I had a bad crush injury to my foot; eight broken bones. I am hoping to find footwear other than sneakers that I can wear around horses. I have wide feet and a decent arch. My foot wasn’t easy to fit before the injury, now it seems almost impossible. Any ideas? No Blunnies, I need arch support. I’ve also tried some of the lace up sneaker type riding boots and they were not wide enough. Thank you!
I have foot issues as well and ride in Timberland Pro’s http://www.amazon.com/Womens-Timberland-Titan-Safety-Boots/dp/B004WMV2MM/ref=sr_1_1?s=apparel&ie=UTF8&qid=1428718790&sr=1-1 I like the safety toe but they also come in a soft toe. After a few rides I use regular shoe polish on them and it keeps them waterproof. I also put an insert in and use Thorolos thick cushioned socks. My feet are fine now, it has really made a difference in my comfort level.
Thank you for the recommendation. They sound comfortable. And even better if I can ride in them.
I took a hole punch to a pair of zip front Ariat sneaker/boots. I put holes on either side of the zipper, then laced up as normal. Some days they zip, some days they don’t. They were a sale model I found in a Dover store, an early Volant paddock boot.
Thanks red mares. Do those have a wide footbed? The front doesn’t look super wide. I pretty much have duck feet with a high arch… 
I broke my ankle and have had to jump through a lot of shoes. Figuring out which ones didn’t work is quite a painful process! I recommend getting shoes that fit your width and then buying supports for your arch.
I have a pair of ariat paddock boots that fit my feet perfect but had zero support. Killed my feet to ride in them. When I went to the doctor they recommended some inserts that gave me enough arch support. 
I also have a foot injury and HAVE to have arch support. I bought Ariats because you can remove their liner and add your own orthotic insert. If inserting your own orthotic insert, be sure to go up a size or two to allow for the extra room you will need.
My foot doctor recommended New Balance inserts.
Thanks. My biggest problem is finding something that is w.i.d.e. enough. I have no problem adding arch support to a shoe that is wide enough.
I have yet to find an Ariat that is wide enough for my foot.
I wore my friend’s paddock boots and the width was good but they were four sizes bigger than what I wear and over $500 non custom. I don’t want to get hug up in super sized boots.
I have same issue and use Ariart terrians, ugly but wide and they stretch with time as its cheap leather, as mentioned before use your own insoles. New balance are too flat , use sof sole medium arch not high arch insoles. Dicks sells them or on-line.
If you use a tapedero and now they just have neoprene wraps for the stirrup then you can buy light weight hiking boots or extra wide running shoes and ride in them because its safe. If you want a show boot i can’t think of a wide toe box thats not a custom boot.
I used to ride in Brooks adrenaline trail running shoe but they stopped making them in wide. There are web sites for wide shoes.remember with taperderoes you can ride in any boot thats comfortable.
Try regular hiking boots (ankle high lace ups) and buy them a half size or full size larger than you might otherwise wear. But my best suggestion is to buy mens boots. Figure out the mens equivalent size and they are always wider than womens. I suggest further a mens work boot style like the hard toed ones contstruction workers wear. Reg Wings. Or western boots. My favorite paddock boots are the western style ones, mens, bought at southern states! Gotta forget about looks.
Look at Twisted-X all around lacers. WIDE and cushy! Made for wearing around horses…
Ariat Terrains in a C width instead of B. One of the local stores carried them in stock. And then, my orthotics instead of their footbed.
I can actually wear Blundstones, but getting that elastic stretched out took time. I have slip on arch supports I can wear under my socks.
I always thought I had really wide feet too. Until I found out that I have a combination of wide feet and narrow heel, which seemed to explain a lot of frustrations I had wtih off-the-shelf shoes!
I’ve had a very good experience with my Equitector boots. I have the black paddock boots, the Equi-master I believe. The gentleman I worked with had me send in foot tracings, and I really wanted a half size larger but he insisted that I should go with what turned out to be the correct size.
http://www.equitector-usa.com/products.cfm?cat=2
I’ve gotten I think about five years of use out of them, and they are finally starting to wear out. I probably could’ve kept them going longer if I had been better about caring for the leather. (As in, the only care they EVER got was hosing off in the washrack!)
For cushioning and arch support, I like the Spenco insoles, and they go into anything I wear on my feet. I have to admit they used to make them thicker and nicer, but even the cheapened down variety sold today is still better than liners in most sneakers.
If you’re going to be spending more time out of the saddle than in it, I’ve gone with a tactical military boot for my every-day trudging to and around the barn. The Maelstrom TAC tactical comes with a really nice cushion right out of the box, no Spencos necessary. And I love the handy-dandy zipper for easy on\easy off, while still being able to adjust the total tightness with laces.
Good luck with your recovery! My foot suffered and injury when I was in high school and it never healed properly. Trust me when I say I REALLY wish I could go back in time and treat it better giving it the time it needed to heal!
Try seeing if you can find a really good shoe store in your area that does orthotics and is used to helping people with foot issues, and see if they can special order any suitable paddock boots for you to try on - some of the boot companies now also do regular shoes (like Ariat) so they may well be able to get stuff from their suppliers that they wouldn’t normally carry.
Also, look at men’s shoes - they tend to be made on a wider last, if you can find them small enough to fit in length. (I’m a US women’s 7.5-8 and a US men’s 6, normally. Men’s 6 can be kind of hard to find, most places seem to start at men’s 7.)
In general, Ariats do seem to run narrow, though. I have a wide foot and ended up with Ariat paddock boots, but that was after trying on every single style in my size in store and that was the only model of Ariat that fit me right, and happened to be the most comfortable overall.
I jumped off a fence and broke three bones on my foot.
The Dr said to wear hiking boots, or some boots with thick, stiffer soles for support.
He was right, only kind that kept my foot from hurting.
That is what I wore even riding, for many years and still do today if my foot starts hurting again.
Go to any good outdoor store to try hiking boots and you will find some that fit fine, some are made wider than others.
I tried Ariat Terrains and they just didn’t have enough sole support, try regular hiking shoes.
For years I used Vasque, now most of those have lines with thicker soles.
Those hiking boots come from short to very tall on the ankle, that doesn’t seem to matter to my feet, it is the sole support that helps.
Don’t forget some very good safety stirrups if you follow the suggestions for non-riding boots!
I think you’re likely to be stuck in customs if you want a perfect fit for the foot you’re describing :-/
[QUOTE=arapaloosa_lady;8135578]
Don’t forget some very good safety stirrups if you follow the suggestions for non-riding boots! [/QUOTE]
Ditto that … in my paragraph about the tactical boots, I did sort of say about being out of the saddle rather than in. But to make it clear, the Maelstroms I recommended are not good for being in stirrups as the heavy tread catches easily (I ride English, with rubber-lined irons).
Wow! Thank you everyone for your ideas. I am going to check into all of them. I think I may just need to save up for customs. Unless I want a boot to literally just ride in and not walk around in. I have custom tall boots which I luckily (and oddly) I had measured in ski socks. So they fit the extra wideness, but are a killer to walk around in. I guess they will last a while. 
I can sympathize. My feet are wide and square at the ball but my heel is normal and I have had a severe ankle sprain so I need ankle support. I have tries Ariat Terrains, and three different styles of Arian paddock shoes with no luck. Finally I found the Tredstep Giotto zip front paddock shoes. My inserts fit and they are wide enough for my feet. It’s so nice to ride in proper shoes that fit regular stirrups again and it feels so much safer.
Hope this helps. Good luck.
Redback boots are wide, but do not offer much support. Those twisted X boots look awesome. Shoebuy has free shipping and returns!
