When do you consider a cob not to be "green"?

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Bangagin

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I bought my cob mare rising 5, and have had her almost 18 months now. She's my third horse, but my first youngster, and it just crossed my mind this morning when she would no longer be considered green (I think we've a way to go yet!). She's hacking out confidently alone, in a pair and in a group. I have a freelance rider schooling her once a week for me, and I am having a lesson on her once a month. Just interested to hear people's opinions on when you would no longer consider a horse to be "green". We haven't been out and about anywhere yet (pleasure rides or clinics) but are hoping to next year.
 
Well it would completely depend on how much education and exposure they had. And what you were measuring ‘green’ against.

None of mine, aged 6, would I consider green. I would fully expect them to be self assured enough to go out and do stuff without drama, relative to their age.

Now they could be ‘green’ for example if stepping up to the next level of competition etc, but as a riding horse with 2 years education I wouldn’t expect my own horses to be green for that purpose.
 
This is a really good question because I've been thinking about this with regard to Ozzy, who is now 8 and was backed at 6.
I say that he's incredibly green, so it got me thinking about exactly what this means.
Basically, I just don't think he's done enough. He appears to have a basic understanding of leg aids but isn't always easy to steer and seems to struggle going in a straight line at times (or indeed going forward at all, sometimes!) He needs lots of schooling out on hacks, transitions, lateral movement, etc - just listening to the rider and doing as he's asked. At the moment, everything is either negotiation or a full-on argument.
He needs loads more experience!

However, sometimes it's not at as straightforward. My boy AJ is 16 now and I got him when he was 4. He had a lot of experience out hunting and on group rides and behaved very well. By 6 I would have said that he wasn't green any more. We had many seasons of happy hunting and hacking. He's responsive to leg aids and does listen to his rider. No fighting or arguing.

But he is very unhappy hacking solo and doesn't particularly like leading. He has other dislikes, namely big, noisy rattling vehicles (especially with trailers). And cows.
He responds by tensing up and trotting...nothing horrendous like bolting off, but he isn't happy.
Nothing to do with green-ness, I don't think, it's just AJ.
In this respect, Ozzy is much better; he's not fazed by big noisy vehicles at all. But he's the greenest 8 year old I've ever met!
 
To me, Green just means that perhaps not a suitable mount as a general purpose riding horse for a novice rider . An experienced rider would be able to react to any "greeness", whatever form it takes, cope with it and know what to do about it.
 
I think you’ll get a lot of answered here! I wouldn’t consider a horse or cob green if they can walk trot and canter on both reins in the school some basic lateral work and is hacking well in company. I think a lot depends on the rider as well.

As a side not just to say what a breath of fresh air is it to see someone having a regular lesson and a pro rider to have bring their horse on. Hope this doesn’t patronising I genuinely mean it.
 
I would consider my Connemara to be quite green, and he's competed at national level and is not particularly young. He is just inexperienced, you couldn't safely put a novice rider on him. He'll probably always be sensitive but he will get more experienced and therefore be less green.

So, it depends on context. However I would generally consider a cob/native horse to not be green if it is safe for a rider a little less good than average hobby rider to bring out on a hack in all gaits, all gaits and basic turns in a riding arena. Doesn't have to be in a good form, as long as it's comfortable doing it.
 
I'd say mine was green at 6 in certain situations - particularly anything where there was a lot to see.

This year at 7 I'd say he was a bit green still at jumping, but the rest of life is now fairly routine (Trailblazers at Addington was a big ask!) Still bouncy but I'm pretty sure he'll be like that at 17.
 
Like the others commenting, I think it depends on what you are measuring against (what are your expectations of the horse's job, and how is it doing relative to that?), but also against what is normal in your general horsey context. I'd probably be thinking in terms of "leisure horse suitable for a competent rider", and would expect WTC to be reasonably balanced with at least beginnings of lateral work, doing a course of small jumps without freaking out, hacking sensibly at least in company, and able to be taken to another venue such as a local show, clinic, or pleasure ride without a complete personality transplant.

Still, there will always be "new" things that the horse is less competent with...my mare is 19, and still not at all keen on meeting combines on hacks. She first met one on a hack age 17, so it's possibly not surprising. Tbf, I don't like them either, on a hack...She is a klutz over even small jumps, and it's not something I've ever pursued with her, so also not suprising. She's still not marvelously confident hacking on her own, despite having competed to decent lengths in Endurance and hacked on her own many many times. But she is a very reliable, sensible hack otherwise, and knows her lateral work pretty well!
 
