Not a novice ride.... *Another pointless post/ rant* ARRRRGGHHHH

blitznbobs

blitznbobs

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I've been looking for a horse for about 6 to 8 months now and therefore have looked at, at least, a gazillion adverts.... And I've come to HATE the phrase 'Not a Novice Ride'... cos WHAT does it mean?.

I am not a novice rider - I am a rider who generally likes to stay vaguely attached to the ground so jumping isn't really my bag and have stuck to dressage - which I have competed a warmblood at Intermediare (would have gone grand prix if his fur didn't all fall out) and Welshies at medium (Harder than getting the warmblood to grand prix IMHO)

SO

I've been to see a few that ARE novice rides and this seems to mean 'totally dead to the leg' which I would argue is not a novice ride cos a novice wouldn't be able to get them out of walk...

I've been to see Not novice rides that I think would be perfect for a novice but lack that spark I'm looking for ANd I've been to see not novice rides who are quite simply mental...

So what to people consider 'not a novice ride' means cos I'm confused

Blitz
 
i agree wholeheartedly. i sympathise with you, i've been looking for a horse for ages and not a novice ride hacks me off! i mean who is to define the term novice? novice means different things to different people, so how do you understand it? its bloody cryptic :)
good luck with your search anyway :)
xxx
 
So, how long IS that piece of string.....:p

It bugs me, I also have no clue what it means and I suspect every seller means something different anyway so I reckon the only way to know is to ring people up and ask them why they felt the need to put that on the ad!
 
Mmm, I went to see two "not novice ride" a few years back, both put me on the floor, and I've been riding more than forty years, the words "touch" and "barge-pole" now come to mind!
 
attheponies said:
Mmm, I went to see two "not novice ride" a few years back, both put me on the floor, and I've been riding more than forty years, the words "touch" and "barge-pole" now come to mind!
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I agree; if you advertise a horse and put 'not novice ride' then it bucks, rears, bolts or similiar. If I was to advertise my horse, she wouldn't suit a beginner although she is quite safe, but I would tell people that when they rang up.
 
To be honest, I think it is the seller not wanting someone to come and get frightened by the horse, so they do it to protect themselves. I have a TB mare who I will be selling in a couple of months. I think she is superb, but she can jog a bit when out hacking. That would terrify some people - I just think it's normal and shows her enthusiasm - better that than napping. She has spark, but doesn't buck or rear or do anything silly like spinning, but I wouldn't want a beginner on her pulling her about. I think everyone means different things. I would advertise mine as "not suitable for total beginner" because that's the truth.
 
Goodness knows! Both of mine for a start,even though they are as safe as houses with lovely temperaments, neither are what I would describe as suitable for a total novice. One is a feisty little wb x tb, and is a typical little madame of a mare. The other is a safe as houses cob, who has a penchant for whipping around and spooking out on hacks, oh and barging out of his stable. Have to say, how long is that piece of string?
 
I agree with you to some extent but I think it could be fairly helpful if the advertiser specified WHY the horse/pony is not a novice ride.

For example, in my recent advert looking for a sharer, I put: "he can be nappy and nervous at times so would not be suitable for a novice"

Maybe I'm just trying to justify it as I'm embarrassed to have put it on an ad!! :o
 
It is quite irritating isn't it! My current horse was advertised as 'not novice ride' and normally I wouldn't go and see a horse advertised as such as I would assume it's a nutter and I'm not the bravest. However a he was on loan and therefore the risk was less I gave him a go. He's prob not a novice ride as he's only young and a TB but he's perfect for me and I can easily cope!

I always end up with 'not novice rides' and they have all been great, genuine horses :)

my last mare I advertised was loan and I said thy she wasn't suitable for a novice as although safe she was a talented, switched on and sensitive blood horse. By this I meant that she was only suitable for exxperienced riders as they tend to ride with more *feel* and with subtle aids whereas a novice may not have been sensitive enough for her or have the experience to deal
with such a horse.. Not that she was a psyco! So it's weird that I would happily advertisey horse as a not novice ride but that I was wary of trying other horses advertised as such lol!
I think my short explanation in the ad worked though because I got lots of really suitable people ring up so in my case it had the desired effect. Without a reason though it is really hard to know what the phrase means!
 
If I sold Lil she'd definitely be "not a novice ride" but I think I'd be more likely to put "serious competitive home only". Should hopefully get the same sort of home but is a much less negative statement.

She will rear, bronk, buck and generally have a hissy fit if she's in the wrong mood yet you'd probably love her. She is actually quite an easy ride and has stunning paces.
 
Heh, I'd be tempted to class all the horses I've had under not a novice ride (including my 1st pony, who still isn't!) as they've all been the sort who'd completely take the mick out of a true novice.... but none of them have been malicious in any way. In fact, I think Dan is a lot easier to ride than a friends lovely, well bahaved horse who I rode the other day! He's good 99% of the time to the point of being a lazy git who requires a lot of motivation - but when that on switch goes, he's quick, agile and doesn't wait for you!

Hmm... :/
 
Sol - in a way I do agree, actually I've come across very few horses who could be described as suitable for a novice (but then I've been looking for competition horses), it's just that those described as not a novice ride do seem to come with a lot of issues which is often the reason, sadly that they are for sale. Having said that, many of these horses could then come right with the right rider.
 
