by Julia, age 15

Over recent weeks I’ve seen a few comments about whether or not spurs, whips, and force in general are good ways to train your horse -– or if they only hurt the horse. Well, we’re going to go about this one at a time starting with spurs, which seem to be the most controversial.

SPURS. There are many variations of spurs. I’ve only used English spurs, just because I don’t have my own western ones and I ride English (right now anyway). English spurs are metal bands that go around the heels of riding boots. They usually have a blunt spoke on them used to poke lazy horses. You should only use spurs on horses that need them, and if you aren’t sure then ask a trainer for help deciding. They are used by turning out your toes and pushing your heels into the horse’s side. You apply pressure with both legs for forward motion or use only one spur if you need lateral (sideways) movement. As soon as the horse responds, you point your toes forward again. Spurs are an extension of ‘Ask-Tell-Make’, which is the process of correcting your horse.

For example, if you ask your horse to trot and he doesn’t move, you ‘tell’ him to trot by squeezing again and giving a kick. If that stubborn bugger of a horse still won’t move you’re going to ‘make’ him by kicking and using a crop if you have one (we’ll get to crops later). If that horse still hasn’t moved forward you’re going to make him again, only this time use your spurs until he moves forward.

As you can tell, that’s a lot of work just to get your horse moving forward. That is why it’s important for only experienced riders to use spurs and use them correctly. Horses are very intelligent, and eventually will move forward without the constant use of spurs (in most cases anyway). They are used as an extra aid, and if used correctly do not hurt the horse in any way.

WHIPS. There are many different types of whips as well. There are longe whips, dressage whips, crops, racing bats and the list goes on. For ordinary riding you will use a crop in most cases, which is a short whip that’s usually about 24 inches but can be longer or shorter. Crops are also used as an extra aid. Crops are important to learn to use because chances are at some point you will have to use one. Crops are held in your outside hand when riding, unless told otherwise. They’re used when the horse is refusing to listen (see the Ask-Tell-Make above). How hard to use them depends on the horse and basically how bad they’re being. It’s important not to overuse your crop because it is annoying to the horse; try to use your legs as much as possible and only give a good swat with the crop occasionally. Horses have thinner skin and thicker muscles, so crops only feel like hitting yourself with a pencil…Of course, you CAN make the crops hurt, but it’s usually unnecessary to hit that hard because horses associate the crop as punishment regardless.

TOOLS OR TORTURE? Horses are very big, powerful animals and will learn to take advantage of you if you let them get away with bad habits. Lesson horses are a prime example because beginner riders don’t correct them, so they develop bad habits that advanced riders have to fix. Any whip or spur can hurt a horse if used the wrong way, which is why they sometimes get such negative feedback. Understanding which horses need to be punished and to what degree is what’s important. Yes, there are methods of training that don’t use any spurs or crops, and even I would like to learn more about them. But some of the best riders in the world use these spurs and whips as tools; extra aids that enforce training and curtail bad habits.

The problem is people don’t always take the time to learn about what they hear or see, and it creates false ideals of how they see things. It’s up to you to decide if you use spurs and whips, but before you decide, make sure you understand there’s no harm in being forceful to the right degree.

Before ‘retiring’ Julia was the first ever Junior Blogger. You can read more of her blogs in the Junior Blogger Archives.