03/08/2026
𝙋𝙧𝙤𝙥𝙚𝙧 𝙎𝙥𝙪𝙧 𝙐𝙨𝙚
I received a message from someone requesting this topic. So let’s get into it.
First thing to understand: spurs are an extension of your heel. They’re a tool.
And not everybody has the right to use every tool until their horsemanship is solid.
Personally, I don’t like letting kids wear spurs. A lot of times kids and even beginner adult riders move around too much in the saddle. Their legs flop, swing, bump, and they don’t always have full control of where their heel is.
When you add a spur to that kind of leg, you’re not helping the horse… you’re just creating confusion and miscommunication.
Sometimes I hear people say their horse is dull and won’t move when they kick. But kicking harder or kicking with spurs, usually doesn’t fix that problem. In fact, it often makes it worse. Horses get duller, they get irritated, and pretty soon you’ve created a bigger training issue than you started with.
That’s why I never recommend spurs for kids or beginner riders. Most of the time it’s just a problem waiting to happen.
Now, if you’re an older kid or someone who’s been riding for several years, has good horsemanship, rides balanced, and has good control of your legs, then spurs can be a useful tool, especially if the horse you’re riding understands them.
But here’s the part that makes me cringe:
Watching someone whop on a horse and just spur the crap out of them to try to make them run faster.
That’s not what spurs are for.
Spurs are not there to make a horse run faster.
They’re there to refine communication.
They help you ask a horse to move their rib cage, move a shoulder, engage their body, or respond more precisely to your leg. A spur should be a light touch or a quick reinforcement of your calf, not something that’s constantly digging into the horse.
Think of it this way:
Your calf asks.
The spur reinforces.
And the second the horse responds, your leg should release. The release is the most important part.
If you’re having to constantly kick or spur a horse every stride, the problem isn’t that you need bigger spurs. The problem is that something in the training and/or communication needs to be addressed.
Spurs don’t make someone a better rider. They don’t make someone look cooler.
But in the hands (and legs) of a rider with good timing and good horsemanship, they can make communication with a horse much clearer.
I’ve been riding for 23 years, professionally for the last 7, and I don’t always wear spurs. There’s nothing wrong with just riding in a good pair of boots 😉
