Would you sell a Tb to a novicey person?

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welshied

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Someone contacted me about my exracer saying that she has been riding over 2 years but describes herself as a novice. My horse is really quiet on roads but is green in school doesn't do anything stupid just doesn't go on circle but walks, trots canters but he feels forward going to me in canter but i am use to little cobs with a shorter stride.
What would you do, don't want to be irresponsible selling him to someone unsuitable!
 
Depends entirely on the horse and the 'novice' I guess. Just because he's a TB doesn't mean he's unsuitable for a novice rider.
 
I did last summer.

I sold an ex-racer (he had been off track a while) to a mum who rode as a child/teenager but hadn't for a while and was looking for a hack to accompany her child and small local HT.

The horse was un-spooky, snaffle mouth and great in traffic.

I made sure we went out for a good hack and she cantered in front and behind and she was absolutely fine.
 
I have sold a TB to a novice rider. The TB in question was so laid back he was practically horizontal, you could have let a rocket off behind him and he would barely have raised an eyebrow. It was no wonder he didn't make the grade as a racer! He was so safe I would have put ANYONE up on him.
 
I'm VERY novicey - even though I've been riding on and off since I was six, I've only just restarted after a five year break and I haven't even cantered yet - and I rode a TB today.
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He's a lovely safe horse, his only fault (I was told) is that he can be a little bit spooky on hacks. I asked his owner reeeeally nicely if she'd give him to me.... funnily enough she said no.
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Agree that it depends on the horse, my TB is quieter to ride and easier to handle than my friends cob. I would describe myself as competent but not particularly brave. I think TBs need calm, consistent handling and routine, possibly more so than some other types, so I would say a lot depends on her ability to look after him on the ground rather than just her ability in the saddle. I made a few mistakes with Che, too much spring grass sent him loopy for instance but was lucky that the girl I bought him from has always been on hand to advise me. Does she have someone more experienced to help her with general care and advice or will she be completely alone. If she is the sort of person who is happy to ask and accept help when she needs it and the horse has a good, kind temperament I wouldn't be too worried about letting him go to her. Hope that helps
 
There's nothing in his being a TB that makes him unsuitable. I used to run a large riding school and about a third of our horses were TB.

The fact that you say he's "green" and "forward" in canter might be more of an issue. It will come down to the buyer and whether or not she is skilled enough to ride that particular horse, TB or not. I wouldn't rule it out but I would progress carefully, with full disclosure and discussion before she actually comes to ride him.
 
my tb that i just lost was lent to me for my 12 year old son as a confidence giver,and he certainly was.Better than any pony!!
R.I.P Speedy Trev.
 
My boss has been having a weekly lesson for less then 3 months, he brought an ex-racer 2 weeks ago that had been out of training a week. So far things are going OK.

I think it really depends on the horse and what the rider is hoping to do with it!
 
WE had people at the yard last year who had just bought an exracer - none of them had ever ridden before or even thought about owning a horse
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The mum bought him because her friend (a trainer) was going to have him put down
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She bought him to our yard and put him on full livery and all of them learned to ride on him - he was probably the nicest horse ever
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The daughter is now riding him in pony club while the mum does fun rides.

On the other hand, a couple of years ago there was a similar situation that went very, very wrong
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I think he would proberbly be ok, i suppose its a difference between novice and nervous. As i had one really novicey person ride him and he scared her senseless without really doing anything
 
I don't think you can generalise on the type. Daisy is perfect for me but I wouldn't sell her to a novice despite people's stereotypes about cobs because she takes advantage whereas a TB might be fine.
 
I know a TB who I used to share, that was then sold on to a girl that had only been on riding school type ponies and quite novicey. The TB in question was even cut late at 7. However he is a gem, he has taught her how to ride, he will canter first or last, complete snaffle mouth etc. The horse is 15.3hh and the girl was only 13 when she bought him.
However the 15hh cob I ride is a little sh*t and has dumped me at a show in the warmup, out cantering on a hack, he would be totally unsuitable for a novice.
I think it all depends on the horse.
 
depends on individual circumstances.....i have known a TB that was fantastic with novices so easy and laid back, and plenty of cobs who are not novice rides in any way!!
 
Absolutely
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,if i stuck a novice on my lad he would switch off,only do what he had to do,which if said novice had no leg strength would be absolutely nothing,lol,only thing that would put a novice off with him is that he is 17hh!!
Most tb's i have known have been soo placid and kind
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eta...most cobs i have known can be bargy and pushy,especially when they have learnt that said owner is a push over
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We sold a 4 year old tb to a girl who had totally lost her confidence, the horse was northern dancer lines but was actually quite a solid build and I think the horse thought she was a cob not a tb herself!, she was THE most laid back horse I have ever dealt with, 100% on roads etc, not brill conformation and would never excel in top competition etc but perfect for what they needed, when I spoke to the potential buyer they weren't going to come and see her because of her age and breed, but I told them to ignore what her breeding was and in this case her age too and come and have a look, they did and found she was exactly what I described and bought her, the mare gave the rider her confidence back and together went hacking and hunting etc etc, a lovely outcome.

All depends on the rider and horse, let them come and see, then you'll know whether they will be over horsed.. Some people are modest and refer to their riding as novice but actally is pretty good!!
 
what i would be worried about is not the riding but the persons horse care knowledge.

might just be my experience but my tb ex racer is very high maintenence and i'd say you needed a lot of horsecare experience to make sure he was properly looked after e.g. always making sure he is properly rugged up, booted up, bandaged up, fed, worked etc etc etc. i've also learnt a hell of a lot about first aid since having him!!!

i would only sell to novice if they made it clear they would be having regular training or assistance with riding and horsecare and would be willing to let them ring me day or night for advice
 
I dont think the issue is that the horse is a TB as some TB's can be very laid back so well suited to a novice! I think the issue is that its an ex-racer. TBH, its very hard to say - only you know the horse... what does the girl want him for? Id probably let her try him because she might not be that novicey.
 
Just hacking, shes had 1 lesson a week for 1.5 years and then been sharing a horse with someone over the last year
 
depends how much support she has.

If she's on a busy yard and is going to get regular lessons then prob ok, assuming horse quiet.

Be more concerned about her 'going it alone', in case she runs into trouble that she can't handle on her own.
 
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