Winter Barn Boots

Warm Happy Feet in Winter is Everything

Without personal foot comfort, you're less likely to step outside and much less willing to go riding. If you partake in daily barn chores, having the right bar boot is imperative. Working at a horse farm means encountering all sorts of weather conditions and footing. The paddocks can be wet and muddy or slippery with ice, deep in muck, sandy, or any combination. 

In a perfect world, you want to have a pair of chore boots and a separate pair of riding boots. However, often barn boots get used as riding boots too. So what's the best choice? The Muck Boot Company is a favorite for many. However, many of these boots have heavy lugs or tread and really not that safe for riding. The Hale multi-season boot is a safe bet for riding and chores. This model is available for kids too. The Muck chore classic has slightly more tread but smooth across the bottom.

The problem with the "Muck" boot is that it has that muck boot look. Not the preferred choice for strolling around town, or stopping for lunch.

So Fashion versus Function

Most of the winter equestrian boots are pretty functional, for riding that is. The main feature to stay away from is any zipper on the inside of the leg. Zippers on riding boots need to behind the calf, not next to the horse's side. If you wear full-length chaps, especially if they are not super tight-fitting around your calf, riding boot height is not as important. Loosely fitted chaps, more common in western-style riding, can easily go over the riding boot, eliminating any boot catch issues. Otherwise, if you prefer to wear breeches, you need to stay with a tall boot, and a boot tall enough that it won't catch on your saddle flaps. This is where you will need to sacrifice style for function. Or, you can go with a "short" boot or a mid-calf boot, these boots are clearly below the saddle flap. Short boots can be worn with breeches, chaps and depending possibly half-chaps.