Are tbs suitable for...

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jessikaGinger

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People Coming back into riding? Novice type riders but plenty experience owning horses!?
I have found one which appears to be what I'm looking for but breeds putting me off..
 
Hmmmm....!

I think you will get a variety of replies, but from personal experience I would say no. However the tb's I have ridden or handled have been ex racers. These horses have all been sterotypical tb's - high maintenance, flighty and unpredictable, and accident prone.

Years ago I bought one as a first horse after having a long break from riding, and all though it was angelic in the school and hacking in company, it would not hack out alone and would rear when leaving the yard. I sold it to an experinced friend who couldn't get it to hack out alone either, but hunted it as loved being with the other horses in the field.

I helped look after 2 ex racers until quite recently and were very hard work and would set off at the slightest thing - they could only be led together and would rear and spin in hand, and generally scare the life out of me! They had more vet visits in a yr than my cob has had in 6 yrs, and the owner was too scared to take them out of trot on a hack.

However I am sure there are some very nice quiet tb's out there, so if you are really keen on this one try to take an instructor or experienced friend with you to assess. If possible try it on several occasions, and in different environments too.

Hope it works out.
 
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You sound like me 4 years ago. I was returning to riding after an 8 year break and was the wrong side of 40! I couldnt find what I wanted and Che was for sale 5 miles from me. His ad sounded like my perfect horse except for the ex racer bit. As he was so close I thought he was worth a look. He has been the most lovely horse to do, easy on the ground and 100% to hack, brilliant in traffic and not fizzy. However, he does have the odd moment when something upsets him, he tends to get himself so worked up its easier to leave him alone for the day and not get into a battle, he just gets more upset and anxious. So on the whole I would say, yes, if you are an experienced horsewoman, confident with all aspects of handling and the management of horses, able to cope with the specific needs of a TB, dont be put off by the fact he is a TB. If Che has taught me nothing else it is not to stereotype and to listen to what hes trying to tell me. Good luck.
 
My current chestnut mare is very opinionated and stressy so I expect them not to be too different the one I have in mind was bought in the same circumstances as me 4 years ago also
 
No not for a novice rider. I don't like to label horses into stereotypical types. After all Im now on ex racer number two and she is as much of a sweetie as number one was....however I compare TB's to your collie dog....very very clever and it doesn't take them long to work you out and what they can get off with.

And they cost so much to keep!!!!
 
My ex racer was quieter than my cob! Several times she had 3-5 months off and the first time I got back on her it was like she'd been ridden every day. She did throw the odd (minor) wobbly when I wouldn't let her canter up a grassy track, but when she was out cantering in company she didn't race and pulled up beautifully.

Look at the horse as a horse, not as a breed!
 
I went for a trial at a yard yesterday and got put on a tb to hack out, was one of the most laid back horses I've ridden. Didnt found out till we got back that he was an ex racer.

I know tbs have a name for themselves but if it seems everything you want then I'd at least go and have a look. You can walk away if its not right.
 
I would say on the whole no, of course there are some exceptions but the ones I have had would probably scare a novice because when they get worked up about anything they can be quite explosive!
 
Yes and no. Like all horses.

If the horse is fully up to weight and fit and the novice can walk, trot, canter, hack it out (not talking fast hacking but alone and in company) then I would say that it's no different to any other fit breed of horse. I would be mindful that they are athletic and most have a brain, so you;d want to work in conjunction with a good RI - more so with this breed especially in the first few months, When I got my first full TB/ex-racer I had lessons three times a week.
 
hi im going to say the opposit of everyone so far i would say if you pick the right one then they are brillaint for novices.

i have only been riding 2 years and i bought my ex racer after 6 months of lessons, he wasnt the 1st i saw but the best and he was speedy and i didnt no what to do really and he did bolt with me.....

but i then did my research got talking to racing yard owners trainers etc and i learnt how to ride him i also got an instructor to help and now we are amazing and we can do anything we gallop in groups or alone he schools beautifully, hes got an amzing jump on him and a very quite laid back attitude to life, best horse i ever bought.

i would say if you confident and have haddled horses for a while you will have no problem getting on a TB. you just have to remeber they are quick thinkers and do loose their confidence just as quick as you can so everything should be done quietly :)

but mine is one of the best horses i know and i have ridden most of my friends horses and i got out with a lot of other horses on a hack and they all behave silly and my little man has manners to burn, and doesnt gallop off just because the other have he stands beautifully untill i sai go then he legs it! :) best fun iv had on him :)
 
TB definatly not for novice rider, seen a few over the years totally wasted as the riders have lost confidence. Having said that I have owned one for nearly 4 years, if you read my other posts it hasnt been without problems and heartache but now all that is sorted I have the best horse I have ridden/owned in over 32 years. She is absolutely fantastic, an absolute pleasure to own and after 20 years in jumping retirement she has give me the confidence where I am now competing in local hunter trials and won numerous RoR showing classes over the last couple of years. I love her to bits but she does cost me a fortune and my farrier is on speed dial as TB's have shocking feet but she is worth every penny.
 
