English riders tend to use a spur that is shorter, as they merely need to turn their toe to activate the spur. Rowels are not as popular as a plain blunt end, although there are types that include a rowel-like end. The English spur should always be worn pointed downward, sitting on the boot's spur rest, with the buckle on the outside of the leg.
A Dressage rider's spur tends to be blunt and shaped so as to give a signal but not cause pain for a horse. Their purpose is not to speed up a horse, but to give him accurate and precise aids in lateral movements or more complicated movements, such as airs above the ground. A hunter/jumper rider may use a more flatter end, such as the Prince of Wales design.
No matter the discipline, it is important that a rider has a correct position before using spurs. A swinging or unstable leg may inadvertently jab the horse with the spur as the rider sits, irritating, distracting, frightening, or deadening the animal to the leg aids.
The spur's use cannot with certainty be traced further back than Roman times. Early spurs had no neck, a prick being riveted to the shank. Prick spurs had straight necks in the 11th century and bent ones in the 12th. Rowels first appeared early in the 14th. The spurs of medieval knights were gilt and those of esquires silvered. "To win his spurs" meant to gain knighthood.