When you think of the typical cowboy or horseman, you might envision Levi jeans, a cowboy hat, and some boots with spurs. While the stereotype is definitely true, most of the outfit accessories serve a crucial purpose. Specifically, the cowboy hat offers protection from the sun, and the spurs help you communicate with your horse. But how do you get on your horse while wearing spurs? And are they really necessary?
To help you get some clarification, Clinton Anderson from Downunder Horsemanship is here to answer your questions. Over the past 20 years, he’s developed a way to train horses, regardless of their past problems or traumas. It begins with training the owners to gain their horse’s respect and understand how to control them properly. Join Clinton on his weekly endeavors to tackle some of the most challenging situations with problem horses and problem owners. This week, we hear what he has to say about getting on your horse while wearing spurs.
He begins the episode by providing a bit of advice for anyone considering wearing spurs—don’t unless you’re properly prepared. Clinton says that if you’ve never ridden with spurs, you need to make sure you’re ready to wear them. Unless you have a good, independent seat, you can forego these accessories. He explains that an independent seat means you don’t need the reins or your legs or hands for balance. So, if the horse jumps left or right and you have to cling on to the horn or grip the horse with your legs and/or reins to stay on, you don’t need to be riding with spurs.
Clinton explains that you need to be able to walk, trot and canter confidently without having to balance on your horse’s mouth with the reins or balance by hanging on to the saddle horn for dear life. You should not have to grip your horse with your legs to stay in the saddle, because, if you’re still in that stage learning to ride, you will be like a ticking time bomb with spurs. Why, may you ask? Because, when you ride your horse with spurs and you’re still having to grip his sides for balance, you might end up using the spurs unintentionally. This can be confusing and ineffective for training, and it can even spook your horse.
If you absolutely want to use spurs, be sure that you have an independent seat. Then, Clinton suggests to introduce spurs by wrapping them in duct tape or vet wrap. That way, your horse can get used to you wearing the spurs. Then, as your horse gets more comfortable with them, you can take the wraps off. Essentially, you need to desensitize your horse to the spurs or just forgo wearing them altogether. Clinton also reminds us that you don’t want to ever use spurs on colts unless you’re sure that you’ve gotten all that jumpiness and spookiness out of them. In fact, if they’re still reactive and jumpy, the last thing you want is to use spurs.
Keep in mind that spurs have varying degrees of bite, so to speak. There are some that are pretty sharp and others that are more passive. If you’re just starting out, use the ones that are more dull and passive to begin with. Or, have somebody that’s more experienced than you ride the horse first to get him used to the spurs for a week or two. This way, if anything does happen as a response to the spurs, the more experienced rider will be able to deal with it. Then, once your horse is safe and comfortable, you can ride him with your own spurs.
Clinton Anderson is here to answer all your questions about horse training. You can sign up for the No Worries Club to learn more about his training and method. If you want to discuss a specific issue personally, you can also schedule a consultation with Clinton directly. Regardless of what kind of information you’re looking for in the horse industry, all you need to do is call the office to book an hour-long consultation and schedule a one-on-one call.
To learn more about the Downunder Horsemanship training method, become a member of the No Worries Club, or get information on any of the products featured on our show, visit our homepage and download the Downunder Horsemanship app today!
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