Prick Spur

This small bronze spur, its iron prick missing, was found in Trier, Germany, which was a part of Belgic Gaul in antiquity. It was secured to the heel of the rider by means of a strap attached to two side buttons. An extra strap passed through the heel’s hook (missing, shaped as a horse’s head) before going around the ankle, to be sure that it would not move. Evolved from Celtic and Roman types, this kind of spur is found in Roman Gaul in contexts dated between the 1st and the 3rd century A.D. In Britain, related indigenous examples can be dated from the 4th century, the horse’s head usually replaced by a simple hook.

In high antiquity, spurs were not used in pairs, but rather as a single accessory attached to only one of the feet, usually on the left. The first pairs are recorded in some Greek regions in the late 2nd century B.C. They were used, as they are today, for directing a horse to move forwards. The prick spur was the first type of spur to be invented, and it consists of a goad or prick, more or less pointed, connected to side arms or a heel plate. The earliest spurs were probably simple thorns attached at the back of the heel or ankle, before they began to be made out of metal.