Long Leather riding boots

OwnedbyChanter

OwnedbyChanter

With out my boys life would be bland
Apr 16, 2009
7,514
2,420
113
Raininghamshire
I have had enough :furious: I go through a pair of boots every summer and another pair of winter boots every winter.

I have had:
Toggi Calgary (current ones, zip falls down and split had them about 6 months but only been wearing for about 20

Ariat Windmeres lasted 1 winter

Mark Todd long boots 1 summer

Dubin country boots 2 winters and 1 summer

Mudbuster these were good 2 winters

One other that I can't remember the make.

I now have Ariat mudbuster welly's for the winter but the toggi are crap.

I need some boots to wear everyday to the field (summer/spring) and ride in every day some times numerous horses. My boots take a lot of bashing.

I also don't want to spend more than £150 I like the field style comp boots. So anyone have any ideas.
 
What a shame about the Calgary's I really liked the look of those. Think that Mountain Horse do something similar (poss"terra Nuevo"? Unsure on spelling) but they have that matt look like the Calgary boot and feel quite sturdy. Might also be over budget though you can find offers from time to time so tha they come in close to your figure.
No doubt someone more knowledgeable will come along with better suggestions for you hopefully!
 
See if you can get a pair of ariat bromonts on sale somewhere. I have the black non insulated and the brown insulated and love them both! The black ones are looking slightly worse for wear now after 3 seasons hunting in them so have scratches in various places, but I cannot fault them for quality or comfort. I liked them so much I went and bought the brown ones to wear with my tweed!
 
I seriously use and abuse my Ariat Grasmeres, wear them 12+ hours a day, through all mud and muck and they get hosed off at the end of the day if they are lucky, I've had to replace the laces and there is some stretching and marking on the leather, to be expected but I am very impressed with how tough they are.

For any riding I change to my bromonts which are lovingly preserved, trees in whenever not in use, cleaned every day, etc. i dont think they'd take atall well to being taken anywhere near mud though, they're simpley designed to sit on a horse.

Its been expensive to have both but so worth it- warm dry feet all winter and a much improved leg position when riding.

When I was shopping around For the bromont I discounted various Mountain Horse boots as too clompy, they had much thicker soles and reinforced stitching etc, they might be more dual purpose?
 
I use my ariat glacier and grasmere for everything,riding,walking,out and about,wore glacier for 2 years working full time in a yard 7-6 along side my own horse.i hose them at the end of the day and out some horsemans one step on cleans and conditions and takes 2 mins.had the glacier nearly 4 years and the grasmere a year,just got Windermere but would not abuse them the same way,they are the cheaper ariats,don't have the gortex lining and the suede isn't as easy imo to keep clean as the all leather.I got my grasmere for £145 off eBay on sale.the glacier are more around the £220 mark but are all leather as opposed to suede and leather and just abit easier to clean.my friend had some glacier just short of a year and the lining ripped,she admitted it was her fault as she never used a shoe horn she sent them to ariat and they sent her a brand new pair,the customer service was great.
 
I am a serial boot killer, no boot has ever lasted me more than a year and they always split across the ball of the foot - until I got my muck boots, now I know you wouldn't ride in these OBC but they are brilliant, you could always swap to a nice looking pair for ridden stuff, second longest lasting were my Mountain Horse rimfrost rider at a year, but I did use them for all yard work too, they were the non leather ones but again probably not what you are looking for so not much help.
 
I am sort of shocked by this thread - though I dont do as much on a yard as you people, I do expect my boots and shoes to last. Not just riding but my other boots too. I spend a lot on them.
Like Captain Kirk I have thin, classy long boots for riding, and I dont work or groom in them - nor do groundwork because the soles are slippery.
Would you consider short boots on the yard?
I noticed at demos that some UK trainers I admire wore short boots and jeans to ride. They are good if you are doing ground work and then jumping on the horse. For summer we both have Ariat dual purpose short boots. You can ride Western in them or use them for mountain walking.
Both OH and I have short Ariat riding boots too and are still wearing our original ones - mine 9 years old and his 6 years old. So I am surprised that the Ariat long boots dont last you?
I wear clompier lace up Mountain horse boots for working or riding in freezing weather (yes you need wider stirrups) and when riding wear half chaps with them. I dont like riding in them but I am doing some grooming at the moment and wear them all the time when helping on a yard. They have hard toes (though not metal caps) in case the horse steps on you. Mine are now 9 years old.
May be I should add that apart from the summer Ariats, all the boots are black leather and OH regularly polishes all the boots.
 