I understand 'green' to mean either the horse doesn't understand what he's being asked to do, or he does understand but lacks the confidence to do it
So I think when a horse is no longer green can vary hugely, depending on the horse's experiences and the competence of the owner/rider
And some horses will always be green in some situations if they haven't had enough exposure and positive experiences around those things
 
Highmileagecob said:
A broad generalisation, but a cob is no longer green when he/she knows exactly what you are asking, and decides to co-operate. You can find a few other descriptions for the little devils who know exactly what you are asking, but do their own thing anyway.
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Hahaha! 99% of the time she is compliant, but she does have quite a strong will! 😂
hock said:
I think you’ll get a lot of answered here! I wouldn’t consider a horse or cob green if they can walk trot and canter on both reins in the school some basic lateral work and is hacking well in company. I think a lot depends on the rider as well.

As a side not just to say what a breath of fresh air is it to see someone having a regular lesson and a pro rider to have bring their horse on. Hope this doesn’t patronising I genuinely mean it.
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No offence taken. She's my first young horse and so I wanted to make sure she had as broad an education as I could give her. I can only ride 2 or 3 times a week currently, and I'm not keen on schooling, so I wanted to make sure she could progress.

Thanks for the replies everyone. I had a message from the lady who rides her weekly yesterday to say she asked her to pop over a small upright and she ran right through it, so she's definitely green when it comes to jumping. But we have lifesize Halloweeen inflatables on the yard of Frankenstein and a witch with a cauldron (crazy yard owner) and she hasn't turned a hair walking out the yard past both of these. Up until a few weeks ago she didn't understand rein back (I don't think she had ever been asked) but she's now picked that up very quickly. I am really enjoying seeing her progress and it doesn't matter much to me whether she's green or not. We're having fun together and that's the main thing!
 
I considered Amber fully adult and no longer green at 8, no excuses for her at that point as she'd had enough exposure and hours to life as a horse and had fully matured/grown.
It takes a lot to get to that point, for instance, she's had body workers since she was 4 but it took until 8 for her to fully relax into it, up until then she slowly tolerated things for a bit but would still get antsy and fidgety before they were done.
 
southerncomfort said:
I usually take it to mean that the basics are in place but that the horse needs some miles on the clock to cement it all.
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Pretty much this but obviously it can be very variable, but generally as above.

But then lets not forget the terrible Kevins when dear, compliant, going nicely Mr. or Mrs. Cob hits seven. If your lucky the Kevins stage will sail by with hardly a blip in the training and polite compliance but if your not.....well hold on tight, up your insurance and take a deep breath! :oops:😂
 
I think "Green" has to be seen in context: a lot depends on the type of horse, and also what it is being used for.

To me, "Green" is a very relative term.

A cob that is "green" will be a totally different animal from say a dressage horse or showjumper which is described as "green". There is, I would suggest, a different criteria involved with horses which are used for specific equine disciplines like t his. Cobs tend to be purchased by owners who want them mainly as Happy Hackers/Hobby Horses, doing a bit of hacking-out and maybe a bit of low-level Riding Club, clinics etc; so I would expect a cob that is "not green" to be able to cope with let's say being polite on the ground to handle, shoe-and-do; be OK to hack solo & politely in company in all paces with an average rider (i.e. not a total beginner or novice) - and able to deal with the vast majority of traffic which it would encounter on the average road; also hopefully would be able to deal with a pleasure ride, RC clinic etc. A full-blown Show or Hunting I would place a question mark against.
 
Mrs. Jingle said:
Pretty much this but obviously it can be very variable, but generally as above.

But then lets not forget the terrible Kevins when dear, compliant, going nicely Mr. or Mrs. Cob hits seven. If your lucky the Kevins stage will sail by with hardly a blip in the training and polite compliance but if your not.....well hold on tight, up your insurance and take a deep breath! :oops:😂
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It was 6 for me - he was a horror!! A dressage judge giving me a clap at the end for staying on was a low point.

bucked off 3 times in clinics (replacement hats just a fortnight apart), he developed a nasty nip and started to rear.

Been like a different cob this year. Thankfully.
 
Sorry to laugh SEL! 😅 Having experienced the sudden dramatic change of character more than once with young cobs, I have to say although it can be very challenging, that's putting in mildly, without exception when they have had their little rebellion they have all gone on to be superstars. I love a cob with a bit of character you really can't beat them IMHO. ☺️
 
Green is a very loose expression and everyone’s perception will be different. To me they are no longer green when they have seen enough of the world and have been consistently reacting the same to various situations for a good few months - year. Also, when they are mentally mature enough to stay calm in a situation and listen to you for instruction. The can be green overall or just green in a particular area (eg jumping) due to lack of exposure and experience.
 
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