I think if you find the right one then they can definitely be fine for a novice rider. I was looking for something that would get me back into hacking and jumping after totally losing my nerve with my advanced dressage horse. I was fine trotting in circles in an arena, but terrified of hacking and wouldn't ever every contemplate jumping!

I found a little 15.3 TB (I'm used to 17+ WBs) and he has been absolutely amazingly fantastic - I'm jumping, hacking, and won my first ODE last week on him. He's an ex racer but been out of racing a few years. Totally uncomplicated and exactly what I needed.

Bought him end of July, and we've done so much in only two months, including trips to the beach and squeezing through a herd of cows!!!!
 
oh and just to add if you have the time patiants and confidence and take it slowly and dont do more than you and your TB can cope with youll be just fine....

i dont agree thats theres a horse out there that is totally novice proof they all have bad habbits and are animals with a brain at the end of the day.... its all about the connecting and understanding why they are doing the things they do i.e bucking/rearing.... :)

everyone told em not to get a TB especially a raced one for my 1st horse and especially after 6 months of riding but i did and like above poster i supposed iv had a little trouble with bolting and being scared to ride him but TBH you will get that with the majority of horses :) and these were all overcommed like i said previously by doing my research : x
 
It depends on the individual. But the thing to remember is tbs are more athletic. When a pony, cob, heavy etc has an excited buck, its much easier to sit to than a tb doing the same. So even a quiet one can require more experience than the equivalent quiet horse of another breed.
 
Pleased don't be fooled into thinking Tb's are neurotic, highly strung and cost lots to keep. I thought this when I bought my first horse...a cob. It turns out that I have a very intelligent, strong, stubborn, bargy (not anymore), greedy and what I thought at the time an easy first horse, how wrong was ?I

My sister's Tb is so kind, a complete gentleman and an ideal first horse and he was an ex racer. Also, when I rode him he it was like driving a Rolls Royce so comfortable, very responsive and was a pleasure to ride unlike my cob who is so wide I feel like I'm doing the splits when I mount him, it takes him a good 15 mins to warm up then he tracks up nicely, in canter it feels like I'm on a jack hammer. He can be spooky, he's quick on he's toes when in flight mode definately not a novice horse. I love him to bits but knowing what I know now I think I would have gone down the Tb route.

Having said all the above, after all the things my cob has put me through I feel I could ride anything :D
 
Hmmm, yes & no.

imo it would depend on your experience, ability & confidence. TB's can be really rewarding and lovely horses, but a lot (not all) can have typical TB tendancies.

I have had a 3 year break off horses due to work commitments, and am returning to the breed I know and love, which is TB's, but I have been riding and owning horses for just under 30 years, and like the "nutters".

The best thing you can do is look at any horse with an open mind, regardless of breed (they can all have their moments). Remember if it is a TB, they can be naturally flightly, temperamental animals, but saying that there are ones out there that are quite happy to hack out and school nicely with no traits of the "stereotype".

'Most' sellers will put on the ad whether it is a novice ride, but judge for yourself when you meet the horse, and maybe take someone along who knows TB's well.

Also, it can depend on their sex as well. Mare's tend to be a bit more opinionated, where as geldings can be an absolute dream, although this is not a given!

It really is a matter of opinion I think. :)
 
in regards to what littlelegs has just said to bucking and that its a lot more difficult to sit to i disagree my TB was a bucker a few months ago back in may due to comming abck into work and he was finding it excitable going into canter hed do a huge buck and i mean that big you can see his back feet over the riders head huge (hes done this to me several times, and to a fair few of my mates) and not one of us had ever come off or been unseated.... and i am not a brilliant rider.

yes they are athletic and fit but i dont think there bucks are harder tosit to than a cobs :)

i feel the need to defend TBS ahah sorry!

