Wikipedia
Drag hunting (also spelled draghunting) is a form of hunting with hounds, and dates to the early 19th century. A pack of hounds (usually foxhounds or beagles) hunt a scent that has been laid (dragged) over a course with a defined beginning and end, before the day's hunting. The scent, usually a combination of aniseed oils and possibly animal meats or urine, is dragged along the terrain for distances usually of 10 or more miles.
Drag hunting emphasises the thrill of riding at speed in a natural environment, and tends to follow a relatively straightforward course, allowing for considerable speed, over well-marked obstacles designed or selected with the safety of horse and rider in mind.
A hunt is divided into "legs". Each leg is "scented" just prior to the huntsman casting the hounds, who find the scent and hunt it. At the end of a leg, the hounds are held in check while the next leg is scented. Some hunts have human runners carry the scent, some use a quad and drag a scented rag tied to a rope and some apply the scent to the hooves of a lead horse who will go on ahead.