Is a short life inevitable (for yard boots)?

[Caol Ila]

Gah, the interior of my Muck Boots is disintegrating, so it's turning into uneven lumps that rub holes into my heel, and I was hobbling like a horse with an abscess while walking out to Foinavon's field in order to fetch him.

They are about two years old. Does anyone know of any boots you can both ride in (I know! don't slag me off for it) and fish horses out of bogs in, and that last longer than two years? Or is this inevitable no matter what?

 

[chaps89]

I do love my le chameuas.
Mine last 4+ years generally.
They have enough of a heel and aren’t so bulky that I would ride in them if I needed (though generally if I’m feeling so lazy I can’t be bothered changing my boots then chances are I can’t be bothered with the saddle either so then wellies don’t matter!)
Don’t know how well they’d last if you’re riding in them too but I wear mine daily and get good use from them

 

[Equi]

I’ve spent many years wearing my jod boots for all and after my 4th pair died I decided to use my country boots and change for riding. Got some leather jod boots and not very impressed with them but they will last longer than my previous beloved ones that they no longer make (why do companies stop making good boots ?)

 

[ihatework]

I think if you are using boots daily for riding, mucking out, bog walking and the likes then they are bound to have a shorter lifespan. For a boot you practically live in 2 years is pretty good.

 

[PinkvSantaboots]

I think if you are using boots daily for riding, mucking out, bog walking and the likes then they are bound to have a shorter lifespan. For a boot you practically live in 2 years is pretty good.

Was gonna say the same I buy some sort of country boot but don't ride in them, they tend to last 3 or 4 years but I don't go in much deep mud.

 

[Fransurrey]

I gave away my muck boots as they did the same thing and I didn't wear mine daily. Appalling quality for the price. I wear Aigle Iso Parcours, now and they're going into their third winter. I DO ride in those, sometimes go for walks in them and generally abuse them and they still look new. No comparison.

 

[Starzaan]

I change my boots for riding, and have a pair of hiking boots and a pair of tall country boots for yard work and teaching.
I am THRILLED if I get more than six months out of a pair of yard boots. Think about it - I walk around 16 miles a day on the yard, in all weathers. I swim horses daily and invariably spill chlorine on my boots or end up drenched if they leap in. I muck out in them, walk in muddy fields, and they disintegrate after about six months normally.
I wear my boots for at least 12 hours a day, every day. Six months is pretty good going.

 

[AFB]

Nope, gotta change for riding IMO.

Aigles for yard work/dog walking etc (they have a rubber section on the heel so no rubbing the lining away which has always caused me issues in the past) and Ariat/MH for riding in.

 

[Annagain]

I'm another who changes for riding. I used to ride in Hunter wellies back in the day when Hunters were decent but found even they wore down far more quickly if I rode in them. It's Aigle Parcours Iso for me too (first pair lasted 9 years, I'm now on my second pair going into our 2nd winter like new) and changing into Toggi Calgaries for riding.

 

[TheHairyOne]

The most annoying thing about country boots is when the lining goes and you cant get out of them. Its always at the heel!

I now buy good walking boots and expect to get 2 years out of them. Which includes actual proper walking hols as well.

Just change to ride. Makes my riding boots last longer too as I basically never walk anywhere in those!

 

[SEL]

Muck boots didn't make it through a single winter as yard boots with me. They do OK at home for a bit of gardening, walking on muddy footpaths but can't cope with the hours a day yard boots have to suffer.

I now have a decent pair of wellies and change to ride in

 

[stangs]

I now buy good walking boots and expect to get 2 years out of them. Which includes actual proper walking hols as well.

Just change to ride. Makes my riding boots last longer too as I basically never walk anywhere in those!

This. Except I do ride occasionally in my hiking/walking boots with no problems. They're much warmer than riding boots too, for the winter.

 

[sportsmansB]

I never ride in yard boots
I buy yard boots in the sales (most recent were Shires moretta somethings for £65 half price) and expect to get a year from them
I also have a pair of dunlop wellies for walking dogs in very wet conditions but otherwise I wear the country boots for 4-5 hours a day most of the year, I wear a sturdy hiking shoe from a sports sales website in the summer
My riding boots last forever though as I just change into them to ride

 

[Widgeon]

I wear Aigle Iso Parcours, now and they're going into their third winter. I DO ride in those

Oh do you?? Perhaps I should put some bigger irons on my saddle. I swap mine for riding boots but my feet would be so toasty if I left the Aigles on....I wear them for practically everything else....

