How to Choose the Correct Type of Spur for Horse Riding

The use of spurs is highly controversial. Only well schooled riders should attempt to use them. When used by an unskilled rider, the horse could easily retaliate causing a potentially serious injury to the rider.The purpose of spurs is not to harass your horse or inflict pain, but to give him proper aids while using less jarring, more subtle leg movements. Because of this, riders with weak or unstable leg position should be discouraged from using spurs at all. When the rider uses a proper seat, the spurs are used sparingly.

Things You'll Need

  • Riding boots - tall boots, paddock boots, ropers or similar.
  • Spurs
  • Spur straps
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Instructions

  1. Determine which type of spur you want to use and make sure it isn't sharp.

    • 1

      Determine what kind you want. There are two types of spurs, regular and roweled. Regular spurs look much more gentle than roweled spurs simply because their necks typically look like a little peg, sometimes with a round knob on the end. The roweled variety looks like something you'd see in an old western film - with the jingly rasped disc at the end of the shank.The rowel spur can actually be a better choice for your horse because they displace pressure better than a straight neck. Imagine lying on a bed of nails. It would probably be more comfortable to have all your body weight distributed over 1,000 nails than just 20. The same goes for spurs. A star rowel will spread out the pressure rather than driving it all into one point. Rowels also roll nicely over the horse's skin. Straight spurs can pinch his skin and leave permanent marks.

    • 2

      Always make sure spurs have rounded edges. The goal is not to intimidate your horse with the fear of pain. Pick a spur with a round tip or round rowels. Your horse will thank you for it, and in turn you will thank your horse.