Instructions
Step into the straps on your spurs, securing the bottom strap under the heel of your boot. Buckle the upper strap on the outside of your riding boot. Position the spurs so that they sit in the middle of your heel and the tips -- or rowels, if you use Western spurs -- point down. Do this for both legs.
Mount your horse, ensuring that the spurs don't touch your horse's flanks or sides when putting your feet in the stirrups.
Set your feet in the stirrups so that your toes are pointed forward in front of your shins and perpendicular to the sides of the animal. You may need to adjust the position of your legs so that the insides of your calves rest against the horse.
Press the sides of first your right, and then your left, heel into your mount's flanks to encourage a good, forward walk with steady pacing and a swinging motion in the animal's back and hindquarters.
Use your spurs by turning your calves so that the backs of your legs rest against the horse's sides and gently pressing the backs of your boots with the spur tips into the animal's flanks. Resort to applying the spurs only if the horse refuses to move forward or begins to slow down without listening first to your seat and leg aids.
Practice working your horse with spurs at all three gaits (walk, trot and canter).
How to Ride in Spurs
Equestrians commonly wear spurs to emphasize their leg aids. The leg aids -- usually pressing the heels against the horse's sides -- urge the mount to move off or transition from a slower gait to a faster gait. When spurs are applied, the horse feels a sharper urgency from the rider and pays closer attention to what the rider is asking it to do. The most common type of spur used in English riding is called the Prince of Wales spur, with a short, blunted end. Western spurs often come with long tips that end in star-shaped, pointed rowels. Learning how to ride wearing spurs so that you don't desensitize or physically harm your horse takes practice and experience.