Under 16s Wearing Spurs?

[milliepops]

Ah, but perhaps you've not had the experience of riding a really finely tuned dressage horse? Spurs, used as they are supposed to be, allow you to do the lightest, most refined of aids. I have a super, super sensitive Spanish horse that I always wear spurs on, because he gets upset when the aids aren't clear. I also have a happy-go-lucky, really rather lazy chap that I never wear spurs with, because he needs to learn to listen and respond and I want to use quite "broad" aids until he really starts to get it.

It makes me sad when I realise that a lot of people think that bits are the brakes, and spurs are the accelerator....

Agree with this, I have found with mine,the more advanced their training is, the more of a blunt instrument the leg can become. My advanced horse I always wear spurs to school, then they are there should I need them and if I don't need to touch her with my leg then I can choose not to. The young WB is in a very different place, needs the dull effect of a leg without a spur at the moment to help her to relax and learn to be more sensitive. If I went in poking and prodding her, she would tighten against it because she doesn't know enough to respond to a light cue yet.

I do see the value of spurs to train a quicker response to a light aid though, I don't agree with people who say you should never ever use them to teach the horse to be quicker off your leg - yes you can do this with a whip but ultimately it's the leg aid that the horse needs to listen out for and be tuned to.

I don't have a problem with young riders wearing spurs if they have the education and ability to use them correctly, plenty of them do Some of the BD Youth riders (BYRDS rebranded) are very accomplished, for example

 

[J_sarahd]

Agree with this, I have found with mine,the more advanced their training is, the more of a blunt instrument the leg can become. My advanced horse I always wear spurs to school, then they are there should I need them and if I don't need to touch her with my leg then I can choose not to. The young WB is in a very different place, needs the dull effect of a leg without a spur at the moment to help her to relax and learn to be more sensitive. If I went in poking and prodding her, she would tighten against it because she doesn't know enough to respond to a light cue yet.

I do see the value of spurs to train a quicker response to a light aid though, I don't agree with people who say you should never ever use them to teach the horse to be quicker off your leg - yes you can do this with a whip but ultimately it's the leg aid that the horse needs to listen out for and be tuned to.

I don't have a problem with young riders wearing spurs if they have the education and ability to use them correctly, plenty of them do Some of the BD Youth riders (BYRDS rebranded) are very accomplished, for example

Ah thank you for this. This is why I enjoy opening up these conversations about things like this because we all have very different experiences when it comes to horses. Like I said, I’ve only experienced people using them with unstable lower leg position and in a way that to be seems like they’re just using them as a quick bypass to schooling properly.

 

[Potea]

If the rider is good enough to wear spurs, they are good enough rehardless of their age.

I used to livery on a yard with a 12/13 year old whose Mother had ridden at Burghley and she had ridden all her life. She was a far better rider back then than I and numerous other adult riders will ever be - she wore spurs and I never have.

 

[nikkimariet]

Ah, but perhaps you've not had the experience of riding a really finely tuned dressage horse? Spurs, used as they are supposed to be, allow you to do the lightest, most refined of aids. I have a super, super sensitive Spanish horse that I always wear spurs on, because he gets upset when the aids aren't clear. I also have a happy-go-lucky, really rather lazy chap that I never wear spurs with, because he needs to learn to listen and respond and I want to use quite "broad" aids until he really starts to get it.

It makes me sad when I realise that a lot of people think that bits are the brakes, and spurs are the accelerator....

This.

I know plenty of younger people that have far greater riding ability than some older people. So really depends why and how they were being used.

 

[SpringArising]

No its not to get the reaction quicker, its to get a more precise signal which is easier for the horse to understand and interpret

Example if i give you a page of text and want you to focus on one small typo, are you likely to be able to find that typo easier if i wave my hand at the paper or point to the typo with my finger?

I would say that if your aids are akin to someone haphazardly waving their hand at a paper, then it's the riding that needs changing, not the equipment...

I don't have anything against spurs, but you could apply OPs sentiments of 'they should only be able to be used for lateral work to aid refinement' to any aid that you give your horse.