Fancy’s Spur Refinement Horsemanship Lesson


Early Susan spur rule, in effect at least 18 years before Fancy was born:  Don’t use spurs until you can ride bareback with spurs.

Translation into English:  Humans should not achieve balance while riding by holding on with the legs and feet.  When becoming unbalanced on a horse, one should not clamp the horse’s body with a spur death grip.  It might end in a condition called run-away-horse-dumped-rider.

Your favorite rider, me, adhered to that rule.

Fancy is much more advanced in her spur rule:  “Do not touch me with your spurs.”  She is teaching me how to NOT use my spurs.  Fancy is teaching Horsemanship “Spur Finesse”.

  1. Do not bump my sides accidentally with the spurs when riding.
  2. Learn how to use your calves for lateral moves.
  3. Learn how to use the inside of your boot heels for lateral moves, if calves don’t work.
  4. Learn how to shift your body weight for lateral moves
  5. Where is your FOCUS!  Use your belly button for direction.  Don’t make me guess because I love going to a popular dismounting spot.  GET OFF!
  6. Toes up in every gait means spurs (on the heels) are pointed down, not into my belly.  When I do that stiff-legged bouncy protest canter, don’t try to hang on with your legs/feet.  TOES UP! Spurs Down.
  7. Spurs are for lateral moves only.  You do not want to ride a not-fancy 100% stiff braced hollowed-out horse with head up, ears pinned back and tail switching brutality. One spur at a time for moving laterally.  
  8. Spurs are not instruments of torture. They are advanced communication tools.

Translation from Fancy language into English courtesy of Fancy’s #1 student, me.

This wouldn’t be so difficult if I was 5’8” with long legs.  My feet would hang below Fancy’s body.

For Christmas I want spurs made with a silver dollar.