How do I select spurs and use them correctly without causing harm?

Spurs are a training aid that extends the leg's reach and provides a more precise, pointed pressure than the broad surface of the boot heel, but they are a tool that requires educated hands and legs before they should be used. A beginning rider with unsteady legs should not wear spurs of any kind, because unintentional spur contact from an unbalanced leg creates confusion and pain rather than any training benefit. Spur severity increases with the length of the shank and the sharpness and size of the rowel. A short, blunt spur with a smooth or mildly roweled wheel provides a broader, less concentrated pressure that is appropriate for most riders and most training situations. A long-shanked spur with a sharp rowel creates a more intense, concentrated pressure that amplifies the leg aid significantly — appropriate for specific training situations where a very precise, immediate response is needed, but potentially harmful in the hands of a rider whose leg is not consistently controlled. The spur should be positioned on the boot so that the shank points straight back when the foot is in its correct position in the stirrup. A spur that angles upward due to poor positioning contacts the horse with the shank rather than the wheel, creating a scraping rather than a pressing sensation. The spur should make contact only when the rider deliberately applies it — not as a result of leg movement during normal riding. The correct use of a spur involves a brief, specific application followed by immediate release when the horse responds. A horse ridden with constant spur contact learns to ignore it, which defeats the spur's purpose entirely.