Santa in a Cowboy Boot

It is about 3� inches tall and 2� inches wide. Santa is singing as he twirls his lasso while he stands inside a giant boot. Santa is wearing a tan cowboy hat with a black band decorated with a sprig of holly and berries, a red shirt and dark blue bandana. His chubby cheeks are barely visible above his full white mustache and long white hair and beard. The boot is tan with dark brown around the top and at the heel and is decorated with green and yellow chili peppers. It has a spur attached by a brown strap. Select this link to view our Western Christmas Ornaments.

Spurs.
Spurs are usually held on by a leather strap, called a spur strap that goes over the arch of the foot and under the sole in front of the boot heel. Some western designs have a leather strap that goes only over the top, with a heel chain or a rubber "tie down" instead of a strap under the boot. There are also styles with no straps where the heel band simply is very tight and slips on wedged between the sole and heel of the boot. Some spur designs have a slot for running the spur strap through. Others have "buttons," sometimes on the heel band itself and sometimes attached to the heel band by hinges that allow a strap with buttonholes to be attached. Select this link to view our Santa Riding on a Cactus.
Spurs seen in western riding may also have small curved up hooks on the shank in front of the rowel, called "chap guards," that were originally used to prevent the rider's chaps from interfering with the rowels of the spur. Some cowboys also added small metal Pajados, or Jingo Bobs near the rowel, to create a jingling sound whenever the foot moved. Select this link to view our Horse in a Well.

Parts of a spur.

The yoke, branch, or heel band, which wraps around the heel of the boot.
The shank or neck, which extends from the back of the heel band and is the area that usually touches the horse
The rowel, seen on some spurs, a small revolving wheel or disk with radiating points at the end attached to the shank.

Cowboy Boots.
There are two basic styles of cowboy boots, western and roper. The western style is distinguished by a tall boot shaft, going to at least mid-calf, with an angled "cowboy" heel, usually over one inch high. A slightly lower, still angled, "walking" heel is also common. Although western boots can be customized with a wide variety of toe shapes, the classic design is a narrowed, usually pointed, toe. Select this link to view our Tin Santa.
A newer design, the "roper" style, has a short boot shaft that stops above the ankle but before the middle of the calf, with a very low and squared off "roper" heel, shaped to the sole of the boot, usually less than one inch high. Roper boots are usually made with rounded toes, but, styles with a squared toe are seen. The roper style is also manufactured in a lace up design which often fits better around the ankle and is less likely to slip off, but these two features also create safety issues for riding. Select this link to view our Cowboy Jiggle Down.