what do you think of using spurs on horses?

Question

i think it is really cruel. how would you liek it if you where belted in the side with metal spikes?! i don't even like to kick horses on to make them move!
just treat them with a bit of respect and they will work better than they ever would with spurs being used on them!
i think that people who use spurs on their horses have no heart, and no respect for them. they don't even try to be nice, just on wioth the spurs.
if you use spurs on your horse then could you please just try to be kind rather than cruel, and maybe your horse would be more willing to work for you!

im not saying spurs are always horrible little spikes, im just saying that they can be cruel! alot of people have said that spurs can be a good thing in the right hands, but what i mean is that if you do have a horse that needs the use of spurs, then can't you just TRY being nice. i had a friend who had a very stropy many that never moved without the use of a crop or spurs, but she took them off one day and just tryed to be nice and use kindness instead of harshness. o.k so her horse didnt work much better but they had a much better bond!

Answer 1

I agree, I've never used spurs before because I think it's cruel. even a crop makes me feel bad when I use it.

Answer 2

Gentler is better, but some horses will not respond without spurs. I don't need them with my mare (all I need to do is carry a whip), but I know a lot of other horses that will not go without spurs. I think it is a lot better than kicking them constantly in the side, which I have seen people do to no avail. Spurs are not always spikes as well- you can get ball ones. They are an effective aid when used properly. So if a horse isn't moving for you, what will you do? Let it sit there until it wants to move? Then you have dominance issues and have an uncontrollable horse.
You sound very young, please read up on the topic before posting a hateful message. Just because you saw one mean person using sharp spikes on their horse abusively does not mean that everyone using spurs is like that.

Answer 3

I've used spurs.
I was given an18 year old mare who had been ridden by someone with a poor seat & flappy, heavy legs.
When I got her she had swelling behind the girth which I think was a result of continual kicking.
With blunt spurs she would respond to the slightest touch, without you had to really kick so in her case they were much kinder. These spurs were more like a poke with a finger rather than a punch.

Sharp spurs are another thing entirely. They are sometimes used for show and if you look they never touch the horse.

Jabbing a horse with pointed spurs tells me the user is no horseman and, in England at least, this practice went out as people became more enlightened & trained rather than forced their horses.

Like other artificial aids they are a tool that works well with correct usage in the right situation but an abomination in the wrong hands.

Answer 4

Not all spurs are sharp. English spurs are blunted. Even then, spurs should only be worn by experienced horsemen who know what they are doing so that the horse is not accidently injured.

Spurs are what we riders call "artificial aids". A natural aid is your seat, hand, leg and foot that are all used in signally to the horse what you need for it to do. Sometimes though, you do need to use an artifical aid to make sure that your communication is clear. These aids are designed not to hurt the horse and just provide a slightly firmer signal (the difference between a whisper and a more loudly spoken command). Never to punish or to hurt, but in inexperienced hands they can cause damage.

I've been riding for most of my life and there are times when using artifical aids is definately necessary, but I was taught how to use them properly. When my trainer put a crop in my hand for the first time, she had me tap it against my own leg so I could see exactly how light a touch I needed with it. When I wore spurs for the first time, most of my lesson involved having my trainer yelling at me to keep my toes turned in so that I wasn't accidently digging the spurs into the horse's side.

I never approach a horse with anything less than the upmost respect and yes, I have seen way too much cruelty done out of malice and ignorance. But I've seen just as much damage done to a horse with a snaffle bit by a rider yanking on their mouth. And if you have a horse that is not listening to you without artifical aids, they are a very necessary tool in order to keep both horse and rider safe. And again, they are never to be used to hurt the animal.

Answer 5

Spurs are often a topic of debate among less-experienced horsepeople. First and foremost - spurs are no more cruel than reins or saddles - all of which can be used harmlessly or hurtfully depending on who's using them.
Spurs become a problem when idiots use them. For example:

The bimbo barrel-racing women you see EVERYWHERE that think their horse will actually run faster by gouging it in the gut with western spurs (the ones with the spinning pointy wheel). Complete showmanship, not horsemanship.

However, the simple English style spur (a simple, rounded ended piece of metal, not usually more than 1 inch long) on the boot of dressage rider is used exclusively as a tool to allow the horse to feel extremely subtle directions from the rider. Not harmful in any way.

Most lay people don't know there's even a difference between Western and English spurs, and, people living in America are often only introduced to afore mentioned barrel-bimbos who would do much better to just let their horses do their jobs and stay out of it.

