Festival of Hounds

In the main ring at the Peterborough Royal Foxhound show Modern Foxhounds are shown, and outside the Old English (OE) type are judged. There are fewer classes in the OE ring as there are fewer packs and since the advent of these classes at Peterborough, the quality of the OE appears to have improved.

The modern English Foxhound has evolved over the last 100 years and consists of a mixture of different types, with the “pure” or “old English  type” regarded by some as not suitable for hunting, because the Peterborough fashion had become exaggerated with too much bone.

Fortunately the old English type has also evolved and become more active than the heavy hound of 100 years ago. So what are the differences which are barely discernible to the layman?  The Old English (OE) may be smaller than some of the current modern hounds and while all tan, they appear to be slightly straighter in the shoulder with a shorter humerus bone than the modern. Supporters of the OE do not want to have a touch of what was regarded as tainted blood (modern) and they have managed by careful hound breeding and not breeding too close to maintain their type without losing their conformation, they certainly have produced a type and the OE packs are certainly well matched in levelness that is so important.

The modern initially were made up from the best of the OE and Welsh blood lines much lighter boned than the OE. Between the two world wars the FKSB was closed and it was not until 1955 that it was opened again to admit not only Welsh but also Fell and Hill hound blood. More recently American lines have been introduced. The reason for needing these out-crosses is to give the line bred modern foxhound a refresher of blood that provides extra hybrid vigour as well as increasing the gene pool.