During a lesson at the clinic in Canberra last weekend, Alex asked, “When is a horse no longer a green horse?”

It’s a good question and worth thinking about. The reason it is a matter that deserves consideration is that we tend to think of horses in terms of green or educated, novice or advanced. We use these terms to describe the degree of education of a horse and whether we like it or not, it can influence how we approach a horse’s handling and training.

There was some discussion about when a horse is no longer a green horse among clinic participants and fence-sitters.

One person said that when a horse is broken in, it is no longer green. Another person thought that when the basics are established, a horse is no longer green. Somebody mentioned when a horse is ready for competition and yet another commented after a certain number of rides.

It is clear that there is no obvious and definitive meaning to when is a horse no longer green. There are many views.

A while back a trainer in the US called Warwick Schiller asked me when did I think a horse could be described as being broken in. I joked that when the owner had run out of money a horse was broken in. However, in truth, my real definition is a little less clear. I told him, “A horse is broken in when I can put a schmuck (incompetent rider) on its back and expect things will be ok.”

By that definition, there are an awful lot of horses being ridden for years that are not broken in. I use this definition because it relates to the mindset and comfort of a horse about being ridden. Being broken in is not about what a horse can do when ridden, but what a horse feels about being ridden. A horse that has no trouble inside it about being ridden will learn to tolerate a schmuck rider. But a horse with trouble inside has its survival instinct closer to the surface and is less likely to tolerate bad riding.

If I take that same attitude to the question of when is a horse no longer a green horse, it’s a little easier to define green-ness.

It’s not hard to argue that a horse is green (novice) at anything it does not know or do well. A horse may not be green in some aspects of its work, but when learning new things, it must be the colour of a tree frog.

If we consider that in training we are always teaching a horse new things, we could reason that every horse is green at something. Therefore, there is no such thing as a horse that is not green.

I think this is a good definition to have because it reminds us to be absolutely clear in everything we do with a horse. It encourages patience when a horse makes a mistake. It encourages compassion and empathy when a horse experiences trouble.

However, the downside of this is if we think of a horse as always being green, we can fall into the trap of never trying to push the boundaries of comfort. For a horse to learn and become a better riding horse we need to push the comfort zone into the uncomfortable zone. The comfort zone is not an area where much learning takes place. But if we can avoid that trap, thinking of a horse as always being green is unlikely to ever be a mistake.

Of course, it can be argued that there are different shades of green. It probably comes down to a personal view of where each of us considers the line of demarcation to exist between novice and educated.

For me, I think a horse can be performing at an advanced level but still be considered green. For instance, a horse that can spin correctly according to the standards of reining competition or a polo horse that is playing at the international level, or a show jumper that is clearing 1.6m. These horses may be highly educated in their field, yet still not be solid in the basics of being a riding horse. I can recall seeing a Grand Prix dressage horse cantering out of control sideways through the gate of the arena when the judge approached with the blue ribbon in hand. To me, that horse was green because despite being highly trained to perform dressage movements, it was not well-trained to be a riding horse.

Now to turn our attention from the horse to the rider, when is a rider no longer a novice rider? Can we apply the same standard or definition to riders as we might to horses? Is there such a thing as an educated rider?

It seems to me that, like a horse, a rider is always a work in progress. Neither a horse nor a rider is ever finished learning. If this is true, then maybe there is no such thing as a rider that is not green. What do you think?