Rubber Riding Boots

[meaty_ogre]

My paddock boots are no longer water tight and my half chaps have had it. Before I replace them though I want to get some thoughts on rubber riding boots. They seem to be all the rage lately at the barns where I ride. The rubber riding boot wearers proclaim that they are cheap, comfortable and resilient. I’ve never tried a pair but have seen that there are lots of options on the market. I’ve even seen them with elastic inserts.

I usually ride in breeches since jeans don’t agree with me anymore, so I don’t think it’ll be a problem wearing them over breeches. I do have a super-mega wide calf (and foot) but I can usually get around that by ordering men’s boots.

So who makes the best ones? Are they all they’re cracked up to be? Do they squeak or get slippery when wet? I’ve seen everything from cheap basic rubber to ones lined with neoprene or even leather. The girls I’ve talked to all said that they can make your feet sweaty in the summer but aside from that, they tout them as the best things since sliced bread. I’d love to hear from COTH’s rubber boot wearing contingent!

[Dispatcher]

I have a pair that I bought at Dover about 10 years ago for $50. Can’t remember the brand name…I used to use them exclusivley until I switched to paddocks and half chaps.

I now wear the rubber boots only when it’s muddy & crappy out. They don’t provide much foot support and I find my feet actually hurting in the stirrups. And yes, the soles are slippery when wet!

I’m glad I have them as they are basically confortable and don 't look all THAT bad. Plus they are easy on and easy off

I say go for it and buy a pair.

[Wayside]

I used to have a pair, and I’d do it again if I didn’t have so much trouble finding boots that fit. They got hot in the summer, but were awesome in the spring mud, since I could easily wade through the muck to catch a horse, and then just hose them off before hopping on.

They were sturdy, too. I bought them used at a tack store for maybe $10, wore them for at least 5 years, if not longer, and then passed them on to another 4-H kid after I outgrew them.

No idea what the brand was, and this was probably close to 20 years ago, but if I didn’t have such a fat calf and a short wide foot, I’d get a pair again. :lol:

[meaty_ogre]

So are they pretty grippy? One thing I hate about my leather tall boots (which I only use for showing since they’re uncomfortable) is that they get slippery if I don’t keep them cleaned and treated between each ride. I wonder if I wore them more if they’d break in better and not be so stiff and slippery, but they’re so darned uncomfortable in comparison to my half chaps that I just can’t do it.

I’ve found several pairs under $30. At that price I just might have to try them. Worst case scenario I’ve got another pair of rain or mucking boots.

[Creaghgal]

I grew up using these glorified wellies . They make perfect sense in a wet & mucky climate but you couldn’t pay me to ever ride in them again! (Nor live in a wet & mucky climate)

[DMK]

hah! “Aigles” were my step up boots - from cheap rubber to fancy schmancy aigle rubber boots. I think they were like $45 instead of $10. But this was the 70’s…

(I had no idea those things were still around, but damn, $195 to sweat in non breathing rubber?)

[Dressage_Art]

I always have an extra pair like that: http://www.jefferspet.com/ssc/product.asp?CID=1&pf_id=0029915 for the supper rainy months, when our barns flood from all the rein… we don’t get snow in the winter, but it rains and floods and floods…

I tend to buy them a size larger to wear them with a thick moisture wicking ski socks and I also put an extra sole in them not to feel like I’m walking bare feet.

I love them in the wet months, but you can’t pay me to wear them in the summer…

[meaty_ogre]

So what are the other downfalls beside excessive summertime sweating? Are they warm in the winter or cold? I definitely don’t want cold clammy feet. But being able to hose them off before I leave the barn would be a big plus.

I’m guessing the cheap ones are unlined, but the higher end ones are available with various linings…synthetic fur, neoprene.

I have a pair of tretorn ballena boots that I got on clearance a while ago(sometimes it pays to have big feet!) and I love them for working around the farm but I’ve been afraid to ride in them because the sole is very chunky.
http://www.dllrainwear.com/Tretorn-Womens-Ballena-Tall-Laceup-Rain/M/B000FEE2HI.htm?traffic_src=froogle&utm_medium=organic&utm_source=froogle
My feet don’t seem to sweat excessively in them.

[Dressage_Art]

I paid about $50 for mine and they have a white liner in them, they don’t give you any warmth at all, and the sole is very thin. I have them only to go thru mud, puddles, or thru river running from flooding from barn to riding arena.

[Dispatcher]

In the winter, I wear mine with Thinsulate socks. Feet still get cold, but it’s tolerable. Mine also have a lining in them, but I would not call them warm!

[phoebetrainer]

Hot, sweaty and very smelly in summer. Cold, clammy and still smelly in winter. If you get the expensive ones with the wicking lining it all ends up pulling out and the inner sole rots away. Soles are thin.

Inner leg of the more expensive PVC ones hardens and cracks and can scratch your saddle. Inside leg of the cheap rubber ones rubs black all over your saddle.

Ankles are really stiff on some so its hard to get your heels down and if you do, they dig into you in odd places.

Only good thing: they’re waterproof - but I’d much rather have wellingtons and then change into riding boots for the actual on the horse bit.

