Getting a horse used to spurs.

TicTac

TicTac

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Whats the best way!? My warmblood mare is not a forward thinking horse and can get behind the leg at times. She also is a very opinionated madam. I have tried riding with a schooling whip and generally that has little effect as she just kicks out at it and if I'm honest not very good at holding the whip in my left hand which is the side it really needs to be on.

The one and only time I wore spurs on her ( and they were a tiny pair ) they did have the desired effect of making her more forward but she gave me fair warning that she wasn;t happy and after I had ignored the bucks in trot, canter was a different matter and she dumped me!

I'd not long had her when this happened and probably didn't ride her as well as I do now as I know her well now. However, I'm not in a hurry to repeat that circus act as her bucks are big and meaningfull!

BUT I need to be able to get her more forward as when she is, she's a much nicer ride! I have got an instructor lined up to help me but pennies are tight this month.

I do work on the lunge with her and she responds to my voice well and to lateral ground excercises.

Is it a case of trying again to see what response I get or is it a case of polite persistance and holding on for dear life!!!
 
If you think she will respond badly to spurs, have you tried Impulse spurs or similar?

I find these work well with sensitive horses and my mare reacted much better to these than normal spurs.
 
I would be inclined to give the impulse spurs a go too. The other possibility (but I`m really not sure whether these could actually be a bit more irritating to her) would be comb spurs which would possibly be less of pointy `jab` in her sides but more of a blunt consistency. I may be very wrong there though, so anybody please feel free to slap my wrist if I am!

OP I`m in a worse position to you - my mare isn`t forward thinking either, although she is quick off the leg in transitions, she is very difficult and obstinate to get working properly from behind and putting effort in. She doesn`t respond in the slightest to a whip, and I used to use comb spurs but they didn`t help much. I`ve now gone to long necked prince of wales type spurs which are helping much more but it has mainly taken a lot of hard work and cramp in my legs to finally get her going the way I want her!
 
I tried spurs on mine, at the suggestion of my instructor and while she was there. My horse tried to bite my leg! So we took them off.
 
I use the stubben roller ball spurs, they seem to roll more smoothly/less drag then the plastic ones and my sensitive mare seems to accept them more than the normal ones.
 
impulse spurs or comb spurs might be more up her street

comb spurs here if you don't know what I mean (I'm sure you do)

http://www.outdoorvalue.co.uk/products/7023-shires-equestrian-comb-spurs-horse.html

I have just put my (totally ordinary, prince of wales spurs) on BH. He was basically ok. A couple of tail swishes but mostly alright. I might get some impulse ones though as would like to have something between all and nothing!
 
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