Bottom line: spurs are tools, sometimes used improperly, just like crops, reins, and in cases, horses themselves. All one can do about it is use them correctly yourself, and try to encourage said morons to use them correctly as well.

Answer 6

I don't think you understand the method and use behind spurs. They are used more for comunication than speed. Do a little exercise for me... make a fist and push on your thigh. You feel the pressure but it's not all that irritating or noticable. Now take one of your fingers and poke yourself in the thigh. Notice that this is more irritating and you are more likely to move away from a pressure like this. It is the same theory behind using spurs. They are used to move the horses body and to create flexion and bending. They are not used as a form of torture or to cause suffering. The fact that you say you won't kick a horse shows me that you might not know much about them. Horses are very tough animals with a very thick layer of fat and muscle. As a female, I seriously doubt that you could ever kick a horse hard enough to inflict any real pain. I will conceed the point that an uneducated person should not use spurs, they are a method of finess and not for the inexperienced. I appreciate your concern for the wellfare of horses, and there are still heartless people who torture and cause pain to horses, but I assure you that that is not the purpose of spurs.

Answer 7

Spurs, if properly used, are not cruel. They should never be "stabbed" at the horse, rather "tickled" or "slid" up their side. In this method it is just an attention getter. Unfortunately, too many people use them improperly. No one who's legs don't "wrap" their horse (ie, the 10 year olds perched on 17 hand jumpers whose spurs are in the middle of their rib cage), who cannot ride without stirrups at a walk, trot and canter without clutching their horse, who's legs are quiet under them, or who don't know how to lift a horses ribcage properly (thus the proper method of using spurs), should be allowed to ride with them. Sadly, people want an easy way to get a certain look without taking the necessary time to get the basics right. I have been riding for 15 years, and just recently felt that my legs were quiet enough to wear spurs. I ride english and have short dressage spurs with small rowels (to allow them to roll up the horses side, not stick into them) and the "humane" spurs for one specific horse. Proper training and education would lead to proper use of all aids (spurs, whips, bits, etc) not just spurs.

Answer 8

It entirly depends on the situation.
If you are useing spurs in place of training, no. If you are JABING, or KICKING, that is a HUGE no-no.

If you are useing spurs to aide in training, such as horse dosen't listen to gentle nudge,horse gets a nudge with the spurs, horse listens to no spur next time, thats okay. IF the rider is skilled, and the spurs are large and blunt. (Big spurs don't look good, but the are better than small pointy ones)

Way back when cowboys were around, they tended to be tall, their horses short, and their saddles bulkier than modern western saddles. The horses couldn't even feel subtle legs signals! Cowboys wore spurs so they could use the blunt spur to nudge the horse.

Modern upper level dressage riders use spurs also, but to refine their leg siganls and to apply subtle pressure to their horses. I don't have a problem with that.

Answer 9

Used by inexperienced or poor riders spurs are cruel but so can anything - a thick, mild snaffle bit even. Used by competent riders spurs are a useful artificial aid. Artificial aids are thinkgs like spurs and a crop. Natural aids are your seat, legs, hands, voice. Experienced riders are kind and respectful of their horses and are taking them to another level of work. Often a touch of a whip or sput is all that is needed to enhance an aid and get that impulsion or elevation they are looking for. Learn more about riding and the aids/cues before generalizing in such a way.

Answer 10

OMG Alexis, what a idiot. Barrel bimbos??!!!!
Geez. Quite obvious she is closed to new ideas. Anyhow.
As for the spurs, all depends on rider. I had a mare that I used rounded blunt spurs on because she wouldn't walk without them. She was purely lazy, we had the vet check her any all, no physical issues. Some horses need a little encouragement, and that should be done by a professional, never a novice.
It is also in the horses training. I never have to use spurs on any of mine because I trained them all to respond to my slightest movement. Besides the lazy mare mentioned of course. lol

And by the way, in my opinion:
Star athletes are BORN never MADE! If they don't have it, they just flat out don't have it. That's when you get the idiots and "barrel bimbos". Those that try to make a normal horse a champion. That's when it's cruel and inhumane.

Answer 11

Spurs on an experienced rider is a tool used in training your animal. What is cruel is the rider that does not have the experience to properly use the tools. It is really no different than putting a circular saw in a novice hands. it is not the tool it the person behind the tool. I prefer never to use spurs if at all possible however depending on the situation it is at time unavoidable. Repetitive, consistent training is always more effective than "cowboy." I have had to use them at the beginning the was able to take them off later in training. I'm glad to know that you do not have to use them, YOU have been train properly.

God Bless and Merry Christmas.