Not a novice ride??

[DragonSlayer]

That is not a novice ride, it is unrideable!! Don't touch it with a bargepole. Probably has deep rooted problems and should maybe be pts.

A little harsh there.....sure, might have a problem, but saying it should maybe be put to sleep? The thing might have gotten a horsefly attaching itself to somewhere sensitive....WE DON'T KNOW....but don't instantly comdemn the horse because of it!

Yes, the OP is of course right to be annoyed, and luckily not hurt....and maybe indeed the owners knew the horse 'had this tendancy' but we don't know the full facts of the horses history.

 

[Miss L Toe]

A little harsh there.....sure, might have a problem, but saying it should maybe be put to sleep? The thing might have gotten a horsefly attaching itself to somewhere sensitive....WE DON'T KNOW....but don't instantly comdemn the horse because of it!

Yes, the OP is of course right to be annoyed, and luckily not hurt....and maybe indeed the owners knew the horse 'had this tendancy' but we don't know the full facts of the horses history.

OP would be very very unlucky if the the horse got bitten at the very moment she got in the saddle, these people should be ashamed of themselves, are they expecting the horse to suddenly stop being mental just because that have found some innocent to ride it?
I think they will try doping next, perhaps they did but not enough!

 

[DragonSlayer]

OP would be very very unlucky if the the horse got bitten at the very moment she got in the saddle, these people should be ashamed of themselves, are they expecting the horse to suddenly stop being mental just because that have found some innocent to ride it?
I think they will try doping next, perhaps they did but not enough!

I am not daft, the same thing happened to my sister, only she ended up in A and E....

We found out later the horse had not been ridden by anyone except the owner, the guy who had raised him and backed him....the horse was completely shoved out of it's comfort zone.

The owner should have made sure the horse WAS comfortable with other riders, not just trust to luck.....

Again, WE DO NOT KNOW THE FACTS so someone saying it maybe needs to be put to sleep seems a little harsh. The OWNERS are the ones who need a slap, don't always blame the poor horse!

 

[AshTay]

A little harsh there.....sure, might have a problem, but saying it should maybe be put to sleep? The thing might have gotten a horsefly attaching itself to somewhere sensitive....WE DON'T KNOW....but don't instantly comdemn the horse because of it!

Yes, the OP is of course right to be annoyed, and luckily not hurt....and maybe indeed the owners knew the horse 'had this tendancy' but we don't know the full facts of the horses history.

Have to agree with this.

I went to view a horse which was described as not a novice ride (or words to that effect - the owner said on the phone that when she bought him she was wanting a family saloon but inadvertently bought a sports car!).

The owner wouldn't ride him for the reason she mentioned above but I decided I'd get on anyway (she seemed genuine - I do trust my own instincts, and she said that she did hack him along the roads as he was much more settled there than in a school). I got on and he promptly cantered off up the school. Experience had taught me not to grab hold of him but to relax and take a gentle feel on the reins and find his "buttons" and I had him back to me pretty quickly and had a lovely ride on him in walk, trot and canter. I didn't buy him (conformational issues and a comment on a previous vet report that I wasn't happy with - I really did enjoy riding him though).

I'm not a great rider - I'm reasonably experienced and fairly confident but I have friends who ride who I wouldn't describe as novices but who might have panicked, maybe through nerves at riding in front of strangers, and exacerbated the situation and the horse might not have stopped.

I think this horse I tried went off because he hadn't been in the school much and was a stressy type and there was a lot going on. He may well have had underlying issues but I wouldn't have said that the owner was being irresponsible by selling him. Admittedly she didn't really know whether I could ride at all but she just had to take my word for it as I had to take her word for it that the horse was lively and "not a novice ride" but not dangerous.

ETA: Thinking back, it wasn't when I first got on that he went off, I got on him on the yard, did girth, walked him up to school. all fine. Friend helped me adjust stirrups. Then he bolted.

 

[Megibo]

Keep looking I always like the old saying 'Whats for you won't pass you by' true for my mare

Huh. I like that saying alot! Applies to all of our horses, none were bought intentionally!
My mare: the 3rd pony they brought out after the first two weren't suitable. Brought her home, tried to sell her numerous times as she turned out to be a little so and so, alas 6 years later she's still with us and i love her to bits. And teaches you just how she'd like you to ride her! If you get on her and kick and click at her you'll find yourself in canter across a field
Sisters horse-horse she went to see was lame so we went to the riding school down the road..found her best mate there. he went lame 2 or so years later and she bought another but we still have him
mum's horse-she was looking for the forum, saw someone ask how much they should ask for her and thought "i've got to have this horse!"
and finally, mums second horse (first one was sold on)-mum's friend decided she wanted my mum to have a horse so they could hack together. so she went to see him and he's coming home tonight!

totally off topic OP, but keep looking. You'll find your horse or it will certainly find you.

