My daughter and I are going to a ranch camp with the girl scouts this weekend and need to get some boots. My daughter (who is 9) has been taking riding lessons for a year or so, but we haven’t purchased boots for her because she is growing and her instructor has helmets and boots to borrow. I haven’t been riding myself for about 10 years and don’t have anything geared toward riding. We have a local Boot Barn and I’m planning to get my daughter some regular riding boots–either cowboy or lace-up style, whichever she prefers. She will continue to ride and can use them. However, I probably won’t be riding very often after this weekend, but would like to buy something for myself that I can use again. Are their any multi-purpose type boots that would work? What about hiking boots? There will only be a couple of short rides involved and I don’t think any of them will be trail rides.
Hiking boots are not good for riding. What you want in a riding boot/shoe is a heel to prevent your foot from sliding all the way through the stirrup and a relatively smooth sole across the balls of your feet so that you can slide your toes in and out of the stirrup without difficulty.
Here are some multi-purpose type shoes/boots:
Looks kinda like a hiking boot
My mom had a pair of these that I borrowed and they were really comfy for riding and they were also great for everyday things around the farm like bringing in firewood or taking out the compost.
Thanks! That first type looks promising.
Hi. I am a former beginner’s riding instructor and barn manager (see current location). In general, hiking boots are okay, to a very minimal standard. The problems are that they are often too wide for English stirrups, and sometimes the ankle is too stiff/bulky for keeping you heel below your toe
I really like the pull-on paddock boots in cometothedark…'s post: not only are they excellent for riding, but they are stylish around town making them an excellent multipurpose choice. I have a pair just like those that I’ve worn for riding maybe twice! If you search on ebay “Blundstone” is the major brand that makes that style, that search should pull the name brands and knockoffs.
As to the first type, while Ariat makes a quality product, those are just FUGLY. Blundstones dress up or down. JMHO, of course.
Thanks. We’ve left it a bit late, so we’re probably going just see what Boot Barn can do for us. My daughter’s riding teacher wears something like the second one around the corral when she’s giving lessons. It will be Western riding. It sounds like I could get away with a hiking shoe as long as the tread isn’t too deep. I’m not even certain they’ll have enough horses for the moms to ride, so my footwear isn’t crucial.
Have you considered just getting some “cowboy” boots? I only wear mine for riding about 5% of the time, even though they’re perfect for that. The rest of the time I find them comfortable for most anything around town, for work, etc.
One caveat though, they don’t do well on glaciers and (I’d surmise through extension) frozen lakes, sidewalks, etc… but everything else!
My problem is I really dislike the feel of boots. If I were riding a lot, I’d invest, just for the safety factor, but I don’t think I’d get much use out of them as a regular thing. Also, I have feet that are really hard to fit–wide at the the base of the toes. Anthing pointy is hard to get right.