Joint-Masters Randy Kozlowski and Karen Schmidt hunt the Roscommon Hounds during winter's lull in horse sports. Photo by Bill Gamble.

Okay, I realize this column is primarily about horses, but the truth is that at this time of year the horse season is at low ebb. Foxhunting, 4-H, Pony Club, showing, eventing, dressage, rodeo, team penning, trail riding and such have gone either on hold, indoors or down south, and for good reason given our climate and the general unpredictability of such, aside from more cold than we care to contemplate.

Still, as far as I’m concerned, this column has to do with the outdoors, field sports, exercise, and the relationship of people and animals. One outlet that speaks to all those aspects of country life is beagling.

Say what?

Yes, to beagle – it’s a verb.

This first cousin of foxhunting centers around the pursuit of the wily wabbit with a pack of beagle hounds. Now deep breath and relax all you exurban recent rurals. Occasions upon which some cute, fuzzy little bunny meets an untimely demise are, trust me, rare indeed. That’s not the point, any more than foxhunting is about killing foxes.

So what IS the point? See above about outdoors, exercise, people and the creatures that share our lives.

The Roscommon Hounds is a pack of small (under 13 inches) beagle bitches that hunts at various locations around Livingston County on Sunday afternoons from the end of the deer hunting season until the end of small game season in mid-April. According to a letter from joint masters Randy Kozlowski and Karen Schmidt, the current canines are “Lacey, Lola and Cassie, who are keen and fast, the ‘granddames’ Marcy and Echo, who are keen, and Ebony, Fearless and Friendly, who follow the leaders…or not.”

Some folks I spoke with recently were surprised to learn that rabbits do not hibernate. The absence of leaves on trees and bushes makes it easy to observe hounds and their quarry as they perform their dance of hide and seek in the brush and scrub that comprise the ideal habitat for such pursuits.

Attire for followers is practical: sturdy shoes or boots, warm clothes that allow for free movement ducking under branches, climbing or descending possibly slick slopes, and the odd stream or gully. Walking sticks are also popular to assist with balance on uneven ground or, more often, holding back brambles and briars as we make our way at times through moderately rough terrain.

Aside from watching and listening to see how well the hounds are able to find and hold a line on where desired game has recently passed, the “field” of followers often has the treat of discovering relics of bygone eras in the form of rusting, ancient farm equipment abandoned in places where it is hard to fathom how they ever came to be there – old pastures well along in the process of succession back to woodland.

Other treats include a dose of the hush of winter, tell-tale glimpses of various tracks left in the snow by four-legged residents, both prey and predator, or even the soft marks of wing tips where a raptor has scored a meal from on high. The scenery ranges from magnificent to subdued, but as always refreshing.

And all these joys and benefits come at no charge, beyond the gas it takes to get to wherever the meet is being held. There are a few protocols as far as staying with the group rather than gallivanting off on your own for a better or at least different view, so as to not interfere with the hounds or rabbits. Conversation should be limited at best, again, so as to not interfere with or distract the hounds, as well as to listen to what is happening. Therefore, whining children or spouses are discouraged.

Aside from that, local residents are welcome to join in the admittedly off-beat fun, as long as the weather isn’t too cold or snow too deep. For more information, contact Randy Kozlowski at 226-6905 or Karen Schmidt at 314-6523.

Tagged as: Valley Horses