Should i try spurs?

[Chels&&Cleo]

im wondering whether to try spurs for dressage test coming up, at my last dressage test although she done very well she was quite lazy and i had to kick my socks off to get her to listen wonderin whether i should give spurs ago, what do u think and do u use them? x

[Sophie..*]

Maybe try them at home first, i dont have them personlily though.

[hmoses]

As above, don't leave trying it til the competition, use them at home first. I have a lazy arab and use spurs for dressage. It makes a huge difference but takes a while to find out just how much to use. My legs are not good so I don't use spurs for anything else in case I hurt him. When we go jumping I just squeeze REALLY hard:D

[xloopylozzax]

spurs are for refinement not louder aids.
try schooling using a soft squeeze, then move it up a huge notch backing it up with strong legs or your stick or voice- she will become wise and start listening to soft squeeze, anything for a quiet life! :)

lots of transitions so she listens to you and doesnt switch off but use light aids to start with then big aids to suprise her with if she ignores you.

[coss]

agree with loopy. i sometimes use spurs but not for speed - for encouraging more bend and with one of my horses is very sensitive to the position of my leg and without spurs is as if my leg is a blurry aid.

[eventerbabe]

wise words from loopylozza and coss. Nope, i wouldn't advise spurs if you just want to chivvy the horse up. I also wouldn't even think about them unless you have a good lower leg position. Yes, i use spurs but for refinement as my horse is working at a resonably advanced level in his flatwork.

[Valaraki]

wise words from loopylozza and coss. Nope, i wouldn't advise spurs if you just want to chivvy the horse up. I also wouldn't even think about them unless you have a good lower leg position. Yes, i use spurs but for refinement as my horse is working at a resonably advanced level in his flatwork.

I agree, dont put spurs on just because you want to speed your horse up. I would do lots of transitions, especially trot to halt, hlt to trot to try and get the hind quarters engaged. Like the others have said if your horse isnt listening to your leg back it up with your schooling stick instead.
I use spurs for refinement not because they wont move.

[andreaB]

sounds to me as thought your horse is dead to the aids , if you are having to kick hard using spurs to do this is likely to result in your horse having very sore sides or worse:eek:

personally i think what you need is schooling , you need to get the horse responding to your aid & promptly so

you could try the following exercise in trot & canter & do it as soon as you begin to ride , don't worry about contact out outline particularly , just about creating forwardness

-put the horse into trot/canter , don't overuse your leg , as soon as he starts to loose implusion give him a big sharp kick , you want him to almost jolt/rush forward , if he doesn't respond & give the desired result repeat the aid adding a sharp smack with your stick behind your leg , as soon as he responds let him go forward & keep going DO NOT continue to use your leg

- as soon as he starts to loose forwardness repeat the above steps & again do not keep using your leg in between

-once he is going forward & reacting then start your schooling routine , but if he lapses back to his lazy ways & you end up doing all the work come back to repeating the exercise

the aim is that you get the horse going forward under his own steam without you having to nag & that when you give an aid he does react, it requires discipline on your part too as you have probably got into the habit of nagging him because he is lazy

good luck:)

[Parsnip]

....if your horse is unresponsive to leg aids.
Constant kicking just shows that the horse isn't listening to you .... using spurs regularly will end up having little or no effect when the horse learns to ignore them too!

Squeeze to check, kick to ask, smack to tell!

Go back to schooling - transitions as mentioned above and try to vary your horse's routine. A horse that has done the same thing over and over again will be bored and sluggish. I have a pony who has a tendency to get school sour. I use spurs when I ride him in the school and he associates them with schooling work but you do have to be very careful with your lower leg position!

[Chels&&Cleo]

sounds to me as thought your horse is dead to the aids , if you are having to kick hard using spurs to do this is likely to result in your horse having very sore sides or worse:eek:


Thanku 4 ** Repliese :)

i Dont kick her using Spurs- ive never used them before, at home she is fine schooling and listening to my legs. it was just at my last dressage test after lots of warming up when i went in she just went very lazy and wasnt listening 2 my legs.

[xloopylozzax]

maybe she was tired or bored?

we dont do lots of warming up at competitions (showing, but similar thing really) just get them listening and warm and stretched then leave it at that.
how long did you warm up for?

perhaps a small feed in the morning, or more feed leading up to the event to make sure she has enough in the tank?
add some competition mix or oats or something similar to spark her up a bit.
my mare is the same, an absolute nightmare warming up or in the collecting ring (bucking, threatening to rear, just been an arse with no brakes etc) but once you get in the ring she calms it down a lot, she doesnt loose her spark but her brain settles.
she is just an attention seeker though :p.

if you have lessons talk to an RI you trust/respect or know quite well and see if they think spurs will benefit you, have a few lessons with them on and see if they make a difference.

[chickyd444]

would'nt using spurs just for her test count as refinement ?- i use mine for dressage lessons every so often and my tests. :o

[Chels&&Cleo]

I warmed up for about 15-20mins it was a one day event and she was speedy in the showjumping and cross country- i have another dressage test this weekend comined with eventers challenge i'll see how she goes then

Thankyou 4 all your replies :D:D x

[xloopylozzax]

good luck, hope it goes well for you :D