How I keep my spurs from shifting during a long dressage warm-up

For most of last season I had a problem I did not want to talk about. My spurs would slowly work their way down my boot during the warm-up, and by the time I was cantering a twenty-metre circle I was riding with a piece of metal that pointed at the floor. The harder I tried to ignore it, the more it niggled me.

Dressage warm-ups are long. At a major Australian show, you can spend thirty minutes on the warm-up arena before your bell rings, especially if you are held at the gate. Plenty of small things can shift in that window. Here is what I have learned about keeping a spur exactly where I left it. More background is in my post about the horse, in case you want to meet Archie first.

The spinning spur problem

Nothing throws your aids off more quickly than a spur that decides to roll halfway down your boot. The contact point changes, your leg position changes, and the message you thought you were sending becomes something different. The horse feels a tap in a new spot and looks at you as if you have changed your mind.

Warm-up arenas at CDI events and big Australian shows tend to be busy. The horse is already on edge, the air smells of hoof polish and leather, and there is usually a horse being lunged at one end while another horse trots past on the diagonal. The last thing I want is to be fussing with my footgear in the middle of all that.

A shifting spur does not always mean disaster, but it does change the timing of my leg. A nudge that lands a centimetre lower or higher than I planned can produce a sharper reaction than I intended. At the lower levels I am building trust with Archie, not surprising him. A quiet, predictable leg is more valuable than a fast fix.

Getting the fit right from the start

Most of my spur problems start before I ever mount. The first step is choosing a shank length that fits my boot and my leg. A shank that is too long tends to lever the strap over the heel of the boot. A shank that is too short ends up pointing down rather than back, which digs in when I do not want it to.

I always try new spurs on with the same pair of tall boots I will wear to the show. Boot leather varies wildly. A pair of worn Dehners stretches differently to a stiff new pair of Cavallos, and that changes where the spur sits. If I am between sizes, I go shorter rather than longer. A short spur still gives a clear signal. A long spur tends to swing.

Rowel choice matters too. A blunt rowel sits more gently on the leather and is less likely to grab the inside of the boot. A rowel with sharp points can grip fabric and cause the spur to wander as I rise and sit. For daily schooling and warm-ups, I keep a smooth rowel in the boot, and save the sharper rowels for tests where I want a more defined response.

Strap choices that actually grip

The strap is where most of the slipping actually happens. Over the years I have tried leather, rubber-backed webbing, and the elasticated versions that some of the larger tack shops in Melbourne and Sydney stock. Each material has its own behaviour in our climate.

For warm Australian conditions, plain leather tends to stretch once sweat gets into it. By the time I have finished a fifteen-minute trot set, my spur strap can feel loose, even if it was tight when I left the mounting block.

Rubber-backed straps grip better when my boot is warm. The trade-off is that they can pinch the top of my foot if I buckle them too tightly. I tend to use a rubber-backed strap for shows and a soft leather one for everyday riding at home, where the temperature in the arena rarely pushes past the mid-twenties.

Whichever strap I choose, I make sure the buckle sits on the inside of my ankle, not the outside. An outside buckle catches on the saddle flap and slowly walks the strap down my boot. An inside buckle stays put. I also keep the buckle low, just above the spur itself, so it can act as a stopper if the strap begins to slide.

Boot length and heel position

Spurs need a flat surface to push against. If my boot is too short, the strap ends up floating above my heel and the spur has nothing to anchor it. If the boot is too tall and overly stiff at the ankle, the strap rides up and the spur tilts forward.

I check where the strap sits while I am standing in front of a mirror. Ideally the spur rests against the heel of my boot, with the strap pulled snug just above the widest part of my foot. From there I do a few deep knee bends to make sure the strap does not slide when my ankle flexes.

I have also found that a thin insole makes a bigger difference than I expected. A flat insole gives the foot a stable platform inside the boot. A thick cushioned insole, especially the memory-foam kind, lets my heel lift slightly inside the boot, which then lets the spur tilt forward and wander.

Mid-warm-up adjustments

Even with the best preparation, things change once the horse is moving. A long warm-up means I might ride at walk for ten minutes before trot work begins, then canter sets, then a quiet moment at the halt before I head to the arena. All that time gives a spur plenty of chances to drift.

The first sign is usually a slight change in how Archie responds to my leg. If I am asking for a forward trot and he is hesitating, I check my foot in a downward transition. Most of the time, a small nudge of the strap with the back of my other foot is enough to re-seat the spur without anyone noticing.

For bigger fixes, I take a quiet corner of the warm-up near a fence or arena edge and use the mounting block or rail to steady myself. Then I unstrap, reposition, and strap again. This sounds clumsy, but it takes about fifteen seconds once you have done it a few times. I would rather burn fifteen seconds than ride a test with the wrong aid.

I never ignore the warning signs. A spur that slips mid-test can lead to an unfair mark, but it can also mean Archie becomes confused about what my leg is saying. He would rather I take thirty seconds to fix it than soldier on.

Heat, sweat, and Australian conditions

Dressage warm-ups in Australia run through every kind of weather. The SIEC summer events in January can hit the high thirties with high humidity. Boneo Park in autumn tends to be cool and breezy. Adelaide Hills events can swing ten degrees between morning and afternoon classes, so what works at 8am can fail by 2pm.

Heat and sweat change how my gear behaves. Leather stretches faster. My leg sweats more. The strap that felt secure at 7am can feel loose by 9am, especially in the saddle at a venue like Werribee Park on a still day. I keep a small towel tucked into my saddle pad and wipe the inside of my boot between sets.

Australian-made gear has improved a lot over the past few years. Brands like Equi-Style sell rubber-backed spur straps designed for our climate, and several Melbourne-based saddlers will fit a custom pair of boots with built-in spur rests. The local tack shops around Boneo and Romsey usually have a few options in stock during competition season.

I also try to ride the warm-up in the shade where I can. Long, hot warm-ups sap Archie's energy and make him less responsive to a light aid. A cooler horse and a cooler rider mean my spurs stay where I put them, and my leg stays soft.

Staying focused through the long warm-up

The longer the warm-up, the more my mind drifts. I count strides, I think about the test, I check the scoreboard, I watch other riders. Somewhere in all that, I forget to think about my own footgear.

I built a small routine that keeps me honest. Every time I halt, I glance down at my boot. Every time I change the rein, I feel for the strap with my free foot. Every time I enter or leave the warm-up arena, I do a quick check. None of these checks takes more than a second.

A spur that stays still is a quiet aid. Archie learns to trust the leg and respond to small, consistent signals. When the gear is right, I can stop thinking about the mechanics of riding and start thinking about the test I am about to ride.

The whole routine takes less than five minutes to set up at home, and it saves me from a lot of frustration on competition day. Start with the strap, then check the boot, then think about the weather and the length of the warm-up you are facing. Most of the time the fix is small.