"The spurs of two men who hastily arose jingled; and Tonia almost smiled. The Knights, then, were not all turned to dust; nor were their rowels rust."

A cowboy's spurs were fixed on his heels,so that when heels
were pressed against horse's flank the resulting pain made the horse go. Rowels were disks mounted by a hole in their center, and were a loose enough fit to jingle when moved.

So what's the difference between the rowel and the spur? This reminds me of your own difficulty in picturing the snib, was it?

Dear WW: it's part of the difference with Western riding gear, and the English. No Englishman would appear at a fox hunt wearing cowboy rowels, which though necessary for stubborn mustangs, would be brutal to use on the most spirited English hunter horse, or race horse either. The English spur is just a little knob like the tip of the little finger.
Reminds me of old joke about the Texan who got invited to a fox-hunt, and after the hunt was over, was told by his host (a bit stiffly) that when the fox was sighted, the correct cry was "Tallyho!" Not "there goes the little redassed bastard!"

So a rowel is a spur, yes? But don't Western riders refer to their spurs? Or don't they?

Sounds like the rowels are the part of Western Spurs that jingle. But I didn't look it up. ***


"I got spurs that jingle, jangle, jingle
As I go ridin' merrily along
And they sing, "Oh, ain't you glad you're single"
And that song ain't so very far from wrong"

(I GOT SPURS) JINGLE JANGLE JINGLE
Kay Kyser
words by Frank Loesser, music by Joseph J. Lilley

found on http://www.lyricsxp.com/lyrics/j/jingle_jangle_jingle_kay_kyser.html

which looks like a nice resource for song lyrics (but watch out for a lot of pop-ups and who knows what else...)

*** I take it back. The spurs look to be only the part attached to the boot by a strap and with a single spike/axle on it. The rowels are what spins on the axle (and jingles). Some are much pointier than others... see http://www.oldwestcowboystore.com/spurs/

How very fascinating! All these years I'd thought the spur was the part that spurred the horse on, when all along it was the pointy rowels that jingled.

Thanks to wof' and wwh for this enlightening bit of trivia.

"I got spurs that jingle, jangle, jingle
As I go ridin' merrily along
And they sing, "Oh, ain't you glad you're single"
And that song ain't so very far from wrong"

That last line ain't very far from stupid.

Here's a picture of an English spur. Guaranteed not to be cruel:http://www.drhorse.com/spur12.html

And here's a picture of Western rowels:
http://pages.marshallsbrocante.com/5018/PictPage/1490841.html

From Link 2:

These wonderful spurs were made by well-known Texas spurmaker Danny Pollard, of Anson, Texas, for his wife Annette. Decorated with silver and brass. Silver steerheads on the side. Tooled leathers in great condition. The leathers are marked Bob Marrs Maker Amarillo, Texas. 1 inch band. The heavy rowell is 1-1/2 inches in diameter. The heart shaped buckles on the leathers are 2 inches long by 1-1/2 inches wide...

...but did you catch the price for those little doodads? Only $595 the pair. That's $595.00, to be explicit about the decimal point.

Seems it's not just the spurs that jingle-jangle-jingle. All the way to the bank!

Wof', your jingle-jangling observation was right on the money--I had noticed in the link that spurs apparently set a few cowboys back...or is it those in pinks back a bit? Oh, well, if you're one of those in pinks, you probably wouldn't worry about the cost of spurs.

"...And that song ain't so very far from wrong"

That last line ain't very far from stupid.


See the hazards of careless double negatives? They can triple you up without hardly trying.

Both links show western spurs. The first we call bumpers. I suppose you could use them for English riding also. By the way...The old "Cowboys" rode Spanish Mustangs....No way stubborn,just smart enough NOT to be mistreated. The foot in front of the spur is what makes them brutal.

and don't miss the Rowel-ettes!

http://www.fm-902.com/rowel-ettes.html

welcome, JSA!