This picture was posted on a Facebook page on game and working dogs, and it made me laugh as I was just writing about fantasy, pretenders, borzoi, and the new hound-hunting of wolves in Wisconsin. Here we see a woman dressed in Victorian garb, riding side-saddle, with a pair of borzoi on a brace lead. Thank God those dogs have nothing to course, or she would be face down in the mud!
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2 comments:
I'm not sure who stupider, the woman or the dogs. At least they have the excuse of being bred that way. She is cruising for a bad accident, loose horse and dead dogs. A Darwin Award potential indeed.
Well, the dogs are not doing anything stupid. I do not know if women rode sidesaddle in Russia at hunts. It is possible they did, though from what I have read and observed in the many paintings of hunting with borzoi made in the 1800's, it was mainly men who hunted with borzoi and they did not ride sidesaddle. They did use this exact type of lead system and it is used today. One end is usually tied around the hunter's waist, while the other free end is held in his hand, until the dogs are released. They are released simply by dropping the free end of the line. This traditional system has been used successfully to hunt with borzoi for a very long time. The dogs wear special collars with a swivel, to help prevent tangling and promote the quick release.
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