I have taken on a little project horse at my barn and he is getting bald spots when my spur is making contact. . I currently ride in a smooth bulby type blunt spur but was looking for an inexpensive way to protect his skin so these bald spots do not become raw.
My old horse was very prone to rubs, even from just my leg. Even from the edge of the beach towel I would drape across his back to prevent rubs. What worked best was keeping him SPOTLESS. No dirt was allowed to get down into his coat. I also kept him clipped within an inch of his life, realizing his skin was MORE sensitive in the winter if he was hairy. And I slathered his aides up with Chamois Butter (cyclists use it to prevent chaffing in their nether regions), and even occasion my spurs or boots. I prefer Chamois Butter and similar products because they aren’t as sticky and gross as Vaseline.
Cheap fix - take off the spurs, use a dressage whip to reinforce leg.
Use a whip to get the horse off your leg. If rubs are starting either you’re nagging with the spur or he’s exceptionally thin-skinned. Either way, the solution is make your point with a firmer correction so you don’t have to use the spur the way you are.
I was leasing a VERY thin skinned TB and even with a VERY still leg, spur rubs appeared. Someone recommended a tiny bit of vaseline at the spot and voila, rubs were gone.
Turn your toes in more. It’s free. 
(in other words, make sure that your leg is in proper position and your spur is not touching your horse when you don’t want it too. I used to give my horses rubs and then repositioned my foot…voila, no more spur rubs)
Have someone mark where your foot is when mounted, and be sure not to body clip that small section of hair.
Or safety pin some baby pads together.
I sewed two leg quilts together and.put them over the saddle pad & under the half pad long ways. They hung down long enough to cushion the rub area. This only happened in the winter with a student on a lease pony we had. We couldn’t clip the pony and this was a good solution. The leg wuilts were not too think.
Wow! My trainer wants only one thing for Christmas from me! And that is spur rubs on my horse’s side. She said when I get them, we can deal with the marks later. The reason because I do not put my legs on properly to even cause spur rubs!!!
Impluse ( tm) spurs tend to be more sympathetic .
I have seen spurs with a foam tube over the point. Look for the foam tubes you put on pencils to enlarge and pad them
but agree overall that the proper use of a dressage whip to train the horse to be more responsive is the best way
Spur rubs are not “proper!” OMG! I have only sensitive-skinned TBs and no spur rubs. In 25 years. Invest in a dressage whip – ask once, then tell and reinforce with the whip. Nothing is worse that riding a slug. GM says don’t get on a horse without a crop and spurs, and he has a point. I don’t always carry them, but I do if I’m riding anything that’s not extremely responsive.
The black plastic spurs can be softer too, and I have some short HS ones that are very kind/smooth. I really like the 3/8 inch length for sensitive horses. I use them on my TBs. the 5/8 are overkill.
Turn your toes in/straight and only use the spur when he needs it. Should be a conscious/mindful decision every time. Have someone video you to make sure this is happening and you aren’t overusing it when you aren’t meaning to, causing the rubs.
I don’t think there is any real point to the baby pads, etc because then you just have to spur through them. They just dull the feeling of your leg. Might as well just learn to turn your toes straight and ride without props.
The least expensive solution is to improve your position, since spur rubs are not normal. That means you are constantly spurring your horse.
[QUOTE=TSWJB;8423923]
Wow! My trainer wants only one thing for Christmas from me! And that is spur rubs on my horse’s side. She said when I get them, we can deal with the marks later. The reason because I do not put my legs on properly to even cause spur rubs!!![/QUOTE]
Spur rubs are generally caused by you using your leg improperly, not using it properly. If you’re using your leg properly, your horse should not be getting rubs (unless he’s very thin skinned and sensitive).
I had a horse that was prone to lose hair from leg, sweat, spurs, allergies, the sky falling, geese surprising her–everything. If your horse is tolerant of the whip, now would be a good time to integrate it into training. I understand spurs are necessary (I was actually taught way back when to ride all horses in spurs, even if they were just nubs), but if you’re having to use that much leg or your horse is that thin-skinned (or both), a new solution is necessary.
To encourage hair growth on the rub spots, I like to use M-T-G. It’s not cure-all, but it helps.
And for another horse I had who needed spurs for go and whip for disobedience (getting behind leg, not turning, not going when asked once, refusal, etc), I switched to pizza cutter (rowel) spurs. A few months in those, I let the spur rubs heal, and he also had a new-found respect for my leg. After that I downgraded to some simple POW spurs which he respected for the rest of the time I had him.
I probably should have mentioned why he is a project horse. He has issues shutting down in the ring. He was doing really good when we acquired him, gained weight really fast, skin problems cleared up for the most part, we had him jumping around small courses and put him up for sale. He went on trial and came back a different horse. We have given him time off and I’ve started him back slow this week. We’ve had some episodes where I’ve had to get after him pretty good which I’m certain has started these marks. The whip fries his brain a little too quick at this stage but I hope to try to integrate it soon. He’s such a cute little horse and already in a week he’s improved so much I just don’t want him to get these darn rubs!
My thoroughbred is super sensitive and in winter would get rubs on occasion. What worked for me was cover the spur “end” with cowboy magic detangler. Vaseline was too sticky and harder on his hair. Never got a mark after that! And before more use legs properly chats come up he has also gotten rubs from the edge of a not soft enough saddle pad, a blanket without fleece at withers… Ah red headed thoroughbreds! 
I will start off by saying, this is NOT an inexpensive solution, but thought I would post it for those that may read this thread looking for another option. 
I had the opportunity to Steward at Spruce Meadows this summer and a few of the International riders were using these and absolutely swear by them. They look like they may be easy to make sore those that sew. www.equifit.net/necessities/product/1229-bellyband
Again though, unless he has extremely sensitive skin, I agree with everyone else that the best solution is getting him respecting and moving off of your leg properly, rather than nagging with spurs.
Good suggestions here. Another is to clean your spurs after every ride. Even a tiny bit of horse gunk on the spur can make it stickier than normal, which causes rubs.
For some reason those rubber ball spurs cause more spur rubs for me than metal ones. Get some of the small metal rolling balls, and most of your problem will be solved. I think it has to do with that rough edge in the middle of the two halves. Ovation also makes a pretty cheap spur rub pad and you can try putting Vaseline or something on the rub areas, though I haven’t had much luck there.
You might want to try bigger spurs… if you use bigger spurs and get a response the 1st time you ask and then don’t have to use the spur again, should eliminate rubs. I haven’t had issues with spur rubs b4, but I have short legs and with smaller spurs always felt like I was working really hard to get mine to go, so I tried a friends spurs with the smooth/pizza cutter rowels. I ask once get a response and my mare is much happier too, no more nagging. But you really need to have a pretty, ‘educated leg’ to use the link below. I have the #6 of these: http://www.adamshorsesupplies.com/herm-sprenger-ultra-fit-straight-spur-w-options-2570068?fee=1&fep=30121&gclid=CIvd8rj_v8kCFYcBaQodNj4MTQ