It is so tricky to market horses accurately and put off the absolute numptys without putting off the genuine....for instance I have a lovely TB for sale who we have pointed for two years - he is lovely, has never bucked, reared or napped, but is not what I would describe as a novice ride - purely because he is on on the bound animal.....He is an easy ride for the confident, but I am sure would terrifly a complete novice........
 
i've used 'not novice ride' on loan ads for my TB. he isn't a nutter but is an ex racer who can get fairly hyper so would terrify a real novice. its also partly to save myself from having to speak to complete dickheads on the phone...hopefully it puts one or two off :rolleyes:
 
My horses are competition horses. They are not nutters, but at the same time they are not used to being ridden by novice/nervous riders (I term a novice rider as someone who would be unable to achieve BHS stage 2 riding). Non of my horses would deliberatly deck the rider, however they are fit event horses, so can be sharp. When I have 1 for sale I do not want novice riders to turn up (although some do) as I do not want my horse upsetting, nor do I want to frighten a beginner.

So I normally tend to put something along the lines of "This fun mare is looking for a competant rider to carry on her competitive career". Is this better than putting "not novice ride"???
 
After an interesting buying experience I shall be avoiding ads with the phrase " has a fun personality" in the future
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I have ridden on /off all my life bar a fourteen year break -im a golden oldie !I have a four y.o .Novice ride is classed in a lot of variations i would only class myself as a novice due to confidence really and as you get older /or you are more aware of risks would i class my current 4 y.o as novice ride for me ?YES.He has gave me lots of confidence but as being young and green he has on occasions probs three times spun round - i spin him back round that might scare some novices and the fact he is young probably would but i feel safe on him .
I think you get confident novices who can ride forward as long as horse is pretty easy to ride forward but i wouldnt view a horse advertised as not novice ride or bought from field or related terms
 
The way I work it is this-

Fun- basically means not boring to ride, has a bit of go but safe.
Not novice ride- would suit a reasonably experienced rider, I have only put this on one advert recently for the last horse I sold, who we put "please no novices, professionals ride or suit dedicated am."
I would rather see people describe horses more for what they are with a bit more description. Some "not novice rides" are just a bit sharp, some are loons.
 
I spent about 6 months looking for the right horse and got stuck inbetween...
If i went to an advert that said "not novice ride" i ended up viewing complete screwed up horses...which although were crazy i could handle just didn't want to...!
So then i went looking at schoolmasters etc and i got the complete opposite...dead to the leg, hard mouth and generally didn't really care about having fun with me...
So i settled on CJ who had the rare combination of both of these qualities and happened to be on my yard at the time...one day he will do it with his eyes closed good as gold - the next he could spin and bolt and tank off with his head on the floor...!
keeps me on my toes!
But....i could never sell him now...anybody who has seen what i have been through with him will understand i could never allow anybody to go through that again...and more importantly i wouldn't wanna put him through that too...!
 
I've recently advertised my horse for loan that I considered be "NNR" He's not a loon but can get excited when cantering in company and can be difficult to school on the flat, tends to either be infront or behind the leg, kind of horse that give an inch would take a mile so I advertised him as "requiring a confident rider" Have to say that worked, must have put off a load of the usual "numpties" looking for a free horse and i got some genuine decent enquires. He's got a great home now just perfect for him. Think its just people's different opinions of their horses and the only way to try interperate their opinion of the horse is to e-mail/phone and ask questions to see for yourself. The geniune/non timewasting sellers will give you good honest answers to your questions.
 
It's a bit of a nightmare knowing how to pitch adverts because everyone interprets things differently.

For instance I have a lovely little chunky 15hh chap for sale. He is the type, on paper, to attract the novicey nervous middle-aged ladies. Whereas in fact he is a gear up from that, he is a real fun little chap, a bit sensitive and just needs someone with that little bit of confidence/experience. I deliberately didn't put 'not novice ride' in the ad because I didn't want to risk putting off the perfect person for him by them thinking he was a complete nutter (he's not!).

Instead I put 'he is ideally suited to a confident/fun RC or PC home' and have weedled out the unsuitable homes over the phone.
 
My mare was described as a fun safe family cob and that is exactly what she is, but the seller had had a lot of beginners come to try her who apparently thought a good kick was what was required to get her going. They were then ran away with, when I tried her I was very nervous as I had a few bad experiences, when I tried my mare I realized straight away that she was responsive to the leg and there was no need to kick a squeeze was all that was reguired to go up a gear.
Lots of people who know her thought she was a dobbin and was your perfect first horse, untill I said try her and see if you think she is a dobbin they then realized she is very safe but as that extra gear when you ask, if I was ever to sell her which I would never do the phrase suitable for experienced novice would be the words I would choose.
I was actually looking for a novice ride and some of those were nutters one reared up with the owner and almost went backwards, what part of that was a novice ride.
 
I would say 'not novice ride' means not suitable for people who are new to riding/owning a horse. I would describe a horse which was quite sharp, sometimes spooky and is sensitive as 'not novice ride.'
 
My first loan pony was *not novice ride* in his advert as he would buck if left behind by a group - apart from that he was a lovely ride.

and my horse was also *not novice ride* in his advert but *psyco* would have been more fitting ....

I think other phases alot more helpful, - if they had put *ex-racer* in the advert, and not waited until I was on to tell me that it would have been alot more helpful!
 
TheoryX1 said:
Goodness knows! Both of mine for a start,even though they are as safe as houses with lovely temperaments, neither are what I would describe as suitable for a total novice. One is a feisty little wb x tb, and is a typical little madame of a mare. The other is a safe as houses cob, who has a penchant for whipping around and spooking out on hacks, oh and barging out of his stable. Have to say, how long is that piece of string?
Click to expand...

Of course the other thing is what makes each 'novice' a 'novice'? For ex, I probably wouldn't feel happy with the mare you describe (also, I don't really do mares :p) but would have no qualms about taking the cob on. It really is a piece of string question!

Have to say, some of the attitudes of people on this thread (actually scatch that, some of the attitudes of people on this forum selling, generally) are enough to put you off ever calling about any horse, ever:rolleyes:
 
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