I need a pair of winter work boots and a pair of winter riding boots. It would be great if those could be the same boots. (Btw, winter here features conditions like 20-below-plus-wind. There’s no way warm enough socks will fit inside my summer paddock boots.) I just thought of my mom’s LL Bean boots she’s had as winter boots for years, which are basically designed the same as a paddock boot but with a rubber waterproof bottom half. I’ve never heard of anyone riding in these(link), but is there any reason I couldn’t? The tread on the bottom is just enough to keep you from slipping all over on ice (a frequent problem here), but they are not very deep as you can see from the side view, so I can’t imagine they would pose a problem in the stirrup. They are also very streamlined, not bulky like many rubber or winter boots. It would be nice if I could just slap on half chaps to ride, and not have to change footwear in the cold between chores & riding. Thoughts?
I ride in Bean boots and half chaps all the time - works like a charm. Summer and winter both.
Bean boot re-tred.
[QUOTE=jetjocky;7770752]
I ride in Bean boots and half chaps all the time - works like a charm. Summer and winter both.[/QUOTE]
Bean boots were the “in” thing to ride back in the late 70’s. Don’t know if Bean’s still does it, but you could actually have the top half made full height like a real boot. Pain to lace but they worked really well throughout the day.
[QUOTE=flashwhitelock;7770807]
Bean boots were the “in” thing to ride back in the late 70’s. Don’t know if Bean’s still does it, but you could actually have the top half made full height like a real boot. Pain to lace but they worked really well throughout the day.[/QUOTE]
Thanks for the info - 'fraid I’ve only been around since the early 90s. 
They do have a variety of boot heights on their website. I prefer the shorter ones since I would rather ride in half chaps anyway.
Since we’re in the trail & endurance forum, it’s worth mentioning that stirrups with cages would take care of any safety concern about getting your boot through or stuck in the stirrup. Also, you’re right – Bean’s duck boots have a nice, narrow profile that is rare in a winter boot! Good luck.
I think these are the full length ones
http://www.llbean.com/llb/shop/83072?feat=506708-GN2&page=signature-women-s-l-l-bean-boots-16-quot-shearling-lined-colorblock&attrValue_0=Brown&productId=1379398
Love the LL Bean boots for winter riding and mucking ``` mocs to short and on ~
Love those LL Bean boots ``` for barn life
slip on moc ones for running down to barn all year through ‘weather’ to feed or check …
Short ones for ridng with full chaps and half chaps and for mucking …
- I do not wear them ( any length) in warmer weather as they will sweat your poor feet and you will have :o “polio feet” by the end of the day :lol:
and smelly feet at that ! :eek:
LL Bean boots have always been a favorite barn shoe in the Midwest barns …
I think you will really like them and end up with more than one pair ~
I learned to ride in the mid-late 80’s and that’s what we all wore all the time. It felt so weird when I finally started wearing real paddock boots!
We ride in ours occasionally. They’re probably the best non-riding boot I’ve used for riding, with just enough grip on the iron but come out easily.
You didn’t say what kind of stirrups you have on your saddle. Are you using the extra wide trail stirrups? Or safety stirrups?
I have been dragged a couple 100 yards because I wore a boot that was a hiking type boot while using standard english type stirrups. My back was a bloody mess.
No type of cage would have prevented my dragging as my size 7 foot never slid deeper into the stirrup. The boot was just too wide for the stirrup and had a significant tred on the sole.
I really worry when I see a person with a larger foot riding in hiking/work boots because I know that the cage on the trail stirrups will not necessarily prevent them from being dragged. It’s the tred, over at the edges of the soles, that can hook on the sides of the stirrups.
chicamuxen
If you are getting pair, order early as LL Bean was out of stock and back ordered in January. You can pick some up used on ebay as well.
Happy riding,
Jessie
Yep, as a working student in the early 1990’s - I wore “duck boots” day in and day out, and it was common place to ride in them.
They are NOT built like sneakers - and in my opinion do NOT have the same safety issues!
