# Spurs vs Crops?



## Jordan S (Jun 7, 2009)

Which do you prefer for your pokey pony? 

I use spurs as I don't have to give as much as a squeeze before she's off cantering. She's one of those clever mares so one squeeze with spurs in the beginning keeps her very responsive the whole lesson.


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## xeventer17 (Jan 26, 2009)

I like the refinement spurs give me when riding a fairly well trained horse. If forced to choose one over the other I'd have to pick spurs. However, when training dressage I'm known to have a dressage whip in hand ;] Also, out on cross country I find a crop a must! If only simply as a safety measure. But sometimes that extra umph a well placed tap can give you is just necessary.


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## LolHorse (Dec 28, 2009)

I've never used a crop, spurs are easier to use, because you don't have to hold the crop in your hand throughout the ride. But when I use spurs (sometimes, depends on the day) I use ballpoint spurs. My horse's are very responsive, so there's no need for a "harsher" spur.


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## kitten_Val (Apr 25, 2007)

I never use spurs, but I keep a short crop with me if my horse doesn't respect my leg in ring.


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## Arksly (Mar 13, 2010)

I like spurs better because I always drop my whip. lol


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## ponyboy (Jul 24, 2008)

I prefer the crop because the horse can see it coming. Sometimes just raising it will get them moving.


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## gypsygirl (Oct 15, 2009)

i prefer a crop.

also, you cant accidentally use the crop like you can spurs. they are so often misused.


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## eventerdrew (Mar 13, 2009)

Crop. I used spurs on my dead sided mare when I competed Novice with her, but I don't trust myself with them on any other horse.

So yeah, crop if necessary.

Always on XC though. No matter what horse.


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## gypsygirl (Oct 15, 2009)

eventerdrew said:


> Crop.
> 
> Always on XC though. No matter what horse.


dont go to war with out your weapon !


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## horsequeen373 (Oct 4, 2009)

I have a fairly powerful kick so I'm too paranoid to use spurs. But then again I always drop crops...so if possible I just use leg. But I prefer crops if I need something extra.


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## eventerdrew (Mar 13, 2009)

Exactly gypsygirl!!!


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## roro (Aug 14, 2009)

I use a dressage whip, I have never used spurs. If he doesn't respond to my leg aid properly, he gets a light tap, works every time. If it ain't broke don't fix it.


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## Strange (Jan 11, 2009)

Spurs. Occassionally in dressage I'll carry a whip as well, but it depends on the horse. Willie loves working, so the spurs just help him wake up a tiny bit and I usually don't even need to use them after the first 25 minutes, plus at AECs you can't use a dressage whip, so when I was preparing for that I didn't use a dressage whip anyway. 

However on an Oldenburg I used to ride spurs were a no go and I used a crop or dressage whip instead. 

And as others have said, always have your crop on cross country! Always.


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## ilovemyPhillip (Apr 4, 2009)

I have never used spurs, I never need them. On a horse I ride in lessons I ALWAYS use a crop. He likes to be wiggly, cut corners, and he is a "pokey pony", no doubt. I use the crop for corrections, and when he slows down 'll give him a good slap. 

With spurs I would be afraid of tearing the poor creature's sides open :shock:.. What if I kick to hard? I might rip their flesh open! :-o Lol.


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## Brighteyes (Mar 8, 2009)

A dressage whip is my pony-popper of choice.  I have a bad tendency to panic and grip with my heels, so spurs are, for now, out of the question.

(Plus, it makes me feel elegant :wink


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## riccil0ve (Mar 28, 2009)

I ride with my spurs on almost every horse. Partly because it's a pain to take them off my boots, and partly because I know how to NOT use them, if that makes sense. However, I'm not anti-whip. I used to ride a Fjord with spurs and a dressage whip in each hand, hahah.


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## Gidji (Dec 19, 2008)

Spurs for sure. Spurs shouldn't be for speed, they're for refinement of the aids and lateral movements. If a pokey pony won't move after I've used my voice, given leg pressure, slight tap of the whip, then I would tap them with my spurs.


