Drag Hunting

Drag hunting (also spelled draghunting) is a sport dating to the early 19th century. A group of dogs (usually foxhounds or beagles) chases a scent that has been laid (dragged) over a course with a defined beginning and end, before the hunt. The scent, usually a combination of aniseed oils and possibly animal meats or urine, is dragged along the terrain by a volunteer for any distance up to several miles to a designated finish line before the hounds are released at the start line by their owners.

Drag hunting emphasises the thrill of riding at speed in a natural environment, and tends to follow a relatively straightforward course, allowing for considerable speed, over well-marked obstacles designed or selected with the safety of horse and rider in mind.

A "Hunt" is divided into "Legs". Each leg is "scented" just prior to the Huntsman casting the hounds who find the scent and chase it. At the end of a leg, the hounds are held in check whilst the next leg is scented. Some hunts have human runners carry the scent, some use a quad and drag a scented rag tied to a rope, some apply the scent to the hooves of a lead horse who will go on ahead.