PS i have also ridden other TB that buck and i didnt get that unseated :)
 
I would take the label of TB away and think what you want from a horse then you can go and see different types to find one that suits you. warmbloods are stereotyped as dumbloods as they need a lot of leg to get going or nutters because they are too sharp off the leg. cobs are plods or tanks, tbs are no different in that you do need to look at the individual horse. those that have been raced will have seen a lot more than the average horse as they walk round a paddock with umbrellas and crowds of people with loudspeakers going at races, hack with a string of others for their work and are taught manners from an early age so an ex racer can be a lot nicer to have around than for example a cob that has learnd to be bargy and rude! just keep an open mind and see what the horse is like be it tb cob arab or warmblood.
 
I'd ignore what breed it is and just take the horse as an individual. My friend and I both have TB's, but they are completley different! Hers was a good racer and is very sharp, strong and sensitive, mine was crap and is pretty lazy and numb.

Mine is fine with novices as long as they dont shorten the reins. He associates shorter reins with work, and becomes much sharper if you have a contact. He's like a beach donkey on a long rein. :D

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OH, is 24 and hasn't ridden since he was a kiddie. Just jumped on and had a walk and trot round, even jumped a pole and did a few strides of canter! To say the horse is a 6 year old TB that can act like the devil some days, he does look after novices very well.
 
It depends on the individual horse, Tb's are not all neurotic/highly strung/nervy.
I had one back in 1989. I bought him from a dealer though so had no idea of his background other than he came from Ireland. He was 16.1hh, 6 years old and an absolute gentleman. He was my second horse after owning a neurotic 14.2hh mare who had put me in hospital more times than I'd had hot dinners.
Solo was very laid back and extremely quiet to ride. I only kept him for a year because he was TOO quiet and needed a lot of leg to keep him going.
He didn't know how to jump when I first bought him, but I taught him and went on to compete up to Newcomers BSJA before I sold him to a SJ home.
Early jumping days, he looked like this...
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He went on to jump like this
Solo13_zpsaf2efe1f.jpg


Solo11_zps1f37b604.jpg


Solo10_zpsb06cb463.jpg

I registered him with the BSJA as "Oh So Lucky". He reminded me a lot in looks of a race horse at the time who was called Oh So Risky.
The girl I sold him to in 1990, competed with him under the (BSJA) name of "Oh To Be So Lucky".
He was way too quiet for me. I had to ride in spurs and keep him oated up when I competed with him. :)
 
Personally no, had one and a close friend had hers at the same time and would never have another tb again.

My 5 year old cob is saner than both of them put together, they would spook at the simplist of things, everything was a drama, wouldn't hack alone, accident prone, the smallest thing they would be lame, poor doers.... the list goes on and both ex-racers so had really experienced the world.

However maybe think less about the breed and more about how you feel with the horse. I recently went and looked at another tb, ex-racer chestnut mare. Very sweet but when the girl got on her and schooled her in front of me I knew then and there I was silly to even consider another tb and Ive been in and out of riding for 20 years.

They just don't do the job I want but they might you.
 
One TB does not an expert make! I have had a few tbs out of training and the first one was so incredibly chilled out he did end up being sold to a nervous novice whom he took great care of. I have never met such a laid back horse, I have also known tbs out of racing who take at least a year to adjust. Be honest about your own abilities and go and see. TB's are themone breed that have the biggest variety of heights, conformation and character!
 
Thanks for your fan replies I have arranged a viewing! I've had a cob and he was strong opinionated sod and ridden friends tbs who are much safer I think it's the stereo type that's worrying me but I really don't want a plod
 
Luci07 said:
One TB does not an expert make!
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Ah yes...true. BUT unless you know any poster on a forum in person, it isn't really anyones place to judge :p.

Not taking it personally, but I've owned ONE TB, owned a TBx (my first mare), loaned a flat bred TB mare, ridden out on exercise (NH TB's in training) and regulary exercised racing fit Point To Point TB's. Add those to the many non - racing TB's I have ridden over the course of 35 years. :p Some are sharp/sensitive, some are not.
It all comes down to the individual horse rather than the breed. ;)
 
jessikaGinger said:
Thanks for your fan replies I have arranged a viewing! I've had a cob and he was strong opinionated sod and ridden friends tbs who are much safer I think it's the stereo type that's worrying me but I really don't want a plod
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Good go and try the horse and ignore what the breed is. I know some ex-racers that are complete donkeys and some that are true to the stereotype...same with any other breeds IMO! I have had a very dim/ploddy arab and a very smart, crazy one!
 
I have worked with tb's, both in training ( p2p/NH ) and ex-racehorses used as hunt horses and owned several. Each horse is an individual, some so laid back you could put a baby on and they would just plod about and some that only the most experienced work rider can handle and everything in between, just look at the horse as an individual. Btw the last animal that deliberately buried me into the floor was definitely a native! And a lot of the tb's have been bombproof on the roads.
 
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