If you are new to horses, but are looking to get one for yourself make sure you do your research before moving forward. Get around horses go to a barn and follow somebody who has been taking care of there for awhile now. Trust me if you ask any horse owner and say can I help do your horse chores most all of them are going to say heck yeah.
So what does Green Horse Mean? If a horse is Green it basically means they are not fully trained and will still need quite a bit of work to get to a fully broke horse.
Why To Ask About A Green Horse?
If you are buying a horse you will want as many details as in what they were trained in and for how long. If an ad simply says Green horse some training you are going to want a lot of details.
A horse can be trained to race, but if you want to do trail riding or team penning that horse may be green in just that area.
You should always have a list of questions to ask a potential horse seller. Just print them off and either call them up and ask or email them the questions. You will also want to see a recent video of them hopefully being ridden.
Green horses are not bad to buy they just haven’t been worked with as much most of the time. Or they may just not have been ridden in awhile and need some refreshers.
Our first horse was a Green Paint and she was an amazing horse after we worked with her for a bit. Plus with a Green horse they are much cheaper than a well trained one.
If you can go over and see the horse watch it and interact with he or she for awhile. See how flighty they are or wash the owner lifting up their feet and brushing. Anything that a normal horse person will do during the day besides riding you want to see and also when they are out running around pay attention for any anomalies with their stride or limping and such.
If you have a vet for a friend or even a vets assistant take them along it would never hurt.
Green Broke is also the term used although the “broke” term people don’t like because it suggests the horse is being trained by force and harshly which usually isn’t the case. Trainers used to be rougher on horses and break them quickly but there isn’t as much of a reason too and they can take there time to work with the horse.
Another term that is used also is Dumb Broke which means essentially the same thing the horse has had some work but needs more. May just need a little refinement.
Now I will say people use the word Green in different ways as well across the world. For example some people call a horse Green simply because they haven’t done any shows but can be highly trained at the same time.
Related Questions:
What Does Green Rider Mean?
Green Rider usually means about the same thing as a Green Horse where the rider is just inexperienced and doesn’t have much of a horse background. This could also mean they have been riding horses for years but haven’t done any shows or won anything. I would not put a Green Rider on a Green Horse that may not be the best combination.
What Does Schooling A Horse Mean?
Are Horses Easy To Train?
Horses are not easily trained there is a saying that a horse needs to do a certain move like walking 150 times before they pick it up automatically after that. So that means they need to have everything done to them 150+ times before it becomes automatic. That can be a lot of work depending on what you are training your horse for. So if your horse is only going to be a pleasure horse for hobby trail riding then that will be a little easier.
However if your horse is going to be a barrel racing horse it will take much longer. Just depends on what they are being broke for. A general rule of thumb is that a horse really starts to learn after 30-60 days of training. That is on average, but horses just like people with learn at different speeds and different ways.
What Does Dead Broke Horse Mean?
This differs for a lot of riders and trainers. We have found that a dead broke horse is a horse that almost any individual Green or Professional rider can jump on and get the horse doing what they want to do with basic instructions. They won’t buck you off or spook easily and are calm most always. They are also very responsive to legs and reins along with verbal cues.
We have an older horse ourselves that doesn’t get ridden as much as it used to. But this horse you can saddle up anytime and get right on him and we have never had any problems it is amazing. Even without lunging or anything he doesn’t spook with any new riders incliding our two year old daughter. He just loves to be ridden and is completely dead broke.
What Is A Green Pony?
Green pony is the same as a Green horse. In that they have had some work done but need to be polished and refined. They may also be completely trained but just haven’t gone to any shows. Make sure you ask the seller these details to figure out how well trained the pony is before purchasing.
What Does It Mean When A Horse Is Fancy Broke?
This can really depend on who you ask. But a Fancy Broke horse in general is a very polished horse and its movements and head placements and such are just perfect. They have had the work put into them and it shows. They do not make mistakes at shows and look just perfect.
Summary Of Definitions
Green broke: has had a saddle on, been ridden only a few times, has a lot of vices, needs experienced rider and tons of work, is liable to spook/bolt,buck/kick,rear, crow hop, refuse simple situations.
Broke: can be ridden by an intermediate rider, still has a lot of vices, but not as many, has more miles, been in more situations, overall better behaved; listens to some leg, rein and vocal cues, not particularly soft or responsive, possible crow hop, bolt/spook.
Well Broke: soft mouth, listens to leg cues, rein cues and vocal, has some vices under saddle, respectful, possible spookiness to few things.
Dead Broke: no spook, buck, rear, bolt or crow hop, calm and gentle in more intense situations, beginner safe, very respectful, responsive to leg, reins and vocal cues.