[ddashaq]

I left rubber riding boots behind when I was 16 and will NEVER go back. They were not comfortable either on the ground or when riding and I used to find myself fighting the boots to get my heels down. (Of course, this was…18 years ago so maybe the rubber is more pliable now?) The only positive was that they were indeed water proof. Vastly prefer paddocks and half chaps.

[meaty_ogre]

[QUOTE=phoebetrainer;5097655]
Hot, sweaty and very smelly in summer. Cold, clammy and still smelly in winter. If you get the expensive ones with the wicking lining it all ends up pulling out and the inner sole rots away. Soles are thin.

Inner leg of the more expensive PVC ones hardens and cracks and can scratch your saddle. Inside leg of the cheap rubber ones rubs black all over your saddle.

Ankles are really stiff on some so its hard to get your heels down and if you do, they dig into you in odd places.

Only good thing: they’re waterproof - but I’d much rather have wellingtons and then change into riding boots for the actual on the horse bit.[/QUOTE]

Thanks, this is precisely the insider info I was looking for. I’m amazed at how many people I’ve seen riding in them lately, but maybe that is simply because they come in so many fun colors and prints right now which caters to the younger crowd. The younger crowd is also less apt to care about comfort and/or smelly feet too.

If I could just lose some weight and get back to my pre-baby size I could wear my full chaps through the winter.

[vineyridge]

Aigles are very popular with foxhunters down here. I have an old pair that I never use because of the sweating, but they look gorgeous. Never found that they affected how I stayed in saddle.

We bought ours from a place in Holland for much cheaper than they were available here. Forget the name of the Dutch tack store, but it did begin with a D–Might have been Divoza, but not sure.

I’m glad to own the Aigles, but I’m also glad to own my Mountain Horse zip up tall boots and my Effinghams.

One thing that you have to do with Aigles is put an insole in to stiffen the foot. Otherwise, the irons make your feet ache after hours in the saddle racketing around in the country.

[CHT]

I wear an abondonned pair of rubber riding boots for chores when it is wet/muddy out as I love how they fit, but I wouldn’t ride in them unless desperate.

I sometimes get students from other barns that were told to buy the rubber boots, but when I lend them leather paddock boots they find it so much easier to relax their ankle and foot! As said previously, the ankle folds can really pinch/rub, and the sole is so thin/soft & slippery that riders can want to curl their toe to feel secure in the stirrup.

The thin soles are also very cold/non insulating.

There are likely better quality boots than the ones commonly sold here; I am slightly curious about some I saw that were rubberized leather…but so far I would rather stick to leather for riding.

[sisu27]

[QUOTE=DMK;5095953]
hah! “Aigles” were my step up boots - from cheap rubber to fancy schmancy aigle rubber boots. I think they were like $45 instead of $10. But this was the 70’s…

(I had no idea those things were still around, but damn, $195 to sweat in non breathing rubber?)[/QUOTE]

Oh gawd how I hated my Aigles!! I had them in the late 80s as a pony clubber before I started to show in rated shows. I had (still do) very sweaty feet. I rode for hours every day back then and would have a sludge in the bottoms of them. I would try to wash them out and dry them but to no avail. I ended up with the most stubborn athletes foot ever!!! Plagued me for years!!

Awful things!!

[BetterOffRed]

I have a pair of ariat rubber boots that I got about 8 years ago…they are their version of Wellies. I have a crazy wide calf and skinny ankles so wellies didn’t work for me. snifsnif.

Have you thought about Mountain Horse boots?

[system]

You couldn’t pay me enough to ride in rubber riding boots again, but I did get a pair of Saxon Equi-leather field boots and I actually like them a lot.

http://www.jeffersequine.com/ssc/product.asp?CID=1&pf_id=0030754

Also, I have a wide calf and the Saxons come in several calf widths.

[leilatigress]

I used to just put the rubber boots over my paddock boots. Trudge through the mud, slid feet out and into saddle with clean paddock boots. I still do that in fact when the boots crack or get really bad I just pop back over to Academy for another pair. I have wide short calves so usually the men’s boots go over my knee. I would never dream of riding in those things though, aside from the sweat I don’t think the toe of mine would fit in the irons.

[HenryisBlaisin]

I had a pair back in the day, before I could afford “real” tall boots. I liked them okay. Yes, the soles are thin, and your feet do get cold. Mine were lined, so I don’t remember getting sewaty or anything. I wore them for years until I accidentally put a hole in one trying to drive a t-post into the ground. Oops…

Mine weren’t Aigles, but were nicer than the really cheap ones. They don’t drop like leather boots do, but I never had any issues with rubs or them rubbing my saddle any more than regular boots do. I also don’t reecall any problem with grip in the irons unless it was at camp and there were no pads on that particular set of stirrups. But bare irons are slipepry anyway.

It was great to be able to muck stalls, slog through the mud to catch my horse, groom and then not have to change my boots twice to ride and then to go back out in the mud. I also remember once after a nasty rainstorm being glad I had them because the water in some places around the barn where I worked came up almost to the top of them!