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## wild_spot (Jan 30, 2008)

If your talking about what to use to get mroe forward - I just use my seat and the end of one of my split reins - much better than a crop :]

Spurs were not intended to create forward so i don't use them for that.

I ride in spurs a lot. I use them to refine my aids, especially on my show horse.


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## SilverSpur (Mar 25, 2010)

wild_spot said:


> If your talking about what to use to get mroe forward - I just use my seat and the end of one of my split reins - much better than a crop :]
> 
> Spurs were not intended to create forward so i don't use them for that.
> 
> I ride in spurs a lot. I use them to refine my aids, especially on my show horse.



ecactly what i was going to say. 

im never without my spurs, just because i have them on doesnt mean im using them.


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## Sghorselover (Oct 19, 2009)

I use a crop..never used spurs on my pony..
SHe has to much energy, but if she's being a mare and not wanting to work/listen there is always that third leg (crop) .

Spurs would scare me...but i have a feeling they are in my future..im teaching my mare a flying lead change and i see them now out in the tack trunk...I Hope not!!!


I just noticed i make no sense... Just forget about my blabbering!!


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## Jordan S (Jun 7, 2009)

ilovemyPhillip said:


> I have never used spurs, I never need them. On a horse I ride in lessons I ALWAYS use a crop. He likes to be wiggly, cut corners, and he is a "pokey pony", no doubt. I use the crop for corrections, and when he slows down 'll give him a good slap.
> 
> With spurs I would be afraid of tearing the poor creature's sides open :shock:.. What if I kick to hard? I might rip their flesh open! :-o Lol.


haha, yeah I'm always scared of that happening with the spikey western ones. I like the ballpoint english spurs. nice and round and don't have as much potential to hurt him.


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## Jordan S (Jun 7, 2009)

SilverSpur said:


> ecactly what i was going to say.
> 
> im never without my spurs, just because i have them on doesnt mean im using them.


yes I'm too lazy to take my spurs off, so if I'm riding a TB or some hot blooded horse, I just push my spurs so that they're pointing downwards.


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## wild_spot (Jan 30, 2008)

I use ladies campdraft spurs - plain stainless steel with a swan neck and a rowel like this:










I HATE dummy spurs/fixed end spurs and so does my horse. Blunt, fixed end spurs jab into the side of the horse and can cause extensive bruising.

A rowelled spur, when used properly, is rolled up the horses side and not jabbed inward.

Sharp spurs or spurs being used improperly can cause cuts, but I stress, that is not how they are meant to be used.

If I put blunt, fixed end spurs on Bundy, he tries to buck every time I use them. he is happy as larry with my rowel spurs.

Plus, the swan neck means I don't have to change the position of my foot to engage them.


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## IslandWave (Nov 25, 2009)

wild_spot said:


> Spurs were not intended to create forward so i don't use them for that.


I agree.
When my horse is having a lazy day, I'll use my dressage whip to wake her up if she doesn't respond snappily enough to my seat/leg aids. I always ride with a whip, although I only use it if needed. 

I use spurs on her to get more of that "jump" from her hind end. It creates the upwards impulsion or reinforces a lateral movement. Whereas the whip just asks for more forward.

Example: I might use spurs to help maintain a good bend while doing a shoulder-in. I might also use spurs when doing a collected canter to ask my horse to keep the power from her hind legs jumping up beneath her. However, if I want more from an extended trot, I'll use my whip. Or if I ask her to go from a halt to a trot and she doesn't respond quickly enough, I'll taptap with the whip.

On the off side, I ride two formerly lazy horses and don't have a whip available where I ride them. They started off dead to leg aids and super lazy, but after a couple rides they now respond to the slightest touch. So you don't always need an artifical aid.


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## wild_spot (Jan 30, 2008)

Hmmm - Examples of when I use my spurs...

Mostly for lateral work and turns, and also to enable my aids for things like canter depart to become minute.

I can ask for either canter lead from a walk by just shifting my hip bone, dropping my outside leg, and moving my spur a whisker closer to his side. Up he bounces into canter.

I can move his shoulders, his rib cage, and his hind end with a tiny movement of my heel so my spur contacts.

