My pony is sluggish,
how can I use spurs properly on him? My legs are long and it is really
hard to touch him without jabbing him. - Natalie
Reply from trainer
Tracy Zadow:
Using spurs takes alot of practice.
When your legs are long and unable to gracefully apply pressure then
I recommend taking a different approach. You can take the spurs off
and work with them on the ground instead. Teach your pony to respond
off of light pressure of the legs instead of the hardness of the spurs.
Start out by putting the lightest pressure of the spur just behind the
girth area and gradually increase pressure until the horse takes a step
to the side. You can help guide his head to prevent forward motion and
encourage the pony to take a step to the side. Just ask for one step
then take pressure off and praise. Ponys can be stubborn and will play
the waiting game to see who will give up first. So make sure you don't
give up. Repeat this on both sides until he is choosing to move off
of the lightest pressure first given.
Now if he is being sluggish when you ask him to change gaits this ground
work should help but sometimes you'll need to add a little extra pressure
in the beginning to help emphasize your request of the gait change.
So, instead of kicking harder and harder or applying spurs, first give
the option of squeezing with your legs or a light kick(giving a "clucking"
sound for trot and kissing sound for canter) then slap the reins back
and forth harder and harder over each of the pony's shoulders until
he moves into the gait. After a couple of strides ask the pony to stop
then ask for the gait changes again. Repeat this until he moves into
the trot by the lightest pressure first given(leg squeeze/kick) Make
sure that you get him moving smoothly into the trot before asking for
the canter.
