I’m looking for a pair of spurs and your favorite straps to wear on my two ponies.
Neither one appreciates spurs and can be reactive but both need a gentle spur as they can both be lazy.
I use the Spursuader spurs (http://www.spursuader.com.
I have MS. The summer heat can destroy my control over my body. I had been using various regular spurs (pow, disc, Waterford) and every summer when the heat came my riding teacher would halt me in mid lesson and take off my spurs because I was irritating the horse with them.
I have been using the Spursuaders for years now, and she has never taken them off of me even during the hottest days. The horses do not get defensive when I use them (lightly), the horses do not flinch, fret or wring their tails. The horses just go on peacefully obeying my leg aids without protest.
With the Spursuaders I can wear spurs year round without torturing the horses I ride.
They were developed to be used with super reactive Thouroughbreds who are super, super sensitive to spurs.
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I recently tried disc spurs on the recommendation of my new trainer. For us, they have been great. Enough “umph” to be a correction if he ignores a leg aid, but not so much as to elicit a defensive reaction.
We had previously been alternating between simple POW and rowel Spurs and neither provided the same clarity of aids for us.
I did splurge and get the Sprenger ones.
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I recently splurged on a pair of Herm Sprenger Balkenhol spurs. My appendix mare is thin-skinned, but can also be a little lazy, so I wanted a spur that she would feel, but not be annoyed by. The Balkenhol is sort of rounded and flat, so it’s not pokey at all. My leg is a bit long relative to her barrel, so I went with the 35mm shank so I could more easily touch her with the spur.
Before that, I had a pair of roller ball spurs with a shorter shank, mare found these more annoying as they are more pokey, and I have less control using them due to having to move my leg more to touch with the shorter spur. I do still use them on her for jumping, and when I feel my bigger young horse (who is thicker-skinned) needs a spur for a few rides.
For spur straps, I’ve switched totally over to the Nunn Finer rubber straps. They don’t get crusty or get shavings and crap stuck to them, and they are a little stretchy. They come in a few different colors I think, though mine are all boring black.
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For gentler spurs, I’ve loved the Herm Sprenger knob end spurs in 1/4 inch and then 3/4 inch depending on the level of training.
I can say they’re not crazy well made. Now, I get great use from a 1/4" PoW type spurs with a bit of an edge. I can easily ride with them or without them.
That’s interesting about rubber spur straps! The last time I used spurs (almost a decade ago) I was always having trouble with the leather straps getting crusty and falling apart. Good to know there’s a better option out there now 
When I google the Herm Sprenger Balkenhol I come up with rowelled spurs. Are you talking about a different kind?
These are the ones I have: https://www.doversaddlery.com/balkenhol-round-end-spur/p/X1-2506/?cpos=8&cexp=155&cst=sprenger%20spurs&kcid=0002506&ctype=Search&cpid=res21071105698568801720891
Also, it says in the description that this is a price-restricted item, but when I bought them I found a Dover promo code and it worked for taking 10% off. They are really well made, suspect they will outlive me.
I think I remember seeing that Klaus Balkenhol helped Sprenger develop the angled slots for the spur straps, which seems to be on all of their Spurs now. So you you could have any number of different spur types described as Balkenhol.
My disc spurs look exactly like outerbanks’ ones, but with a smooth disc added
Sprenger soft touch. Or the flat vertical rolling ones for the ones that really ignore your leg.