When i'm doing a haunch turn (a 180 at a gallop) again all I have to do is drop my hip, bring my outside leg back, and open one rein slightly and close the other.

A rollback is similar.

When I have my spurs on, he becomes light as a feather - he is tuned in to the muscles in my legs tensing - I actually hardly have to touch him with my spur. It gives him 'incentive' to move off my leg.

Without the spurs, he will still do the manouvers, but he is sluggish and I need to contact him with my whole heel to get the response.

We also have some isues with losing momentum through turns - For this I use a soft cotton braid (A giddy up rope/wip ***) and once the turn is finished, I swing it around onto his butt. If I tried to urge him forward with the spur, he would jack up and get ****y, which does not look fluid.


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## whiskeynoo (Mar 17, 2010)

ive never used spus, i always carry a crop in my boot when i out riding, i rarely use it though, only if the horse is misbehaving and needs an extra push to move it forward


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## TabianoPaint (Apr 30, 2010)

i prefer spurs but only if you dont have to kick/squeeze the crap out of the horse... ' i will only use spurs sensabily ' ... unless im in a dangerous situation then i will.


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## kmacdougall (Feb 12, 2010)

My horse is propelled by jet fuel so spurs are a definite no-no. I'd imagine I could get a good steady strong canter on him with no shoes on, to be honest. 
I don't use a whip for the most part. I carry a whip with a short lash on the flat so I can flick it to tuck in his hindquarters. I carry a whip jumping in my lessons because my instructor likes us too, and of course I carry a whip cross country because its a good idea. But in the seven years I've had my gelding, and six and a half eventing/competing jumper with him.. He's stopped a grand total of once.


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## juniormylove (Aug 28, 2008)

I very rarely ride without my crop  Right now it's kind of even a bit of a comfort thing for me...I'll go weeks on end without using it. BUT...there are times when it comes in handy and I'm always thankful to have it (aka...when Brooke decides to be a little snot, or when she tries to refuse a jump). Apparently, I am one of the only riders who do NOT ride Brooke with spurs (probably cause my legs are actually long enough for her barrel), but I have used spurs before (very blunt ones) on other horses. Right now I have hardly any muscle in my leg so I wouldn't trust myself with spurs.

I think both tools have their place, it just all depends on the rider, the situation and the horse.


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## RideroftheWind (Jul 15, 2009)

Crop. Definately crop


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## My Beau (Jan 2, 2009)

For more GO I use a crop.
For lateral work/dressage/bending I go to my spurs.


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## eventerdrew (Mar 13, 2009)

Strange said:


> at AECs you can't use a dressage whip


I don't know that that is correct. There is most definitely a length restriction but IDK about banning them all together. Why would it be illegal at the national level if it ok at the local level horse trial?


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## gypsygirl (Oct 15, 2009)

in a championship [like AEC] you cannot use a dressage whip !! you used to not be able to use them at all in dressage !!


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## Deerly (Apr 18, 2010)

In the training/schooling that I've had, spurs and crops were used for very different purposes. I always would use small dressage spurs and a dressage whip and neither excessively, just for cues.

I haven't gotten to that point with my new baby but I'm not against the careful use of both for the correct purpose


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## eventerdrew (Mar 13, 2009)

That does not make any sense to me. One can use them all season but not in a championship? To me that seems stupid


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## gypsygirl (Oct 15, 2009)

hey i didnt make the rules haha

also, like i said there used to be no whips at all, so really its not the champs that are different, its the regular HTs & that, they are different.


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## corporate pride (Feb 23, 2010)

i have to say both, on ozzie i always ride in spurs but sometimes that's not enough and i need a whip to get him moving first then after he wakes up spurs are enough.
with marco, he's forward so i don't use spurs on him but carry a chop when jumping jump in case only needed it at water even then i did't really use it.
i stopped carrying a whip with ozzie as he started to get nasty if i used it, so i stopped using it for a while then he was ok again, so i only use it if totally necessary.


