Spurs Help for a Newbie

GirlFriday said:
OP, I think it is really brave of you to come back on this thread with such an honest and frank update. More importantly, well done on recognising this for your horse's benefit.

The teaching you describe, and fact that other people are riding your horse(?), sounds to me as though he might be on working livery at a riding school? Personally I've found the nature of teaching at RSs is occasionally very much more like what your instructors are saying than would happen with the freelance trainers I've met. I don't know if you are on a RS but I would seriously consider asking around (perhaps a thread on whatever regional board on here would be near you?) for recommendations from private horse owners. I'm not saying it will always be the case but the sensitivity to individual horse and rider combo and also the expectations of the horse (that it isn't a robot!) can _sometimes_ be much more horse-friendly with a non RS instructor.

Good luck
Click to expand...

Thank you - I may be stubborn but I can admit to my mistakes haha

I share Max so he's ridden by me and his original owner. He's had a serious amount of sharers in the past and there's one girl who comes every so often and rides him just to be around horses. The riding instructor that recommended the spurs is a pony club instructor. I'm not sure if this is why she's a bit more under the category of 'bully your horse to do it' or not? My favourite ever instructor has moved slightly too far away so I am struggling to find that relationship again and an instructor that respects us both but will push us!
 
I'm sorry it didn't work out for you - hopefully it will be easily resolved with a saddle adjustment or a new training style (you'll know more when you see him without a rider at least). Not all PC instructors are pully-kicky style, but there is certainly a stereotype for a reason in my experience...
 
Notimetoride said:
Im going to go against every single response so far (I think - ive not read every one in detail) and say that spurs do indeed have their place. One of my trainers is a List 1 judge and GP dressage rider and she said I need spurs. My previous trainer (Inter 1 rider) also said the same. Each situation is different, but Im sure your instructor knows what they are talking about. I cannot abide seeing them used in the wrong hands (some people seem to think they look 'cool') , but in the right hands, used correctly, and are v useful. I dont always use them, but I do use them fairly often. Word of warning, the plastic roller ball spurs fall apart. It happened to me whilst I was riding and I didnt know. The ball fell off, leaving me with a sharp spike. Poor poor pony. Ill never touch them again. Start with some short, very blunt rounded end ones, under the watchful eye of your instructor. Though ideally could do with getting the horse more responsive without the spurs though. Its more in the head - the horse needs to be thinking forwards and active. Now going to hide behind the sofa and await the backlash . . . . .
Click to expand...

Notimetoride dives behind sofa only to find mike and Bob notacob already hiding there. The OP has already stated that the instructor is confident about the op,s leg control. It is the instructors opinion that it is worth a try. Spurs used correctly are not a form of punishment .They merely give a clear and distinct leg aid signal which even the most leg dead horse can recognise as a command . Bob the notacob (batshit crazy Irish draught)also is entirely happy with spurs,yet I do not carry any form of schooling whip because of his fiery temperament and tendency to overreact. I think he actualy likes the clear signal that spurs give.
 
Mike007 said:
Notimetoride dives behind sofa only to find mike and Bob notacob already hiding there. The OP has already stated that the instructor is confident about the op,s leg control. It is the instructors opinion that it is worth a try. Spurs used correctly are not a form of punishment .They merely give a clear and distinct leg aid signal which even the most leg dead horse can recognise as a command . Bob the notacob (batshit crazy Irish draught)also is entirely happy with spurs,yet I do not carry any form of schooling whip because of his fiery temperament and tendency to overreact. I think he actualy likes the clear signal that spurs give.
Click to expand...

Well if you both read the updates, you'll see that the rest us predicted what might happen.... which it did we are all concerned to read.

Whilst you both and Bob the notacob are all correct in the fact you use it in the "right" circumstance... this was not that circumstance.
 
I'm in complete agreement with everything JillA and JFTD have said so far. Spurs are for precision aids, not a jab in the guts.

We get this problem with the ex-racers - they're often much weaker on the left. Something that we do to help them with this is placing a pole on the ground. Just a single, slightly thicker than usual pole in the school. Whether on the lunge or being ridden, we find that having to navigate the pole when striking off into canter helps them strike off on the right leg and helps you get the message across to the horse of what you want from them. Such a simple thing to do, could be worth a try.
 
Oh I'd forgotten the pole one LadySam - I used to use one on blocks, works really well. And sometimes opening the inside shoulder by turning the head slightly to the outside can help too, too much inside bend cramps the shoulder and inhibits it as a lead
 
Last edited:
I have yet another update on this whole situation. I've completely scrapped the idea of spurs, and will be telling my instructor this on Thursday, as he's just running away from them and I ride like a bag of poop in them. I lunged him yesterday and he cantered on both reins absolutely perfectly (we had a bit of a bucking fit first time, but I'm putting that down to excitement as he was fine every other time). I noticed saddle issues (but we are getting him fitted on 4th as previously mentioned). So I'm not sure if they're what is causing it? Surely if they were he'd be bad on both reins?

