Spur Licence with Dan Steers

As seen in the April 2019 issue of Horse Deals.

There are a lot of myths and misunderstandings when it comes to using spurs and this is often due to not being educated on how to use spurs, when to use spurs and what type of spurs should you use?

I tell my students and clinic participants; they need to earn their spur licence first before they can start riding with spurs.

Firstly, I will explain what spurs mean to me. Spurs are a tool not a weapon to get the horse to increase forwardness or speed! Spurs should be used to move the horses’ body laterally; they are to be respected, not feared.

I use three different leg positions to move shoulders, ribcage and hindquarters and spurs help keep your leg position precise, this keeps your leg cues sharp and prevents your horse from getting confused.

How does a rider get their spur licence? To get your spur licence you need to be a balanced rider that uses their legs and hands independently. When I teach new riders whether young or old, I try and get their legs working individually as quick as possible so they can learn to only kick with one leg at a time. This can be hard at first but can be quickly mastered. As a balanced rider you need to be able to put your legs both on and off in motion in order to be able to make corrections and reward the horse for giving correct responses.

When is the horse ready for spurs? Once the rider has control of their legs and leg aids. The next question is; when do we introduce spurs to the horse?

I start riding with spurs from as early as a few rides on a young un-started horse, once I feel that the horse knows how to move off of my leg laterally, then I will start to introduce spurs to refine my leg aids as early as possible as this helps the horse get confident with my legs.

As I mentioned earlier, I don’t use my legs to get the horse more forward to the leg. In the instance of the horse lacking forward impulsion, I will support my leg contact with a dressage whip. This is both with a greener horse and an older educated horse that might be getting lazy.

Often when I jump on a clinic participants horse with my spurs on, the rider will tell me the horse doesn’t like spurs and I should take them off so they don’t bother him. I then explain to the rider the horse will quickly become relaxed with spurs once the horse knows I will take them away from the horses’ belly when he gives me the correct response from the leg aid. The horse then feels comfortable that he controls whether the spurs are on or off. I find this takes only a matter of minutes and that’s why it’s important to be able to use your legs independently like mentioned above.

What type of spur should you use? The other problem I come across frequently is riders have the incorrect type of spur on their horse and this can also result in the horse getting frustrated.

I use a western spur that has a small gooseneck shank and a dull no offensive rowel (shown in picture). I like a small shank, as this gives me more control over the use of my leg. That’s one of the more common mistakes when picking spurs is I see riders using spurs with a long shank and they aren’t aware that they are poking and prodding their horse constantly which agitates the horse.

When first learning to use spurs, I recommend a small dummy spur, once you have mastered the dummy spur you can move into a small shank with a circular spur rowel.

I believe all riders whether english or western should stick to a spur with a small shank, as this gives you more control over your legs and helps keep the horse responsive, without fear or agitation.

It’s important whenever training your horse, that you understand the training tools and their jobs as well as your role in using the tool, so it’s done correctly and always keep in mind your horses perspective.

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