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## IslandWave (Nov 25, 2009)

wild_spot said:


> Hmmm - Examples of when I use my spurs...
> 
> Mostly for lateral work and turns, and also to enable my aids for things like canter depart to become minute.
> 
> ...


Very cool and interesting.  Since we both do different types of riding, it's neat how spurs can be applied to the both of us for use as a refining aid.


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## jody111 (May 14, 2008)

Spurs on the flat... anyday

Jumping crop - without a doubt - I voted spurs as my first reaction was spurs


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## Kayty (Sep 8, 2009)

Spurs were not invented to create forward. They are purely for refinement of the aids. They are the same as a double bridle, designed to refined the aids, abused to jam the horse up and use them as an accessory. So many horses in double bridles at shows that are far from ready for them, because the owner can't ride well enough to get them soft in a snaffle. Same goes for spurs. They could be classed as a 'gadget'.

A whip for sure. Dressage whip behind the leg will wake them up usually. Unless your horse is excessively lazy then you may need extra help. Spurs can create dead sided horses. Particularly with kids on ponies. I hate seeing kids wearing spurs on their ponies with their heels up and the poor pony ends up with spur marks in it's sides. Even dummy spurs can create injury and cause dead sidedness. 

When I ask for forward, it is a light squeeze, and if I get no reaction, I kick (no not a pony club style legs out sideways and boot the living daylights out of the poor beast), and if I don't get a reaction I will back that up with a flick of the dressage whip. None of this squeeze, squeeze harder, squeeze even harder, tiny kick, harder kick, even harder kick, solid kick, BOOT THE HELL OUT OF THE BEAST, whip, whack, BELT! By the time the horse moves off the aids it has forgotten what the initial aid was 

I also picked up a good technique for enticing a horse to go forward. So simple that it had never crossed my mind. Many horse will buck or kick out at a whip or spurs. But they don't with this technique. 
Put your reins in your left hand and rest it on the horses with, grab the loose end of the reins with your right hand, and begin flicking left and right tapping your horse on the shoulders with the end of the reins each time (left hand is there to stop you pulling the horses mouth). Count how many flicks it takes for the horse to go forwards. If it leaps forwards, drop your reins and let it go for a while. Then halt, and start again. Threaten that you are going to flick, and if the horse doesn't move off, start flicking again. The record holder is 100 flicks to get an arab stallion to go. You can get the horse so fine tuned into the flicking that eventually you'll be able to just move your hands forward and the horse will move up a gait. 
The clinician that stands by this method is a highly respected and reputable world wide trainer who specialises in para-equestrians and uses this method for many of the para-riders who cannot use their legs. Ever wondered how people with no legs can have an engaged and forward horse? Using their reins of course


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## wild_spot (Jan 30, 2008)

Its called over and under Kayty - not sure why as it doesn't make sense, lol. I use it instead of a whip as I hate carrying one, and I ride with long split reins which are perfect for it 
_Posted via Mobile Device_


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## Kayty (Sep 8, 2009)

Haha ok I wouldn't have a clue about the technicalities of it  Only time I've really used it is as a kiddy to get my persistent grumpy and incredibly stubborn pony across a creek. Didn't even cross my mind to use it as a forward aid until this clinician brought it up! Genious! Obviously for dressage I can't go into the arena and flick my reins haha, but for the basic forward aid it's good. And great because the whip gets left for the refinement which is what I prefer, using it to get them off my leg laterally.


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## wild_spot (Jan 30, 2008)

yup, it is very effective on some horses - When bundy is really lazy i just have to twirl my rein and he moves out, if I actually have to flick him he jumps forward like he's been shocked, lol.

Latte just looks at me like i'm crazy. :]


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## horsequeen373 (Oct 4, 2009)

My instructor told us about the rein flicking thing (don't I sound technical) one time but I guess she didn't know the "rest your hand on the horse part" because she said not to do it because it would pull on the horse's mouth but if it didn't it would be affective. But I'll mention that post to her Kayty


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## Rule of Reason (Feb 11, 2010)

Either or both depending on the situation. For ordinary "go button" stuff, I use a dressage whip. I prefer to ride without spurs if possible and just save them for refinement of aids.


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