I had the 6" 5 eyelet variety. I remember one of the other riders would wear through the stitching on the back on a regular basis - she would send them back to LL Bean - and they would send her a new pair (mine were LL’s cheaper knock offs).
I am thinking about getting another pair for this winter.
[QUOTE=chicamux;7771271]
You didn’t say what kind of stirrups you have on your saddle. Are you using the extra wide trail stirrups? Or safety stirrups?
I have been dragged a couple 100 yards because I wore a boot that was a hiking type boot while using standard english type stirrups. My back was a bloody mess.
No type of cage would have prevented my dragging as my size 7 foot never slid deeper into the stirrup. The boot was just too wide for the stirrup and had a significant tred on the sole.
I really worry when I see a person with a larger foot riding in hiking/work boots because I know that the cage on the trail stirrups will not necessarily prevent them from being dragged. It’s the tred, over at the edges of the soles, that can hook on the sides of the stirrups.
chicamuxen[/QUOTE]
Thank you for this excellent description. I have big feet and usually wear Ariat Terrains, which have a smooth sole, but I might’ve gotten sloppy and started wearing hiking boots in my brand new caged stirrups. Consider yourself my savior, in advance!
Can you really zip half chaps over them??
^^ hum, haven’t worn them with half chaps, but “back in the day” we all wore them under our full chaps - which were custom with fitted ankles. The 6" inch ones aren’t much more bulky than paddock boots.
Thanks for all the replies! I think I may put Bean boots on my christmas list.
I’ve been riding in the upper midwest for over a decade and I’ve never seen anyone wearing Bean boots at the barn. I only know about them because of my mom who is from out east. Maybe they were “in” before my time? Anyway, I’m starting to really like this idea as an alternative to stuffing as many socks as I can into muck boots & then changing to ride…
A few have asked about stirrups. I always ride in some variant of an english-style saddle with standard english stirrups. But if the Pony Club says Bean boots are safe for riding (thanks Appsolute), I think they must be.
On half chaps. Some brands of suede ones seem to be roomier at the bottom, to accommodate crossover boots like Terrains or western-style lace ups that are bulkier in the ankle. (Like these from Dover.) I will just get a separate pair of these for winter use, probably in a size up to accommodate thick socks.
rode in them for years in Ct. winters.
recommend you also get a box of “Toe Warmers”. They saved me in last winter’s horrible freeze
Adding that I prefer a leather waterproof type boot ( insulated ) for the snow …
Adding …
While I love and live in my LL Bean ‘duck’ shoes/ boots for barn life …
I do not wear them in the warmer temperatures as they sweat my feet …
and
adding
not all day in the snow … snow pack because they are rubberized/ waterproof but colder than a [B]leather insulated ( waterproofed) boot …
[/B]so there are seasons for LL Bean duck shoes/ boots but other boots are needed for ultimate warmth in the all day * snow and or during the humid "stinky :eek: feet’ in rubberized boot weather :lol:
Hope this makes sense … summary more than one pair or type of winter riding boots :yes:
Interesting! And here I thought I was the only one who rode in LL Bean boots back in the 80’s. Worked perfectly in Oregon, where its wet all the time and rarely freezes. Went through several pairs. I remember you could send them back to LL Bean and they’d sew new rubbers on the bottom. My half chaps fit over them just fine, but they were different half chaps than those made today which are super form fitting.
Today I wear ariats & tredsteps, but if I get involved in endurance I might consider riding sneakers (which look to be the prefered riding boots); but last time I owned a pair, I couldn’t fit my half chaps over the top of them so ended up giving them away…
I rode in them a lot, '80’s. I like the tall ones. I haven’t ridden in them in ages, but I have never been without a pair & wear them a lot. I think they are some of the best boots to wear for barn work. They are well made, too.
I brought a pair with me for my internship in Germany after college. I worked at a farm research center & everyone was in love with my boots. No matter what area of the farms or labs I worked in, I got asked about them. At some point I was afraid they might disappear.
I never understood the point of the mocs. If it is wet, mud & water get in. When I clean stalls, shoe gets full of shavings. Hated those.
