wandered over and hunted as a boy, and tried him with the ferret. I chose a meadow that was bordered on one side by the river and on three sides by sheep wire, the set I picked was near the river bank but at least fifty yards from the wire fencing, this, I thought , would give Sam a fare chance on any rabbits that slipped the net. The nets were placed in total silence, Sam waited patiently as I laid them, the ferret was slipped into the set and we waited. Sam's ears pricked up and he cocked his head to one side, this was my first indication that there was something going on in the warren deep below our feet, he could hear the rabbits moving around and became focused on one hole in par- ticular, within seconds a rabbit hit the net, Sam shot forward and tried to seize the trapped rab- bit, but I held him back, the net had done its job, and there was no point in letting him mouth the rabbit, that was a habit that would only ever lead to damaged nets. He watched as I dispatched the rabbit and then placed a fresh net, as we moved back into position another rabbit hit the nets, followed closely by a third, the second rabbit was trapped securely within the purse of the net, but the third took off across the field like a bullet, I slipped Sam and he did the same, within thirty yards he had picked up the rabbit and returned it alive into my hand.


He was aware now, that rabbits were to be found in these holes in the ground, and would check each warren we came to, sniffing care- fully around each hole, sometimes he would show little interest and move on, other times he would stick his head down the hole and breathe deeply, these sets always produced rabbit, and thanks to his keen sense of smell and his turn of speed, many a rabbit was to grace our table in the months that followed. Now the brown hare differs in many ways to a rabbit, to the uneducated eye they look similar, but to any man or dog that has hunted them, they are worlds apart. The hare is capable of feats of athleticism that would shame an Olym- pic athlete, they have huge reserves of stamina and these attributes make them a worthy ad- versary for even the fleetest of dogs. Sam was


fast and incredibly fit by the time he reached two years old, we had seen hares in the field on our many trips out on the lamp or with the fer- ret, but I had declined to run them, I saw no point in burning the dog out on one hare, when the ground we hunted was littered with rabbits. One morning, we were sat under an old Horse chestnut, in the middle of the park, when Sam suddenly stood up and walked out into the field, he seemed fixated on a patch of nettles that covered a small three holed warren in the middle of the field. I called him back, thinking that he'd seen a rabbit, and being certain that the rabbit he'd seen would just pop back down the set before he got to it, but he paid me no mind and started to crawl like a sheepdog out towards the set, I chuckled at what I saw as his naivety, but as he approached the nettle patch a huge hare jumped up and Sam gave chase, I jumped to my feet and watched as the hare and Sam ran in a large ark around the meadow, the hares ears were pricked straight up, a sure sign that it does not feel under pressure, and the two of them disappeared over the hill and out of sight.


I gathered my belongings and raced to the spot I had last seen Sam, but by the time I was half way across the field, the hare came flying over the hill, back towards me, this time his ears were down, tight into his body, and Sam was within three feet of him, the hare jinked to the left in a bid to throw the dog but it was in vain, Sam read his move and grabbed him firmly about the shoulders, his heaving flanks were a good indication of how exhausting the chase had been, but he wouldn't let go, this prize had been hard won, I dispatched the hare while it was still clamped in his jaws, as soon as he real- ised it was dead he released it, I patted and praised him and after a well earned rest, we walked home, It wasn't the last hare he caught, or the most difficult, but I can see that chase in my minds eye, to this day, he had matured into fine animal and his skill in the field was soon to become more valuable than I could ever imag- ine..................


http://www.rivercottage.net I Shoot and Fish E-Zine October 2011 2011 18


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