The use of boot or heel spurs in a cavalry is a practice that historically was practiced in various different countries. Cavalry spurs were determined as a show of military rank and overall experience in the cavalry and spurs were given to those cavalrymen who had progressed onto being more advanced than just one of the new recruits.
There is an old civil war tradition known as the “Spur Ride” where all of the new cavalry and military recruits perform a series of tests and events designed to test their skill on top of their horse. Also they were then checked on their knowledge of the rules, regulations and history of the cavalry, which they were expected to remember and recite these facts from only their memory. The Spur ride became a way that soldiers were able to “earn their spurs” to prove that they had become better horse riders and soldiers than newer recruit.
After the soldiers were involved in their 1st combat scenario, they were given a second pair of spurs as a medal and then were drafted into “The Order Of The Spur”. The boot spurs and an award certificate were presented during a special banquet or event that is known as the “Spur Dinner” where all of rookie cavalry were given their spurs, the details of comrades killed in battle were announced and other medals and awards were presented. As well as being awarded the heel spurs, the cavalry soldiers were also awarded a stetson hat, which was also seen as a sign of level within the ranks.
The soldiers in the cavalry that had earned their spurs were perceived as a better rank and level than those in the cavalry who had none or were yet to “earn their spurs”. The soldiers may have been of a similar rank, the fact that they had already “earned their spurs” during battle, as part of the “Spur Ride” or a task was a sign of their seniority over those who had yet to earn them.
Cavalry boot spurs were primarily manufactured using silver and were mainly styled on the English Prince Of Wales spurs. Sets of gold boot spurs were awarded to soldiers of higher military rank or those that had been involved in a larger amount of combat scenarios.
There are many types of boot spurs that have been worn and used over the Americas. If you come to the authors web-site, you will find more details about spurs and get to see some pictures of Cavalry Spurs and discover information about the people that manufactured them.
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