 

[BonneMaman]

I would not class anyone who has ridden less than 50 horses of various types and standards as anything more than a novice.

Sorry, but I do not agree with this - I certainly would not consider anyone who has never owned their own horse/loaned their own horse to be anything more than a novice and I would expect there are hundreds of people who only ride at riding schools and have ridden way over 50 different horses but are still very much novices and visa versa - I have probably ridden something in the region of 20 different horses but I am certainly not a novice rider - probably more in the area of an intermediate but certainly not advanced.

Very dangerous to assume someone's riding abilty based on quantity rather than quality .....

IMO a novice rider is someone who cannot handle a difficult situation ie a hard spook or violent nap, has an insecure seat and looks generally uncomfortable or untidy in the saddle when the horse is moving at speed. Lacks good balance and a relaxed attitude.

 

[Abbeygale]

I can't recall who said it but some dressage trainer person had said in a mag a few months ago "it's not the hours you spend in the saddle, but the quality of the hours"

Owning a horse doesn't give you instant experience, it means you get to learn how to ride THAT horse well. Not owning a horse also doesn't mean your instantly a novice

You could have started riding as a kiddie with twice weekly lessons with pammy / Carl etc etc.

Not black and White at all. I don't own a horse right now, but I still ride daily.

Op keep looking, the right horse for you will appear when you least expect it

 

[POLLDARK]

One of the big disadvantages of owning your own horse after a couple of years of riding is that you rarely ever get to ride other horses so trying something new i always an 'adventure'

I would not class anyone who has ridden less than 50 horses of various types and standards as anything more than a novice.

Well what a sweeping silly statement. I was put on a horse so young I don't remember it. Started on a horse & graduated to a pony. I've ridden quite a few & (by my standards am pretty good) have broken 3, ridden a young stallion & compete regularly. Have not ridden 50, never will, have no desire to. By your measure I will live & die a novice. Get real !

 

[blueneonrainbow]

Agree with flo bell.

Also I think this post highlights the biggest problem with labellumg someone as a novice - everyone has their own interpretation of it and sellers are happy to exploit it to excuse the sometimes dangerous behaviour of their horses, or to keep away those they see as unsuitable. If a seller was not 100% happy to explain why they said not novice ride I wouldn't bother seeing it.

 

[sleepykitten]

Interesting thread. I personally have ridden well over 50 horses of all types, shapes and sizes and used to be able to adapt almost instantly to ride them all in the way that was suitable to all of them.

Fast forward to about 10 years ago and my mare I broke myself died at 6 years old from a ruptured diaphragm. Everyone pushed me to get another horse so I went and bought an ex-racehorse. BAD MOVE!! The horse and I were completely unsuitable and I ended up losing my confidence.

So by definition I should be an experienced rider - but now I class myself as a novice and buy horses that are confidence givers and suitable for anyone to ride!

 

[Kat]

And I'd disagree that anyone who hasn't owned their own horse must automatically be a novice.

Many people who have owned their own horses for years don't realise what good experience you can get without a horse. I bought my first horse this year and people on our yard are surprised by stuff I know/have done.

Riding other peoples horses often gets you a lot more experience than riding the same one week in week out. I have seen it with exam students, they can't cope with a horse that isn't automatically co-operative and doesn't help them out. Without your own horse you have to learn strategies to cope with all sorts.

Before I bought my horse I'd ridden more than 50 different horses in all kinds of situations, not just riding school horses, but in my experience riding school horses are the most underestimated horses. I've learnt to ride half pass, flying changes and pirouettes on riding school horses, as well as jumping in excess of 3ft. I've competed riding school horses against private horses successfully too. I've also had the advantage of regular lessons with well a variety of qualified instructors.

My instructor was more than happy for me to buy a four year old to bring on.

I'd say I'm not a novice.

For me a novice can stick on, they can ride all paces and pop a fence but not improve the horse.

Throughout my riding career people have been surprised by the level you can get to without your own horse. From the pony club examiner when I did my d-test on a pony I'd never met before when I was 7 to the various people whose horses I have tried with a view to buying.

 

[VioletStripe]

Yikes!! That's why I always ask for them to be ridden in front of me first

I wouldn't class my boy as being a novice ride - he's a 4 year old and not nasty but can get excitable and unbalanced, never bucked or reared or bolted (and still won't - touch wood!) but I expect he could if he were given the wrong aids or pulled around! xx

 

[alpha1]

It would be really helpful if sellers wrote "not a novice ride as......" because everyones idea of a 'novice ride' or 'suit competition home' is different.