 

[Fransurrey]

Oh do you?? Perhaps I should put some bigger irons on my saddle. I swap mine for riding boots but my feet would be so toasty if I left the Aigles on....I wear them for practically everything else....

Not in Spring to Autumn, but at this time of year, often yes. I do have safety stirrups, so not sure how they'd be with standard irons. I like to change to riding boots for support, but I'm a Raynauds sufferer, so hate putting cold footwear on and the Aigles have room for sheepskin insoles.

 

[Antw23uk]

I buy workman boots ... mainly because they are cheaper but also because of the steel toecaps (I have a 600kg+ spooky 'stomper' so need to protect my feet) and i just change into my riding boots to ride ... which I do all year round, i dont particularly feel comfortable walking round in riding boots ... they are for riding after all!

For the money i spend i dont give it much thought on replacing them yearly or bi yearly, I also dont particularly do mud at home (yes we're on clay) so i dont have the need for welly type winter boots either!

 

[Iznurgle]

I change my boots for riding, and have a pair of hiking boots and a pair of tall country boots for yard work and teaching.
I am THRILLED if I get more than six months out of a pair of yard boots. Think about it - I walk around 16 miles a day on the yard, in all weathers. I swim horses daily and invariably spill chlorine on my boots or end up drenched if they leap in. I muck out in them, walk in muddy fields, and they disintegrate after about six months normally.
I wear my boots for at least 12 hours a day, every day. Six months is pretty good going.

My existence is similar, but think more poo and wee than chlorine. What boots do you wear? My Ariat Tellurides lasted me about 5 months, and now I'm in a cheap pair of not super waterproof hiking boots and they are killing my back over time. I've found country boots sag over time and got frustrated with them.

 

[Starzaan]

My existence is similar, but think more poo and wee than chlorine. What boots do you wear? My Ariat Tellurides lasted me about 5 months, and now I'm in a cheap pair of not super waterproof hiking boots and they are killing my back over time. I've found country boots sag over time and got frustrated with them.

I love my Cotswold hiking boots. They last longer than any others I’ve tried, and offer far more support. For really wet days I have Ariat Conistons which last well and don’t seem to sag as much as others I’ve tried. ?

 

[Sealine]

In the summer I do everything in Ariat jodhpur boots. I do clean them and apply Dubbin occasionally. In the winter or when it's muddy I only wear jodhpur boots for riding and wear Le Chameau wellies for everything else.

 

[hollyandivy123]

le chameau ........15yrs+
i also buy work boots from screwfix, which are resistant to everything for summer 5yrs+
boots for ridding in 5yrs+

mix and match for i need them for and the last longer...........

 

[bouncing_ball]

le chameau ........15yrs+
i also buy work boots from screwfix, which are resistant to everything for summer 5yrs+
boots for ridding in 5yrs+

mix and match for i need them for and the last longer...........

Are there breathable non sweaty work boots from screwfix for summer?

 

[wiglet]

Two years isn't bad for yard boots especially if you wear them constantly. All the pee and poo rots footwear so they're never gonna last years and years.
When I was DIY, like many others, I changed my boots for riding. Now I have full livery... my last yard boots lasted 5 years

 

[hollyandivy123]

Are there breathable non sweaty work boots from screwfix for summer?

yep......... i moved over to them after a couple of years in the le chameau as they were to hot! all year round but i do wear the screwfix boots more now as have changed yards which doesn't have mud swamps in the gateways, they are water proof as well, with memory foam soles and a steel toe cap! the camels have the walking sole and i use the for walking across moors etc as well

i am a full member of Terry Pratchett and his view on boot economics

“The reason that the rich were so rich, Vimes reasoned, was because they managed to spend less money.

Take boots, for example. He earned thirty-eight dollars a month plus allowances. A really good pair of leather boots cost fifty dollars. But an affordable pair of boots, which were sort of OK for a season or two and then leaked like hell when the cardboard gave out, cost about ten dollars. Those were the kind of boots Vimes always bought, and wore until the soles were so thin that he could tell where he was in Ankh-Morpork on a foggy night by the feel of the cobbles.

But the thing was that good boots lasted for years and years. A man who could afford fifty dollars had a pair of boots that'd still be keeping his feet dry in ten years' time, while the poor man who could only afford cheap boots would have spent a hundred dollars on boots in the same time and would still have wet feet.

This was the Captain Samuel Vimes 'Boots' theory of socioeconomic unfairness.”

i have never been a follower of fashion............ expensive long lasting stuff is bought when it is a couple of seasons out of colour or style, this goes for rugs, normal boots shoes for everyday life