Now that spurs are a complete no go (I apologise to everyone I ignored who told me this in the first place), I'm wondering what to do now. The pole idea would be good, but he really rushes at poles so I'm not quite sure if that'd be ideal! That's our next issue to tackle, once we've got this bloody canter sorted.
 
Hi J_sarahd, re: saddle, no not necessarily will it be even. All horses are asymmetrical (as we are) so it makes sense for it sometimes to have an effect only on one rein. It can be both as well of course. Glad it's being checked. I had a mare who bucked in canter and it was the saddle. It was like she breathed a sigh of relief when the new one was fitted and cantered beautifully from then on (if only everything else was that simple :D)... it's a process of elimination until you crack it :)

Try the poles but JillA is right about the balance too, perhaps once the saddle is comfy, help the canter by setting her up for it better for it on the "bad" side.
 
tallyho! said:
Hi J_sarahd, re: saddle, no not necessarily will it be even. All horses are asymmetrical (as we are) so it makes sense for it sometimes to have an effect only on one rein. It can be both as well of course. Glad it's being checked. I had a mare who bucked in canter and it was the saddle. It was like she breathed a sigh of relief when the new one was fitted and cantered beautifully from then on (if only everything else was that simple :D)... it's a process of elimination until you crack it :)

Try the poles but JillA is right about the balance too, perhaps once the saddle is comfy, help the canter by setting her up for it better for it on the "bad" side.
Click to expand...

My instructor said "it can't possibly be the saddle or he wouldn't canter on either rein" - thanks for clearing it up!! I thought there may have been a chance his ill-fitting saddle was a problem (especially as he is hard to canter for everybody), but thought said instructor must know better than me so disregarded it!

Definitely thinking of getting a new instructor now - it's just annoying because said instructor has known Max for years (plus she's only £10!)
 
I've never known a horse show signs of discomfort with their saddle equally on both reins - it's far more common to see issues on one side first - whether due to their asymmetry, or rider asymmetry, or occasionally asymmetry of the saddle itself.

There are lots of techniques for getting horses to canter on their "weak" leg - counter flexion (bending the neck to the outside) is one, as is the pole exercise. You can ask for leg yield into the corner before asking for the strike off - this works for some. Some horses strike off more easily from walk than trot, some find it easier on a straight line, others on a circle. There's a lot of trial and error involved, but having a really good instructor to watch and make suggestions is invaluable.
 
J_sarahd said:
My instructor said "it can't possibly be the saddle or he wouldn't canter on either rein" - thanks for clearing it up!! I thought there may have been a chance his ill-fitting saddle was a problem (especially as he is hard to canter for everybody), but thought said instructor must know better than me so disregarded it!

Definitely thinking of getting a new instructor now - it's just annoying because said instructor has known Max for years (plus she's only £10!)
Click to expand...

Sorry to say this but no proper instructor would get out of bed for £10 I think you and your horse deserve someone better!
 
oldie48 said:
Sorry to say this but no proper instructor would get out of bed for £10 I think you and your horse deserve someone better!
Click to expand...

I think it's because she does the whole yard at the same time. But you're right, me and pony deserve somebody better who will actually look at his tanking/broncing/cantering on the wrong leg/refusing to canter as a problem that needs fixing, not an inconvenience!!
 
J_sarahd said:
I think it's because she does the whole yard at the same time. But you're right, me and pony deserve somebody better who will actually look at his tanking/broncing/cantering on the wrong leg/refusing to canter as a problem that needs fixing, not an inconvenience!!
Click to expand...

Absolutely! Plus if you are really struggling a good instructor will often pop on your horse to see what is going on underneath them. Then they get a much clearer picture of whether its a rider training issue, a horse training issue, a physical problem etc - and can adjust their lesson accordingly.
 
SEL said:
Absolutely! Plus if you are really struggling a good instructor will often pop on your horse to see what is going on underneath them. Then they get a much clearer picture of whether its a rider training issue, a horse training issue, a physical problem etc - and can adjust their lesson accordingly.
Click to expand...

That's definitely what we need. Time to go on an instructor-hunt!! I feel really stupid for listening to her and whacking on a pair of spurs.
 
J_sarahd said:
I feel really stupid for listening to her and whacking on a pair of spurs.
Click to expand...

Don't - you were acting on the advice you were given at the time. But you chose to evaluate that advice, get more information, test the theory and accept and learn from the fact that it didn't work. That's all any of us can do
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Top