# How do I properly use spurs if my legs go past the horse's belly?



## Jan1975 (Sep 7, 2015)

In my profile pic, I am riding my son's horse Casper. You can see that my legs hang below his barrel. Our other horse is about the same size, but has a bigger barrel, so my legs don't dangle down so far. 

Today I rode with spurs for the first time because I was trying to work on smoother walk to lope transitions (which we made a lot of progress on, yay!). Anyhow, I realize that on Casper, my leg is too low to use my heel like I do on other horses. I don't notice it w/out spurs, because I just apply pressure with my calf. I ended up kind of wrapping my leg under him and moving it back. It felt awkward and was probably wrong. 

What is the right way? I can't be the only person who has long legs and a smaller horse.


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## curly734 (Jun 22, 2015)

u don't need spurs, they just hurt the horse


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## Skyseternalangel (Jul 23, 2011)

OP I saw this first hand today in a dressage clinic. The clinician suggested raising the spurs a little so they weren't on the heel but more of the ankle (just not an extreme highness on the ankle) and it worked fine.



curly734 said:


> u don't need spurs, they just hurt the horse


No..... unless you use them with malice.


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## Jan1975 (Sep 7, 2015)

Skyseternalangel said:


> OP I saw this first hand today in a dressage clinic. The clinician suggested raising the spurs a little so they weren't on the heel but more of the ankle (just not an extreme highness on the ankle) and it worked fine.


That's a great idea, thanks!



curly734 said:


> u don't need spurs, they just hurt the horse


I'm just using slight pressure. Definitely not kicking. I would argue that a gentle spur is more humane than a kick without spurs.


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## 6gun Kid (Feb 26, 2013)

curly734 said:


> u don't need spurs, they just hurt the horse


You have a lot to learn. 




To the OP try spurs with a longer shanked spur, my wife has long legs and rides all sizes of horse.


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## Jan1975 (Sep 7, 2015)

6gun Kid said:


> You're an idiot.
> To the OP try spurs with a longer shank, my wife has long legs and rides all sizes of horse.


Thanks! Mine are very short because I thought that would be gentler...I wasn't thinking maybe I'd need the length to reach the belly.


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## khorses23 (Jan 22, 2015)

angle the spurs up and kind of lift your heel and see if that works. if not then i would suggest getting longer spurs.


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## 6gun Kid (Feb 26, 2013)

I can't tell if you ride english or western, but a quick google search showed several examplez of both


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## Jan1975 (Sep 7, 2015)

6gun Kid said:


> I can't tell if you ride english or western, but a quick google search showed several examplez of both


English. Google, duh. I somehow did not think of that. I did search here. Thanks!


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## Alhefner (Nov 11, 2015)

Hmmmm, thought stirrups on english saddles were pretty high... show's what I know!:confused_color:


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## Skyseternalangel (Jul 23, 2011)

Alhefner said:


> Hmmmm, thought stirrups on english saddles were pretty high... show's what I know!:confused_color:


No... it depends entirely on the length of the rider's legs, the work the rider is doing, and the experience level of the horse..


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## beau159 (Oct 4, 2010)

I was also going to suggest going with a LONGER spur. It will help you "reach" the horse better. 

And likewise for a very short rider on a tall horse would want a short spur, because you'd need very little movement to use the spur.
_Posted via Mobile Device_


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## Cordillera Cowboy (Jun 6, 2014)

I'd suggest spurs mounted at the ankle instead of the heel. I've only seen it in a military context, but in trying to find and image, I only saw English style riding boots. If this link works, you should see a normal pair of English style spurs worn high. 

http://www.bing.com/images/searchq=...256b6206da0a243d21895ac8996f38eco0&ajaxhist=0

And here, I hope, is one of spurs on a military boot.

https://img1.etsystatic.com/014/0/7357104/il_570xN.432834059_mq2p.jpg


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## Cordillera Cowboy (Jun 6, 2014)

Hmmm. First link didn't work. Here's another try.

http://i.ebayimg.com/10/!B3R)c1gEWk~$(KGrHqF,!iME)q7DRdgmBMlm84mR(!~~_35.JPG?set_id=880000500F


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## Jan1975 (Sep 7, 2015)

Cordillera Cowboy said:


> I'd suggest spurs mounted at the ankle instead of the heel. I've only seen it in a military context, but in trying to find and image, I only saw English style riding boots. If this link works, you should see a normal pair of English style spurs worn high.
> 
> http://www.bing.com/images/searchq=...256b6206da0a243d21895ac8996f38eco0&ajaxhist=0
> 
> ...


That is an interesting idea that I haven't heard of. I will try it next time! It's not like we're going to show or anything, so I could care less how it looks. I'm pretty sure my spurs are big enough to be moved up. Thanks!


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