Basic Designs and Wear
Spurs are worn with the tip of the neck pointed downward, sitting on the spur rest of the riding boot, if there is one, with the buckle of the spur strap worn on the outside of the foot.
Spur styles differ between disciplines. Spurs for western riding tend to be heavier, often decorated, and have rowels that rotate. The neck of western spurs is usually longer and the rowel wide in diameter, to accommodate the leg position of the Western-style rider, where the stirrup is adjusted long, and the heavy leather used for the saddle's fenders and stirrups places the rider's leg a bit farther from the horse.
Spurs in English riding tend to use a spur that is very sleek, slim and conservative in design, with a shorter neck, as the saddle and leg position is closer to the horse. They usually have a rounded or blunt end. Rowels are not as popular as the plain blunt end, although there are types that include a rowel or smooth disk on the end. When used in sports requiring finesse, such as dressage, the spur's purpose is not to speed up a horse, but to give accurate and precise aids in lateral and complex movements, such as pirouettes, travers and renvers, and the airs above the ground. Dressage riders tend to ride in "Waterford" style spurs with a rounded knob at the end. Conversely, show hunter and jumper riders may use a flatter end to encourage forward movement, such as the Prince of Wales design.
In addition to equestrian use, another type of modern spurs are motorcycle spurs. They are characterized by rowels worn as foot jewelry, hung off of boots. They can be similar in appearance to spurs worn by equestrians. Their bright material attracts motor vehicle drivers to the presence of motorcyclists, especially to their feet where riders are most vulnerable when stopped in traffic. Their owners may further customize them by adding miniature strobing LED lights.
Read more about this topic: Spur
Famous quotes containing the words basic, designs and/or wear:
“The basic idea which runs right through modern history and modern liberalism is that the public has got to be marginalized. The general public are viewed as no more than ignorant and meddlesome outsiders, a bewildered herd.”
—Noam Chomsky (b. 1928)
“I have no scheme about it,—no designs on men at all; and, if I had, my mode would be to tempt them with the fruit, and not with the manure. To what end do I lead a simple life at all, pray? That I may teach others to simplify their lives?—and so all our lives be simplified merely, like an algebraic formula? Or not, rather, that I may make use of the ground I have cleared, to live more worthily and profitably?”
—Henry David Thoreau (1817–1862)
“And still we wear our uniforms, follow
The cracked cry of the bugles, comb and brush
Our pride and prejudice, doctor the sallow
Initial ardor, wish to keep it fresh.
Still we applaud the President’s voice and face.”
—Gwendolyn Brooks (b. 1917)