Cowboy’s boots were valued by the cowboys. I am sure you have seen a western movie were a dead man is lying there and the guys are fighting over his boots. Good boots were expensive and I guess they figured that he didn’t need them anymore. Sayings like; die with my boots on, boot hill, and give him the boot were all sayings that referred to a cowboy’s boots. If you were out in the brush a lot, like the soldiers, you would have high top boots to keep the brush from scratching your legs. The pointed toe boots you see the cowboys wear today weren’t around back in the old days. In the old days boots were either round or square toed. So keep your boots on, and don’t drink down stream from the herd.
A cowboys spurs were used when a rider needed complete control of a horse. Ranchers and soldiers needed to turn, and run at an instant, so that’s why they wore spurs. In most cases the spurs didn’t need to be used harshly, because the horse knew that they were there. That’s why the spurs have dingle balls on them to make them ding and make noise. But if a horse wasn’t listening a touch of the spur was very effective.