What Do Wednesday: Spurs

I'm going to try not to offend 32 readers like I did with my draw reins post (they unsubscribed, lulz), but this is something worth talking about IMO. There have been several instances of elimination due to the blood rule because of spurs (Olympics most notably & Steffan Peters in 2015) and has generated some talk on COTH too a while back.

As with any training aid, I feel there is a time and a place for spurs and also a level of skill required for such a tool. I also feel quite strongly against using spurs on a horse that needs those ridiculous pads to keep them from rubbing or bleeding. If a horse needs those, then surely they can feel your heel on their side, since they're so sensitive and all.

Also, you look ridiculous

Taking that with a grain of salt, I know FEI dressage tests require them and spurs are usually used for refinement and not abusive tactics.

Usually.

Too often though I've seen spurs put on inexperienced riders with lazy horses which only results in jabbing them over and over due to a weak position. OR on asshats who stab the fuck out of their horses because they apparently cannot train horses to respond normally to aids. Not exactly the smartest decision, but hey, to each their own, I'm not the #tackpolice

I will judge you quietly though.

Just like whips, godforsaken draw reins, nosebands and bits, spurs are a tool and must be treated with that kind of respect. A Dressage TODAY article stated it quite well; using the four R's

Response: Usually the first reason why you may want to use spurs is to achieve a better reaction to your leg. Even with the most competent rider, a horse may become dull to the leg. It is important to remember that most horses by nature take the path of least resistance to some degree. A spur used for response helps the horse notice that the leg has been applied and that you are expecting a reaction.
Reinforce: Spurs can be useful in reinforcing a specific aid. In the case of a dull horse, after applying the leg and getting an insufficient forward reaction, the spur could be used to reinforce that the leg means to move more forward.
Refine: Some advanced riders use spurs to allow their legs to make smaller movements to achieve more precise reactions. For example, during a flying-change aid, if a horse was swinging sideways due to being overly reactive to leg pressure, a quick pulse with the spur may help to straighten him and quicken the change. A spur used in this way allows the rider to use less leg pressure, thereby refining the change aid Reward: In the case of sensitive or more advanced horses who do not like to be ridden with a significant amount of leg pressure, the spur can be used to thank the horse for being so responsive. These types of horses often appreciate the clarity of an aid that a properly applied spur can provide. 

Personally, I think that sums it up perfectly and the response explanation is my favorite. Training horses is quite the fickle endeavor and there are tools at our disposal to help us along the way. Not every horse is the same, and not every rider is the same.

For myself, I tend to ride sans whip and spurs on both horses, though I have been known to slap the roller spurs on occasion. I try to train them with as little resistance from them as possible, because hot thoroughbreds, and I think the absence of gimmicks and training tools are key to that. Generally takes much longer than those people who try to fake training with headsets and fear based training, but whatever. (WHAT, good training take a long time and not a few shorts months or years? WHO KNEW). But I do realize a worthy application of such tools when I see one.

The only spur I'll use

Yankee especially now, since he's been ridden by a green rider with little to no specific application of certain aids, has become incredibly dull and lazy to the aids. Bad pony. Even before then, if we were working a complicated exercise with lots of lateral work and canter transitions, I would put the spurs on for quiet reminders (response, and reinforcement) and some moderate refinement between application of certain aids. 

Sans spurs flatwork circa 2014/I wish I was this skinny still

 "If your seat is stable only because you are gripping with your lower legs and hanging on the reins, you are not ready for spurs"

Yankee has never been a sensitive creature on the flat, but could be lazy and would absolutely ignore the shit out of you if he was not nicely reminded that he is a horse and must horse when asked nicely. Then, for the next ride, the spurs would come off and not be needed again for a few weeks. I like those kinds of tools. 

Applying said spur to said lazy beast

Whoop there is it, the frame we've been looking for

With Bacardi I kept whips and spurs away from him for two years. As an incredible reactive horse to literally anything, I could only assume what type of uncalled for reaction I would get if I utilized them. Not to mention they were never needed, so there was no point in ever wearing spurs or carrying a whip. I still have not once carried a whip jumping with him but have used a dressage whip exactly 3 times on two separate rides as reminders for leg means go.

"the spur should be used to turn up the volume of the leg aid. For example, encouraging the horse to move more forward toward the bit or getting him to step more deeply sideways in a leg yield"

Now that he's older and has the basics down pat and we've moved forward in the jumper ring,  I did experiment with roller spurs on him twice. Most recently (as of two weeks-ish) he's been ever so resistant to turning right. I put on the spurs for the first time ever and barely touched his side and that did the trick, with exuberance. I wore them for one schooling session and the show, and I'm still not sure I have the skills to keep them quiet enough on a horse like him. I honestly didn't need them for the show, and should have not used them.

I spy roller spurs

So with B, I doubt he will ever "need" them, since his sides (and everything else) is already so sensitive and I simply have to become a better rider and not use gimmicks for good, solid training. With Yankee, he does benefit from them on occasion, but I limit use to those occasions when he needs a reminder of his training and I can keep them quiet enough in flatwork on him. I don't think I would let his leaser use them just yet though.

So, if you made it to this point, I want to know if you use spurs and why! If not, why? Do you use them every ride? Sporadically? Why or why not? I must know!