Spurs on young horse

[belle]

I have recently taken my 5 year old Arab mare to the yard where I work to be broken in. All has gone well, and I can walk, trot and canter my horse, turn and stop. She is showing alot of promise, as she will lower her head and go long and low, and on a shorter rein with a contact, is showing the beginnings of working on the bit.

Why then, am I advised by my instructor, to begin wearing spurs on my baby? The only thing wrong with her is she is a bit unbalanced and stuffy at times! My instructor said it was to stop her from becoming dead to the leg.

I did not take her advise, my horse has not even been broken in a month!

What do you think?

[Mehitabel]

sounds like you've gotten off to a good start with your baby. a lot of youngsters are a bit stuffy to start with, when they perhaps haven't quite twigged why they're supposed to be going round this school and doing this and that. it's also contributed to by the being unbalanced - if it's hard for a young horse to do something, they either slow down or rush through it.
it is important that you don't get into the habit of having to kick-kick-kick to get anywhere, but if it were me, i'd give her a bit more of a chance before i used spurs! is there plenty of hacking where you are? stuffy horses often improve dramatically out of the school, as it's more interesting, doesn't seem like "work" and is easier because they don't have to bend all the time.
i would go out as much as possible, use your voice a lot and be really encouraging, to get her fitter and to give her the idea that it's fun being ridden. then when you do school, stick to things she finds relatively easy, and keep up the voice aids - "come on then! good girl! let's have some fun! let's TROT!" and keep talking in a really upbeat tone of voice all the time. petal was similar as a baby (and her oldest foal is at the minute as well!) she was rather uncoordinated and not terribly quick on the uptake, and if in doubt she'd grind to a halt.
people did tell me to use spurs on her, but she wasn't being lazy, she didn't know what i wanted. once she had worked it out, she was incredibly willing, and i expect your mare will be the same.

[liz--y]

i personally dont like using spurs on a young horse. i've just spent the 10 weeks at my trainers yard where basicly everything is ridden in spurs inc 4yo's that have not long been backed. its everyones personal preferance. warning if you do dicide to use then introduce then slowly and the first time you put them on put then on at the end of a schooling sesion or you may find urself on the floor

[belle]

The yard where my horse is at the moment has heavy traffic around, and no off road hacking so I have not hacked her yet. I hope to hack her when she comes home at the end of the month, where there is lots less traffic and loads of bridleways etc.

I have not worn spurs on my baby, although 2 other members of staff have and she was fine with them, occasionally trying to knock them off her sides with her back foot.

She is going well, despite coming into season and throwing me on the floor yesterday.:(

Does anyone else have trouble riding mares when they come into season?

Thanks for your advice everyone.:)

[shaver]

I personally have not used spurs, especially on young ones, And will probable never use spurs, I have seen alot of over use with them and it just frustrates the horse and rider so the rider uses the spurs more, kind of crule! A girl I know just broke her horse, and says it's dead on the sides, She has only been riden a month in over a year, due to injuries. I have seen her ride and she is making the horse not want to move, and has skipped alot of ground work. Remember to ask your horse before attenpting to make it, making your horse do something will make it not want to!
Asking at the right timing is all what it is about, And I am not a real talkative rider. Give her time and eventually she will be willing to do anything for you. Quite a few people that recently broke horses in the last while seemed to have that problem , I set them back for more ground work and then they seem to catch on, and realize they where doing it wrong. Good luck ! amd remember time is a major factor, some take longer some take shorter.Also evauate what you've asked and how to see if it's you or your horse?
Shaver:)

[cvb]

... you've gone back to school to learn a new skill. The teacher speaks a foreign language but demonstrates what she wants you to do. Somehow you make a start and things seem to be going quite well.

Then suddenly the teacher takes to slapping you on the hand with a ruler.

Your reaction ..... ?

You will probably be quite confused, and try to work out what you did wrong. You will try and try. Depending on how she uses the ruler, you may start to feel angry and unhappy. Long term you may switch off completely.

OK, so the analogy may not be 100% good. But is your horse really showing any signs of being 'dead' ? Or just being a normal baby and taking longer to work some things out than others ? We do not expect 5 year old kids just starting school to sit still for hours reading War and Peace. Why do people expect young horses to be perfect ? They need space and time as well.

IMHO, spurs are for giving more refined aids, when your horse has (at least) learnt the basics and is confident.