Paper short abstract:

Multi-species ethnography has been heralded as a relatively new genre in academic research. This paper considers the role of ancient epistemologies in present understanding of co-species networks and analyses the active role of horses in fieldwork.

Paper long abstract:

Firstly, this paper analyses the dynamic between horse, rider, culture and landscape. Secondly it considers non-human animals as active elements within the research process.

My fieldwork involved seven years of ethnographic research into foxhunting culture, from the position of a rider within foxhound packs. The equine focus emerged unexpectedly as I originally participated as a rider/ethnographer in order to understand the nexus between foxhunting culture and the landscape. However, I became drawn into a collaboration with an unanticipated character in this network; the "made hunter," a horse seasoned for hunting. These animals acted as my equine gatekeepers literally incorporating me into this alien world.

I conclude that social science can incorporate epistemic and often ancient elements of cultures that draw upon animals as co-actors. Understanding traditional modes of social action, such as hunting, which are centred upon human-animal interaction, can enable us to recover more-than-human views of the world and can lead to an enhanced understanding of a super-human experience with space. Additionally, the unexpected contribution of these horses to my research leads me to suggest that there is scope to recognise animals, not as objects to study, but as co-participants in understanding our embodied relationship with space.