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Rowel Spur

c. 1700
steel
Diameter: 7.2 cm (2 13/16 in.); Overall: 9.5 cm (3 3/4 in.)
Gift of Mr. and Mrs. John L. Severance 1916.1568
Location: not on view
Public Domain
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Did You Know?

Spurs became more than an equestrian tool, but a piece of male jewelry that would be worn even not when riding.

Description

Instead of a "prick" terminus at the neck, the rowel spur had a rotating wheel installed between two prongs. This type of spur gradually supplemented the prick spur as a safer and less severe alternative for the horse. Rowel spurs first appeared during the 1200s and were in general use by the 1300s.
Rowel Spur

Rowel Spur

c. 1700

Spain, early 18th Century

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