What does 'Not a novice ride' mean?

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MilosDad

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Ok so I am a novice, only been riding for 18 months at the age of 52, and I've got two horses. One is 15.2 and a g*t and the other is 17.3 and a BFG but has no idea about anything and I have taught him from scratch up to prelim dressage (whoopee I hear you say!).
Does that make them novice rides?
 
No.

It makes you ace
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its a bit subjective really.
what i would say falls into the not novice ride category would be
the ones you do not trust even though you know them!
 
In an add it normaly means that A) horse is a bar steward you wouldnt trust for a second or B) horse gets bored doing simple things and plays up,but is lovely when asked to work a bit harder.

I owuld think a trustworthy horse that will look after a rider and forgive mistakes is a novice ride,anything else is not.
 
Its quite difficult to define. I guess some people put it on the advert because they don't want their horse to end up with a complete novice and others have genuinely difficult horses. I think if I was writing an advert for mine I would put it because although she is really easy with someone confident she would take the mickey out of a novice. She also has quite a good buck and a flying spook when out hacking which myself and the people who I allow to ride her have no problem with, but I think a novice with an unbalanced seat would end up straight on the floor.

If I saw it in an advert I wouldn't let it put me off. I would say out of your two the BFG sounds like he may be a novice ride even if he is a bit green but the 15.2 may not be if he is a g*t!
 
That's really helpful. I always wondered cos the one who is a g*t taught me to ride yet he sounds just like yours ie takes the mick if he detects a slightest doubt. Taught me to sit thru bucks and spins tho lol.
Yet my big lad tho relieble will only really go well when I ride very 'technically' ie if i don't get it right he gets lost and confused so I would say he is a more difficult ride as he requires far more skill ( I use the word loosely when applied to me!)
 
My loan horse was described as not a novice ride, simply because she's a bit spooky and can get very forward going on hacks. I actually agree as I wouldn't feel comfortable putting a novice rider on her as she panicks very easily and panicks if her rider is unbalanced. You have to have your wits about you and there's plenty of people who refuse to ride her. If you get unbalanced she runs away (usually with me hanging around her neck) and you have to be able to sit to her spooking, in all gaits.

Sorry if that didn't really help!
 
I would put 'not a novice ride' on my boy too as he can be spooky and his rider would need to be capable of 'being more than a passenger'. He doesnt nap, buck ,rear etc but can be a total div over stupid things.
 
I would say if you are capable of bringing a horse on from scratch and capable of sitting decent spins and bucks, riding the horse forward and not getting windy then you are NOT a typical 'novice' with only 18 months experience!
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Its such a grey area!

When I have put it on adverts in the past, it tends to mean either that the horse has a bit of a cheeky streak and will try it on or take the piss with a rider that isn't confident or very competent - and that could be anything - whether its being spooky or nappy, or getting strong.

The other way I would use it is if I had a horse that was very sensitive. Not necessarily naughty at all, but one that wouldn't cope well with an inexperienced rider - something highly strung.

The first kind is probably okay for a confident novice, whereas the second you'd really want to be more advanced. Most of the time I would put that on an advert anyway though to try and discourage total beginners, unless I had a horse that was really steady and kind enough to look after a real novice.
 
I'm beginning to think I should have put this in the advert for my horse. Not because she is bad, she is the easiest horse I have ever ridden, but she has only been jumping since march, and won 2 BE90's. Despite putting eventing prospect on the advert I keep getting people calling who have only just started jumping, or have lost confidence. She may be ok with these people but when I jump her I treat her as a 5yo and take it slowly to build up her confidence, as there are still alot of fences she hasn't seen, so needs a rider who can hold her hoof and give her confidence. I'm making a new advert for her to put up at Your Horse Live this weekend, so I think i'll put "not novice ride" on and see if anyone is interested.
 
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Yet my big lad tho relieble will only really go well when I ride very 'technically' ie if i don't get it right he gets lost and confused so I would say he is a more difficult ride as he requires far more skill ( I use the word loosely when applied to me!)

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Sorry but this contradicts your previous post (at the start) where you say you have tught him everything up to Prelim level Dressage? If you have taught him and you dont ride him techinical style, how can he get lost and confused when your the one thats taught him in the first place?????
 
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In an add it normaly means that A) horse is a bar steward you wouldnt trust for a second or B) horse gets bored doing simple things and plays up,but is lovely when asked to work a bit harder.

I owuld think a trustworthy horse that will look after a rider and forgive mistakes is a novice ride,anything else is not.

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I'm with Anima on this one
 
Would you stick a child on their backs if the answer is no then they are not a novice ride. to me a novice is a person learning to ride but at the level where they can both ride out and look after a horse under supervision.
 
I see where you are coming from but it doesn't really.
If I get on him and just 'flap around', (something I did a lot) he just doesn't know what I want because he has never really done anything but if I ride very precisely and give clear signals then he knows what I want. Its because he has little experience unlike a schoolmaster who can work out what it is the rider wants even if the signals aren't clear.
that is why I think he is harder to ride than my g*t who is far more able to work out what it is I want from vague signals.
 
As someone else said - a 'not novice ride' would be a horse that I couldn't trust 100% to look after their rider at all times.

Doesn't mean they're naught or bad horses, just maybe less tolerant of incorrect aids, or a bit too sharp to be completey safe for someone still learning to ride.

I have one horse who will never be a novice ride - he's sharp and a little anxious and relies on his rider to help him if things goes wrong. I also have a 2.5 year old cob who will most defintinly be a novice ride once he's older - he's just got that kind, laid back temperament.
 
Ah but a true school master wont give you what you want if you give vague signals, hence why schoolmasters are used to teach people, if you dont ask properly you dont get!!! But now understand where you were coming from re your own horse!
 
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