of giving tongue
Open - when a hound first speaks upon finding the scent of the quarry, the hound has opened
Own - when hounds are working together on a line, they own the line
Pad - fox’s foot
Panel - a jumpable fence between two posts
Point - the distance between the find and the end of the chase, not to be confused with the distance as the hounds ran OR when a whipper-in watches the covert while hounds are drawing, he/she is on point
Pure - hound droppings
Quarry - the hunted animal, which can be fox, coyote, wild boar, bobcat, stag, roe buck, hare, etc.
Ratcatcher - informal hunting attire (tweed)
Rate - when the huntsman or whipper-in scolds a hound
Ride - a lane cut through the woods
Riot - when hounds hunt anything other than the acceptable quarry
Run - when hounds find and follow the line, with the field often galloping after, OR a creek or small river
Running or carrying a good head - when the front runners of the pack spread out to pick up changes in the fox’s direction
Scat - fox droppings (also billet)
Scent - he smell of the quarry, and the physical and chemical phenomena by which the smell gets from the fox’s footprints to the hounds nose. Scent can be good or bad, and easy or difficult to follow, depending on the weather (dry, hot weather leaves less scent)
Sing - when hounds put their heads up and howl together in anthem
Sink the wind - when hounds head downwind
Skirting - when a hound/hounds cut a corner to get ahead instead of following the line
Smeus - a path through a fence used by fox, hare, rabbit, or other small animals
Speak - when hounds give tongue to the quarry
Spinney - a small covert
Staff - the joint Masters, huntsman, and whippers-in
Stern - a hound’s tail
Stirrup Cup - a toast offered to riders at the start of the meet, often port or sherry
Strike Hound - a hound who is often the first to find the scent
Tail Hound - hounds who run behind the main pack
Tally-Ho - phrased when quarry is viewed (tally-ho, over to indicate quarry crossing a trail, tally-ho, back to indicate quarry going back into covert)
Thong - the braided leather portion of the hunt whip
Thruster - a member of the field who is constantly crowding the field master and the hounds
View - to actually see the quarry (and immediately inform the Field Master
Vixen - female fox
Ware - short for ‘beware',’ to let other riders know of a hole or hazard
Whipper-In - assists the huntsman