# What's classified as a novice rider and am I one??!



## PalominoPrincessx (Jun 2, 2014)

Ok, so I'm looking at buying my own horse (hooray!) and many ads said that their horse is "not a novice ride''. Im not really sure what a novice is (I know the meaning of the word but not the people that fall into that category). 

I think I am a novice as I have only been riding for 2years and have never fallen off (plenty of near falls though!).I have ridden nearly every horse in my stables (which is about 20 horses) and go down to the stables everyday and help with the feeding, grooming etc. I'll try and list all the things that I can do easily both on the horse and in the stable. Ok, so here goes... 

On the horse:

walk, trot, canter, trotting on the correct diagonal, cantering on the correct lead leg, trot and canter a 20m circle, serpentines, figure of eights, trotting poles
Go on hacks often, ridden on the main road, cantered on a canter lane many many times, ridden in numerous charity treks with 100+ horses in it, ride bareback to the paddocks, can walk, trot, canter and jump with no stirrups. 

Jumping:

highest was 1m, crossrails, straight poles, spreads, bounces, doubles, triples, and regularly 
jump courses, correct jumping position. 

In the stable /off the horse:

muck out stables everyday, groom horses, feed horses, lead horses, wash horses, pick out hooves, tack and untack, put their rugs on and take them off, and general stable management. 

Well I think I'm still a novice but I would like other people's opinion on it. 
Thanks in advance!


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## Foxhunter (Feb 5, 2012)

I think you are correct in classing yourself as a novice. It is easy to think you are better than you are and just because you can do certain things on riding school horses and ponies, does not mean you are capable of actually teaching a horse how to do something.

I wrote a piece about buying a horse 
http://www.horseforum.com/new-horses/thinking-getting-your-own-horse-191081/

The important thing it to have someone knowledgeable not only about horses but also about how well you ride to look at horses with you.

You sound confident which is good. If you are getting your own horse are you keeping it at a place where someone is going to be looking out that you are doing things correctly?


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## PalominoPrincessx (Jun 2, 2014)

Yes I thought I would be, since the only horses I've ridden have been riding school horses! lol Thank you I probably would have gone to view a horse that was "not a novice ride" and ended up on the floor with a broken ego haha!! 

I was going to bring my instructor alomg (if possible) to view the horse. I am planning on keeping the horse at my own property but i live about 5 minutes from the stables where I ride. :-D


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## Foxhunter (Feb 5, 2012)

When you are keeping your horse at home please do not be afraid to ask for help on things like feeding.

You may have been feeding several horses but would have been told their rations. 

Continue to take lessons bit on you horse and others. Only riding a lot of different horses will you learn to be a true rider.


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## Palomine (Oct 30, 2010)

Novice.

And also, the person may be not just thinking novice in terms of how long but of how much horse will test rider too.

Stalling, bolting, bucking, pushy, or is way more experienced horse in training too.

Big difference even in lesson horses and your own laidback horse of your own, as the lesson horses are being usually kept in line by good handling, but horse owned by new owner can develop some very bad habits, very quickly.


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## plomme (Feb 7, 2013)

Palomine said:


> Novice.
> 
> And also, the person may be not just thinking novice in terms of how long but of how much horse will test rider too.
> 
> Stalling, bolting, bucking, pushy, or is way more experienced horse in training too.


This would be my first thought. I have a horse who would definitely be advertised as 'not for novice riders' because he can spook, buck, and stall. He has a very specific way he likes to be ridden and it is 100% off your seat - if you haven't developed that yet he's going to be a complete jerk to you. You have to get him forward and into work mode because if he isn't working he can cause a lot of trouble. You have to be quicker than he is and know how to solve problems because he *will* create problems if he has the opportunity to. None of this means he's a horrible, bad horse, but he has the potential to be a very bad and even dangerous horse for some riders. He's also just not fun for lower level riders - he is not generous or rewarding at that level. It wouldn't be fair for either him or the rider if he were paired with a novice. When I bought him I probably wasn't really experienced enough and I've had to majorly change my riding. On the positive side, I'm pretty sure 50% of my seat development can be attributed to sitting his bucks 

Ideally novices have horses that give them confidence, who accept mistakes, who reward that level of riding. I don't mean you have to just ride spiritless robot horses, but horses that are easy to make contact with, that don't require a perfect seat or perfect balance, that challenge you in appropriate ways, etc. are good matches. If you want to show the horse, make sure his awesome personality stays awesome off-property as well. You should not have to deal with difficult or very particular horses and definitely not anything that bucks, spins, spooks, bolts, etc. You also don't want to deal with horses that are hard to handle on the ground.

In my experience, people who put this in their ads generally really mean it. Way too often horses are advertised as no buck/no spook/amateur friendly and these turn out to be total lies. I have seen way too many riders paired up with completely inappropriate horses and the result can be anything from lost confidence to serious injury. I have two friends who paid tens of thousands of dollars for horses they can't safely ride and their trainer is the only one who's been able to get on for months. 

Bringing your instructor is a great idea. Good luck!


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## PalominoPrincessx (Jun 2, 2014)

Thanks for all the replies! 
You've all helped me to narrow down my search because before I was looking at 100s of ads and fantasizing about owning the most non-novice ride horse lol!  
Hopefully soon I will have my dream horse! :-D. Thanks again!!
_Posted via Mobile Device_


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## BearPony (Jan 9, 2013)

Think about it this way - you can get a non-novice type horse who you may be capable of riding in specific, carefully orchestrated situations. (Arena-only, not too many other horses, only at horse's home, etc.)

Or you could get the steady eddy type who while they might not be a worldbeater in anyone discipline is good minded enough to do a bit of everything and allow you to try all the riding things you've imagine doing with a horse of your own. 

Which sounds more fun to you? There are always ways to find or create new challenges for yourself and your horse. But confidence is hard to rebuild after its been damaged or destroyed. Look for the horse that will carry you safely - the fun will follow!


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## DuffyDuck (Sep 27, 2011)

A lot of people will put "not a novice ride" because they wish their horse to go to a home where they will have an experienced rider who won't bounce on their back, pull their mouths and know enough about general well being and care.

When I've looked at ads in the UK (I was looking to sell a horse over there and wanted to see what the market was) it seemed that you would pay through the nose for a "novice ride". I have friends with horses that would make a novice ride, but for the reasons I stated above decide not to sell as such.

Your best bet would be to sit down with your trainer one evening over a pizza or chinese and write down what sort of thing you're looking for.

Are you looking for a happy hacker?
Do you want an all rounder to dabble in everything with?
Do you want a cob, or something more refined?
What age would be good to look at?
Height? (if you're 5ft 2, buying a 17.2hh warmblood will do you little favours)
Price range? Tack?

They are all things to consider. Then, get a load of advertisements together, ask for video if they have one and show you trainer. She knows you well enough to tell if the horse is worth looking at or not.

Also, when you go to try a horse, try and get someone to film you ride, and if possible the owner ride ( I ALWAYS get the owner to ride first so I can see how the horse works and behaves with someone they know) and possible confo pics to put up here.. HF helped loads when I was looking!


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