From Horses to Hounds

By Pilar Kuhn

I had a conversation recently with a colleague about dogs and showing and she shared that her father had Thoroughbred horses while she was growing up. Our conversation became rather equine-centric for a stint. This was not the first “horse” conversation I’d had with dog show colleagues. There are many of us out there that transitioned from horses to hounds.

Horses were my first animal love as a child. My brother would tease me that I could smell “horse” anywhere if they were nearby. In all fairness, we grew up in Texas, so it wasn’t that hard to find horses and cows within close proximity to our house. I started riding at age 8 and time at the barn became my way to relax on a daily basis forgetting all the frustrations of school and growing up. I even rode on my college equestrian team and part of my horse “day dream” was having a dog by my side. I started looking for my first Bouvier during my senior year of college.

The first dog show I attended as a spectator was the Burbank Kennel Club in Van Nuys, California. I had migrated west a few months after graduation and wanted to meet more Bouviers. I remember a woman sitting ringside asking me why I was looking at the Bouvier and saying, “They require a lot of grooming, you know.” I said, “Ma’am, I ride horses and have to groom them every day before I ride.” This woman seemed to act as if that was not applicable to a Bouvier. In one way, she was obviously right, horse versus dog, but grooming is part of caring for both animals. It’s bonding time and it’s part of the process that establishes a relationship before ever going in the ring.

My horses also needed days “off” running around an arena, kicking up their heels, rolling in the dirt, and just being a horse, not a show pony. That mental break from the routine and expectations of performance are no different for our dogs. They need down time. They need play time with their favorite toys. They need a ride in the car to do an errand. I believe it’s this “break” that keeps them going week after week when campaigning and enjoying the process. And I realized that when I started showing my dogs, I treated their daily exercise, grooming and performances much like I treated my horses.

I also realized that my time with horses taught me a tremendous amount about understanding conformation, form and function. In fact, the Scottish Terrier Club of America uses pictures of a Thoroughbred next to a Welsh Cobb in their Judges’ Education seminars to visually display a longer-backed horse versus a cobby and compact horse. A longer-backed dog does not perform the same way as a shorter-backed dog and the two horses perform differently based on their conformation. Any horse person also involved with dogs can tell you they see dogs’ conformations differently because of their experience with horses.

During my time as a young rider, I sat atop some amazing animals. I would get nervous hoping I would do the animal justice. Many times it would feel, to me, like I was driving a Ferrari instead of a Toyota Camry. And every horse was different. I had to figure out the nuances of each and every beast. That also applies to showing dogs. No matter the age or quality of the dog or the situation in the ring, my mind defaults to my life with horses. And I know I’m not alone. I still love horses, but it’s much easier to have our dogs live under our same roof. The similarities abound between showing horses and hounds. I personally find it’s just a tad less expensive, but just as rewarding.

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Posted by admin on Oct 31 2012. Filed under Current Articles, Featured. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0. Both comments and pings are currently closed.