I had a good ride on Nina today and I introduced her to spurs. I am tired of kicking this horse. It's not like she doesn't understand and needs encouragement. When I touch her with my leg she either goes forward or pins her ears and gets all stuck and nasty. Kicking only works when she gets tired of me annoying her. That was originally the idea but she is willing to go on with this longer than I am. So today I put some spurs on. She was highly displeased. It is much harder to ignore someone poking you in the ribs with a spur. After a few pissy moments she decided to go along with the program and she was fine, better than fine.
I do have to be very careful not to touch her with the spur accidentally but I am used to that when wearing a spur on a TB anyway.
I've never ridden a horse, so I don't know anything about kicking them or spurs. I assume that doesn't really hurt them? Seems to be a battle of wills training a horse--well, training Nina--hehe! As a "city girl" and animal lover, I am absolutely fascinated with the challenges you and Nina are dealing with together. Thanks for sharing your journey. :)
ReplyDeleteYou can hurt a horse with spurs but generally they are just used to enforce your leg, a little stronger aid. The spurs I use are like the ones in the picture. Yes, this is a battle of wills because she has gotten away with intimidating people all her life and has never learned to have a job. When she quits being a butt, she is quite happy to work and get the attention that goes with it.
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