Mr. Ricky King,
You are my new hero. I've been saying the same thing you did for a long time. Caught all kinds of mouth over it but not a big deal. I love to hear a good race as much or more than anybody. Typically I'd rather enjoy my Hounds but I like to see what is out there running act the same time. Judging can be a lot of fun and a lot of frustration at times. I have low tolerance for any hound that drops a track especially a good track. Bad thing is that it is getting to be more and more a problem.
I judged in a pen with a reasonable amount if game not a yote behind every tree but enough to spread the running out. They have a fair amount of greys and reds to go with the yotes. At one hunt the only game scored for the most part was yotes and only a couple fox crossing in the hunt, couple guys with the pen said they were disappointed with the fox since they were not having much luck seeing any. After a few hunts it was obvious the fox were not what was wrong and that the real reason didn't see much fox crossings was out of 50 plus Hounds there may be 10 or 12 that could actually run a fox further than they could see them. The Hounds are becoming so dependant on having game 50 to 100 feet in front of them they don't have a clue how to use there nose and work a track. They will drop a track and move on rather than look to pick it up.
About ten years ago I was at a hunt red fox crossed at the gate and went down the path then crossed over, I had the 2nd place hound and 5th hound that came out, the first hound blew across never stopped just kept running both my hounds stopped at the woods settled down dropped his head went back to the last spot the scent was at spun around hit the track carried it down the path and crossed dead on the track. Some guy standing beside me said if them two Hounds did that to much they would never get many scores. I told him they were both mine and had they not done that scores would not matter cause I would not feed any hounds that dropped a track like the first hound and 10 others that came out and blazed by the track never looked back and once the 2 hit the rest jumped in again. I brought 4 to the hunt I placed all 4 that I carried. I fed them till age took them but got 18 that still check up and follow that track. Call me some time get together and run.
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