242 HANDBOOK OF THE TURF. 



Spur. A pointed instrument worn on the heel by a 

 horseman or rider, for the purpose of punishing the horse. 

 The earliest medieval spurs were devoid of rowels, but had a 

 single point; another form was that of a ball from which 

 a short point projected called the ball and spike spur. The 

 rowel was first introduced in the thirteenth century, although 

 it was not common till the beginning of the fourteenth cen- 

 tury. When a horse does not respond to the legs, or when he 

 refuses to approach an object he does not like, it may be nec- 

 essary to use the spur ; but their use requires prudence, tact, 

 good judgment and adaptability to the mental and physical 

 character of the horse, for there is as much difference in the 

 sensibility of the horse's flanks, as in that of the mouth. When 

 the pressure of the legs becomes insufficient to completely col- 

 lect the forces of the horse, the spur must be used — not vio- 

 lently, but with kindness, delicacy, and good management. 

 The use of electrical spurs is prohibited by the rules of the 

 Tm'f Congress. 



Yon may ride us 

 With one soft kiss, a thousaud furlongs, ere 

 With spurs we beat an acre. 



— Herniione, in Sliakespeare's Winter's Tale. 



Spur. A small, metallic projection screwed to the toe of 

 the hoof, to which a toe-weight is attached by means of a 

 groove which fits the spur on the foot, holding it securely in 

 place. 



Spurs. Horny structures concealed in the tuft or lock 

 of hair growing from the fetlock. See Ergot. 



Spurt. A forced pace in a race, generally made on the 

 homestretch or at the finish in an effort to win ; a dash of 

 speed ; a sprint. 



Square Gaited. Pure gaited ; a pure trotter. The pure, 



square-gaited trotter is perfectly balanced, and goes without 



jerking or hitching, every movement being smooth and true, 



like the revolution of a perfectly balanced wheel. 



One can, with a little practice, judge whether a horse driven by 

 another is trotting square by listening to the foot-falis. Tlie sound 

 of a fast, well balanced trotter's steps mark lime as regularly as 

 tl)e swinging of a pendulum. Time is beaten, one, two, three, four; 

 one, two, three, four — smoothly and accurately with the intervals 

 strictly regular. Develojiment ceases at that point where truly 

 balanced and regular action is transformed into the jerky, hitch- 

 ing, irregular way of "getting there" that we so often see. — Train- 

 ing the Trotting Horse, Cliarles Marvin. 



Stake. A race open to all complying with its published 



conditions, for which the prize is the total of the subscriptions, 



or entrance fees paid by the nominators, to which is generally 



added a specified sum by the association or track under whose 



