During a draghunt no living animal is hunted and killed. Instead, a pack of hounds follows an artificial scent laid by a rider over a set course. Horseback riders follow the pack and observe the work of the hounds, especially how they search, find, follow, loose, and find again the scent. Thus, draghunting is a very exciting, non-competitive cross- country equestrian sport that guarantees a lot of galloping and if one likes also a lot of  jumping. Furthermore, it is the only sport where females and males can participate equally and at the end there is no single winner but every healthy individual, may it be hound, horse, or men, they are all winners.

Among all the animals men had domesticated, hounds and horses were his most valuable companions. Like no other animals, hounds and horses share a very close relationship with men since thousands of years in myth and history. So it is no wonder that riding to hounds has a very long tradition. The oldest evidence stems from about 400 years before Christ from the riding lessons of Xenophon. The origins of draghunting can be traced back to the time of the Stuart Kings in England where hounds were tested for racing and the best means of watching the hounds was on horseback. The first drag hunts as permanent facilities were established in England in the eighteenhundredsixties.

In some areas of the world one still performs live quarry hunting with packs, in England, Ireland and Northamerika for foxes and in France for the stag. Such events share moral scruples, they can not be planned in detail, and many unknown points play a role.

Since 1934 in Germany the horseback hunts for living animals are prohibited.
A couple hundreds years ago, in the times when horseback hunting for living animals was not popular, during battues the animals were usually driven by beaters into a preservatory and slaughtered. These massacres eventually excited the tempers. With some time, therefore baiting hunts became more popular, because one wanted to give the creature a chance to escape and compete with the animal in a sporty way.
Today, most of the riders and horse owners are not in the fist place hunters but they just love animals, so a horseback hunt for living animals is not at all an option for them.

In the first place one had to hunt up the animals. Sometimes this took a couple of hours. When a suitable victim was aroused, it fled in an unknown direction and nobody knew, where, how fast, or how long the hunt would go. If you would miss the arousal of the animal, you can miss the connection, and the hunted animal, the pack, the equipage as well as every body else. They all will be gone. An interruption of the event to take care of the horses, the hounds, or the riders is not possible if you want to be part of the whole thing till the end i.e.the halali.

A good organized draghunt is the ideal, more humane, and in general better alternative to live quarry hunting. Draghunting is increasing in popularity throughout the world. In order to preserve the tradition and pageantry of riding to hounds, a mounted rider, the "line layer" simulates the flight of the hunted animal and follows a previously planned trail over a course on which one tries to use as much of the natural countryside as practical such as farmers fences, hedges, ditches, and walls. If there are not enough natural obstacles to jump, one may build own, and sometimes portable, hurdles. In doing so, the passing of prohibited areas like vulnerable crops, gardens, or possible hazards like roads, railway lines, rivers and swamp can be avoided. Furthermore, a permission can be obtained from the landowners and farmers over whose land the course is arranged. In performing a skillful planning of the runs, it is also possible to hunt in more densely occupied areas and have a sporty ride to hounds.

The term "draghunting" is derived from the former custom to use an absorbent material, usually a sponge or bowl, to which the scent was applied and which was trailed or "dragged" along the ground by the line layer. Today, usually a liquid is drained from a container which is attached to the saddle. Alternatively, the scent may be applied to the leg or tail of a horse. Depending on the pack various scents are used whereas most popular are solutions of excretions of foxes followed by herrings brine and aniseed oil. Very few packs, among them the Hardt-Meute of the Badischer Schleppjagdverein, do not use an artificial scent. These Français tricolores follow the hoof of the horse of the line layer.

Each draghunt involves about 4 - 6  "lines" or "runs" which are about 2 - 4 km long. The total distance is often about 20 km long. At the end of each line a "check" or stop is arranged so that the hounds can recover and provided with water to wet their noses. The pace of the hunt can be adjusted to the shape of the ground and the expertise of the riders. When the line is layed over a fast route, or the scent is "lifted" the hounds are forced to "check" and slower riders can catch up.

In case of too many participants, one can divide the hunting field in different groups, which are accompanied by a field master and a closing whip. This way one can have a field with riders that don't want to jump. During a parforce hunt one would have to follow the direct way, so one is forced to follow the hunt the direct way and jump over ditches, walls and fallen trees, in order not to get lost. On the other hand, during a parforce hunt one would never jump if the hurdle may be bypassed in order to preserve the horse. This is because one never knows how long the hunt still goes.

Hurdles shall be set up during a draghunt that they can be bypassed. If this is not possible the second and following fields should go another way.

The natural hurdles should be wide and massive for security. They shall not be too high. In the landscape, there are always uneven grounds, so no gallop jump is like the other. This way a correct approach of the hurdle is not possible. The horses must learn to watch their steps and must be able to jump every hurdle in every situation. The rider just gives the horse a little support. The amount, type and height of the hurdles can be introduced before the hunt. They must be introduced if they exceed what can be expected in general.

Most draghunts also have foot or car followers. Some organizers do provide tractors with trailers or even coaches to move the spectators into advantageous positions, usually in view of one or more hurdles.

In case of an accident one can (actually one must) stop to see if a hound, a horse or a rider needs help. Also after a check for the recreation of the hounds and the horses, one can simply go on with the hunt without having anything missed. This has great advantages and a great gain in security. Only the checks shall not last too long. The hounds need enough water to wet their noses and the horses shall not be exposed to wind.

During this type of a hunt it is much more participants allowed, usually all of them, to attend the halali and praise the hounds enthusiastically. The hounds then get their reward of food, the "curée". Instead of being allowed to kill and eat a wild animal, they receive intestines of beef, i.e. a "Pansen". The riders receive a branch "Bruch" (from a tree present at the halali-place, usually oak, from Hubertus-day on [3rd of November] pine tree).

Another great advantage of the draghunt is, that the hunt usually ends at the same point at which it started. Thus, the often long and tiring homeward journey from the halali-place can be avoided.

At the end there is no dead animal and no looser. No matter if the rider is a female or male, or rich or poor. Everybody who has seen a good hunting pack and who heard the full cry of the pack (the characteristic barking of the hounds as long as they are on the line) feels like a winner because it is always a unique event to observe the team-work between hounds, horses and men in the free nature.

Someday, maybe draghunting may remove the hounding and killing of wild animals and, at the same time, preserve the tradition and pageantry of the live quarry hunt in many parts of the world.