Sunshine X I love the Ariat Bromont and have been suching for a pair on sale. So it is nice to know that they last as I know you hunt in yours so they take a fair amount of stick.

CK and MM Sorry but I hate the look of the gramere I have heard so many good things about them but I am rather old fashioned and like old style boots.

Calluna, I have looked at a few of the Mountain horse ones I do like them and there are a few on sale at the moment. So will spend the day on the internet I think


Thanks guys
 
I read an article somewhere which said you are better having more than one pair of long leather boots - and then they don't get worn out as fast. Personally I do follow this advice because I live mainly in riding / yard type clothes. I have Ariat Winderemeres, Mountain Horse High Riders, Sherwood Daltons, Harry Hall Yales, Sherwood brown long boots with fur lining (these are synthetic tho) and also have those in black. I also have Toscana long oiled leather boots which are very heavy duty.
Over the years I have killed quite a few pairs - I would never buy Toggi Calgary again or Equitector long boots or Dublin Rivers. These were pants and either zip broke or lining ripped.
I do expect a lot out of them mind - hence why I have a few different pairs on the go.
 
Skib, I have short boots for the summer with chaps as well. I would never ride in jeans it's just not me. I only wear breeches at the yard or cords in the morning for mucking out etc. I personally prefer the look of long boots also means I don't have to remember which tack room, car ,work or house I have left my chaps in and less to carry to work. I have gone through a few pairs of short boots as well, they just split

Unless you are mucking out boots will last longer but the horse's wee eats leather and rubber after time and when you are mucking 3 horses every day for months they will die.

I have long leather competition boots but at the price I paid they are not going to be used for everyday riding.

I have found a couple of pairs of Arait Borment for £165.00 just need to bring myself to press the button
 
I just managed to get a pair of Ariat Bromonts on Ebay for £175 over budget but they should last as they have a great write up so thanks everyone for the help.
 
They look lovely - Hope they last you as well as our Ariats have - but do suggest that you polish them before you use them for the first time. Both OH and I had fathers who polished their shoes every week, and I went to boarding school where we had to polish them too - Not sure if it will protect against urine. I dont muck out but I do groom horses on box rest. There must be some reason why the army spend so long polishing boots.
 
Skib I am in the military and all of my boots are polished, My comp boots are cleaned and re-polished before storage after every comp so they still look like new after 15 years of competing.

The polish helps protect them against water and marks.

But thank you for the reminder
 
OwnedbyChanter said:
Skib I am in the military and all of my boots are polished, My comp boots are cleaned and re-polished before storage after every comp so they still look like new after 15 years of competing.

The polish helps protect them against water and marks.

But thank you for the reminder
Click to expand...

Military family here too....it took lots of self control when I first got a pair of 'suede' type riding boots. Leather boots, especially BLACK leather has to be bulled up with Parade Gloss and a hot teaspoon...! :D :D My dad drummed that into me! ;)
 
I am really cheered that you people polish your boots too. Because my daughters do not. I am also relieved Kis that you did not post saying it was bad for boots! When I saw your name I feared you might be correcting me.
 
I adore polishing and "feeding" my leather boots! OH often brings his to me in a sorry state - for me to revive! I am particularly proud of how well my Mountain Horse brown high riders have kept. They no longer produce them in that particular finish so I treasure them because I know I will struggle to replace them.
 
I have grotty yard riding boots which are nubuck and cannot be polished or cleaned really- really annoys me and I certainly won't be buying another similar pair. I polish my competition boots before every use and after if they've gotten a bit wet or dirty.

ETA I'm lusting after a pair of Ariats... I'm very tempted to get a pair!
 
newrider.com
Top Bottom
Back