Hi Oliver,
Has flying ‘out of the hood’ been mentioned? If it has and I’ve missed it – apologies.
There are several types of hawking where the bird is kept hooded until a good slip opportunity arises – which might take some time and walking. In my own case this involves flying a Harris at hares out of the hood: some hares will be too far; some not right due to the ground/terrain/wind; some may be in dangerous situations – and some simply the wrong animal for perhaps the novice hawk. The hood allows me to select slips carefully, remembering that a normally free-flown bird might not appreciate a lengthy search without being hooded.
Martin