Mei (ãã, ã¡ã¤) is a feminine Japanese given name. The section History and Origin of this page contains content from the copyrighted Wikipedia article Mei (given name); that content is used under the GNU Free Documentation License (GFDL).
Dear Julie, My understanding is that spurs are to be used to back up a request if the horse is not responding or to make a cue more clear as in lateral work. It is hard for me to picture how to not have the spur contact the horse, especially in the most forward position when cueing with one's leg.
In dogs, dew claws are used to stabilize the leg when the dog is running/turning quickly (this is why you'll never see anyone remove the dew claws from a working sheepdog). Some studies show that Agility dogs who have had their dew claws removed have a much higher incidence of arthritis and injury in their front legs.