This, in spades. I bought a 4 year old that was walk/trotting under saddle. He’s been a very easy horse to bring along. That doesn’t mean we did not have our moments where he tested the boundaries. But I have a fabulous trainer that is great with youngsters. Three years later, and we’re doing the adults. I would not have been as comfortable doing this on something that did not have the level headedness this guy has. That’s why I was comfortable taking a chance on such a greenie. So yes, it can and does happen!
Biggest issue isn’t Ammy status, it’s time. That’s what trips many up. No time to ride on a regular schedule and Green horses need to be ridden on a regular schedule. Don’t have to ride for hours, 30-45 min is often enough, but it has to be more then a couple of days a week.
Agree on a 4-5 year old already started under saddle. Doesn’t have to know much but needs to be past the silly and total brat stages and prove it has that brain.
If you have the time and skill, I say Go for it! Consistency is key. Don’t rush and listen to the horse.
Being an amateur has NOTHING to do with knowledge or skill. Hell, I’ve seen some amateurs do a better job of starting and training horses than “professionals”.
This whole amateur/professional thing has always seemed silly to me. There is no criteria, required certification, testing or formal apprenticeship required to become a “professional” in the US. Anybody can “hang out a shingle” whether they have skills or not.
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It’s definitely possible. I have never actually had a fully trained horse. My very first horse that I actually really learned to really ride on was not even started, I watched my then-bf put the first couple rides on her under instruction of a very good young horse starter, she dumped him after he started being an arrogant jerk (go mare!), and I took over even though my riding experience was occasionally piddling around on someone’s dead head horse once every couple of years. Never even cantered before. It was a lot of work with her, and I had a lot of help from above-mentioned trainer (though I did all the rides myself), and we ended up doing everything from cattle sorting to obstacles to eventing and foxhunting. All my horses after that were 3-4 year olds that had at most had a saddle on them, or OTTBs straight off the track. At some point I would really like to get a horse that is already trained, so if my current 4 year old ends up needing to go to a new home at any point for whatever reason I will probably look for a solid older horse next. That being said, working with the babies is SO rewarding, you learn so much. It definitely requires patience and a sense of humor though!
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Also, I actually don’t agree that all green horses NEED to be ridden several days a week. If you are building up fitness to work on harder things, then yes, but teaching basic concepts, if the horse has a really good brain I have never found it to make a difference. Current boy had very sporadic rides over the last 6 months, and when we finally actually started being able to ride consistently and working building fitness, he had not forgotten a single thing, not even things that we had only worked on once or twice months before. Granted he is very smart, and I apparently have a talent for picking babies that have really good brains, but all the ones I had before were similar. So if you do get one and can only do one or two days a week for a period, don’t stress too much, you might not progress as quickly as if you did 4 or 5 rides a week of course but they will still learn.
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Not all Ammies are bad riders. I’ve never had a made horse. I don’t need to take multiple lessons a week. Would our progress go faster if I did? Perhaps. As someone up thread mentioned it’s having the time but more importantly the skill.
OP it boils down to your skill level and your goals. Short and long term.
How on earth Ammy became equal to inept is beyond me. Ammy simply means you don’t make your living in the horse industry.
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Several people have now commented on my original word choice (amateur). I get it…amateur doesn’t equal incompetent. Not at all. It was never my intention to suggest that, and I’m sorry to anyone feeling offended. I’ve gone back to my post and changed the language to be more accurate.
OP I didn’t mean you with my comment. Sorry for the confusion.
Ah well now I’m going to quibble with the term intermediate. 
In my head I think of myself as intermediate because my image of an advanced rider is my coach, who is the best rider I have ever known IRL. More generally, even the mediocre and heavy handed pros that I see daily have an effectiveness and a sticky seat that few non pros have.
On the other hand, coming from the other direction a kiddie lesson program probably defines intermediate as can walk trot canter independently and trot a cross rail.
So its just as vexed a term
But to answer the larger question, yes. Ammies or intermediates or non pros bring along green horses all the time. It may take a bit longer and they may need help if things get sticky. Certainly you should be reading every good training manual now for ideas about the process.
IME with green horses there are several levels to consider.
There is the emotional: is the horse nervous, hot, reactive, playful? You want to get a reading on that every day before you get on, and may want some groundwork skills for getting past these. It’s more crucial on a green horse because you can’t rely in water tight training and obedience to get you through an emotional reaction safely.
There is the actual knowledge. Horses can learn very fast if the task is clear and they are motivated. This counts for both cues and behavior, good and bad.
And then there is physical balance. This will just take as long as it takes. Because the horse has to build muscle to work under saddle and especially on corners and circles. A horse that is still feeling unbalanced can’t obey even a cue that he knows and it can make him unhappy and sour to work out of balance.
So I’d say this last is the most important thing and obviously will be influenced by training to date and natural talent.
There’s lots of great advice in this thread already. I’m another ammie who has bought along greenies. It is the BEST. I find that setting up a horse for a good life is hugely rewarding. Plus it teaches you so much about ‘higher level’ training - more than I thought it would at the beginning - because subtlties in foundation training can have big repercussions further down the track. The more I learn about ‘advanced’ riding and training, the more I re-think how I will go about breaking in my next baby.
So as an educational experience for a horseman/woman, provided you have the right horse (ie: not too hot or challenging for your confidence level), it’s not to be missed IMO.
I think the key for any level of rider is not to try to teach the horse something (at least without a trainer) that you are not 100% confident in doing yourself on a well schooled horse. You can’t teach the horse anything if you’re constantly wondering “is this what it’s supposed to feel like?”. If you know what feeling you’re aiming for, you understand how the horse needs to move his body to do that thing, and you understand the steps to get to that point… well from there it’s all trial and error for amateurs and pros alike.
OP with my green horses right off the bat I budget to work with a trainer. Then on my own, as we get proficient on what we worked on and need to learn something new I get more lessons. I say we because it is my ability to ride my horse as she gets better at what I am asking. My path is slow.
Think of it this way: every person who ever achieved master level status at starting youngsters/greenies had to start with the first one.
My only caveat is that if you keep starting greenies (it’s addictive) you may have a few moments where you apologize to the early horses for the lessons you learned at their expense. Then you realize that they don’t care that it took you 3x as long to put a lead change on one, they care about being treated fairly and dinner, not necessarily in that order.
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I am in my 60s; back in the day when I was moving up through the pony Club ratings, getting a green horse to bring along was the sign that you had made it as a rider. That was what every new “B” rider did and what I did back then as well. To earn the “A” rating, a rider had to demonstrate skill in handling green horses (among many other things).
As an adult in my second riding life, I have brought along several greenies including my current mount, who started out green broke Western and is now very well schooled on the flat and OF. It’s extremely gratifying. My trainer has never sat on my horse although she has helped me a lot in lessons. I am not a naturally talented rider–kind of average in that regard; my strong points are knowledge, patience, and experience. It sounds as if you possess these qualities as well, OP. I say, go for it.
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I’m a 2’6" hunter rider – never shown above 2’6" and only jumped higher than that at home a handful of times with no young or green horse experience. While a green horse wasn’t what I was looking for, I ended up with a 4 yo Westphalian who had about 6 months of professional hunter prior to purchase. So far, things are going well! The horse hasn’t had a pro ride since I bought him over 12 months ago and we continue to improve and show.
What’s made the difference for me has been an extremely knowledgeable trainer with a proven track record of helping amateurs develop young and green horses, as well as purchasing a quality horse with an AMAZING brain.
So, it definitely CAN be done! Seriously, if I can do it, so can anyone else with the right horse and the right training program.
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