Spurs - do you wear them / what for / how often?

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happihorse

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I never normally ride in spurs. However, my horse can be very lazy and so I put them on the day before a competition and for the event itself just to get him a bit more responsive. However, he seems to go so much better in them and I only need a very soft leg aid so was thinking about riding in them every day but was worrying about whether that would make him losse respect for them.

What do you think?
 
i dont hack in spurs or do flatwork in them, as all 3 of my horses are VERY forward going all the time during hacks and schooling on the flat, i dont even jump at home in them, they are always forward etc

but i do use spurs when i go bsja and when i go hunting, just so i have a little extra ''oomph'' if they have an iffy moment at a fence!
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lol.

xxx
 
i ride my horse in them every day, just because you wear them doesnt mean you have to use them....i just like being able to use very exact and precise aids at all times, esp as my boy is now starting half pass work.

with clients horses i will base iton the horse and the day and whether the owner usually wears them and/or wants me to wear them.

i did used to have a very ring crafty horse who was very good off the leg at home but would drop me going down the centre line as he percieved that i wouldnt *get after* him in front of a judge.....cured this by riding in my normal (round ended ) spurs at home, warming up in them and swapping for rowel spurs just before going in to the ring! a sharp reminder half way down the centre line and then i didnt have to use them for the remainder of the test.
 
Prince33 Sp4rkle has hit the nail on the head, something that i end up explaining to nearly every new person i teach - spurs are there to give a pin-point accurate aid, not to make the horse go forward!
i use them for schooling more advanced horses if they need them, and for sj and xc certain horses, but not most of them. i very very rarely wear them at home and i NEVER wear them on a young horse - the horse needs to learn to go truly forward off the leg, and sometimes this can mean a bit of a pony-club kick here and there, which is not fair with spurs on.
 
I do flatwork in spurs, only lessons and comps though, and i show jump him in spurs, again only lessons and comps.
Its not to make him go faster etc- he has plenty of that! For SJing it means i have that extra squeeze when he is being spooky as i can't use a whip. I also find at comps. when doing dressage he can become a bit dead to the leg and if i give him too much of a kick he shoots forwards, but with spurs it means i can just squeeze him up a bit more without rushing forwards...
I use the ball end ones and very lightly and only when i need them! Prefer to keep wearing them to a minimum!
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I only ever use them for refinement.

I wouldn't use spurs for a foundation issue (going forwards off the leg) as then, when you do ask for refinement, you have to do even more with the spur to get a response above and beyond the norm.
 
I use spurs when doing flatwork and in competition on my warmblood, He is forward going in the dressage ring but the spurs help me really get him between my hand and leg and he can get behind the leg doing flatwork as he has been taught by previous owners that dressage is when the horses nose in "in" and he is 14 years old now, so Its taken me the whole time I have had him to get him going forwards (nearly 2 years).
 
I never school in spurs or hack in them but I always jump in them. I think its good to ask and then if need be have extra back up from the leg especially if they are green and a bit backwards. I have loads of different pairs and work out what is best for the horse if they need them and what for.
 
Yes I do ride in them but not every day.
I school in them with both horses for reasons above, although my big horse could do with the odd reminder to go forward.
Never hack in them, did even in them but I tend not to jump in spurs either as horse is pretty responsive.
I just like having them for flatwork tbh.
 
Yep I do "proper" flatwork schooling in them, normally lessons etc and I jump in them at competitions and lessons. I don't use them very often at home, just occasionally if I am working on something new, or really working on getting instant responses. I use them on my young mare for the reason Kerilli doesnt use them! She has to be infront of my leg, so if she drops behind it, she gets a quick reminder from the spur which is effective. This is under advise of someone I have lessons with who is very experienced in producing young horses, and he much prefers to use a spur on young horses instead of a stick, as he believes they quickly realise when you arent carrying a stick... eg in dressage tests :p
 
I used to wear them on my lad just for dressage tests as I was struggling to keep him forward and upwards - he had a tendency to go up the centre line and just back off, drop on the forehand in the canter etc without them. With the spurs it meant I could lengthen my stirrups an extra few holes as well because I wasn't having to nag at him.

Never dared use them for jumping as I don't trust my lower leg that much yet, and because he was always very forward (and sometimes inclined to go upwards!) regardless. Never hacked in them as I just didn't see the point - that was his chance to chill out and have some fun :)
 
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