Hi everyone! So I’ve been riding for a few years, but I was just wondering, when does one usually start using spurs? I’m in no rush to use them as I want to ensure a steady lower leg I just wondered what everyone’s experience with them is!
You should not put on spurs for any reason until your leg is so stable that you never accidentally use them.
Even then if the horse is happy and forward you don’t need them. Plus they can wreck your leg position by encouraging you to kick with heel rather than use your calf. They aren’t really a sign of advanced riding.
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What’s your discipline? I think Spurs can be really common for Hunter jumpers and many Western disciplines at a lot of levels. For dressage I’ve always been taught that the spur is more of a refined aid and not for forward. I don’t plan on using Spurs for a little while on my guy although he does know a lot of lateral work he’s pretty sensitive off the seat for now. Although I will say he’s not a forward going horse but I don’t want to be tempted to use the Spurs for that.
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[quote=“Scribbler, post:2, topic:771181, full:true”]
You should not put on spurs for any reason until your leg is so stable that you never accidentally use them.
Even then if the horse is happy and forward you don’t need them. Plus, they can wreck your leg position by encouraging you to kick with heel rather than use your calf. They aren’t really a sign of advanced riding. [/quote]
It makes me think about riders who up the severity of bits to control the speed. Never mind signs of advanced riding. More often than not they haven’t made it to mediocre.
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It will depend a lot on your situation and your discipline and where and who you ride with. I’ve been riding for nearly 35 years and I’ve never needed them, but my preference is for forward thinking, sensitive horses, so I’ve never needed any help with my leg cues. I have a couple of pairs of dummy spurs I’ve used if the sport or class required it.
