^^^this. I’m fairly skeptical when I hear poor reviews about boots because in person, I’ve seen so many people wear their tall boots to the field to catch their horse (including in deep mud), in the wash stall for an hour long bath, while cleaning stalls…and when they finally take them off, they get tossed on their tack trunk, no cleaning or trees or boot bag. Then it’s a mystery to them why the boots are falling apart. Mine go on right before I ride, come off right after I untack, and they live in a bag with trees. I ride every single day. They’re seven years old now and in great shape.
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I agree that this is very true, in the past I’ve definitely abused my boots, but it wasn’t until manufacturers started cheaping out with materials that this was an issue. I used to wear my boots for years and then gradually this was less and less possible.
I finally gave in to the fact that I needed to take better care of these fragile boots to make them last, but they simply do not, regardless. In my case, I do the same as skipollo with my tall boots: I put them on right before I ride, take them off after and before I do anything with the washstall or whatever, and I wipe them down each ride and condition them when they need it. They still fall apart within 12-18 months. The last pair (Mountain Horse Sovereigns, which used to be my go-to) had the zipper split, the leather is worn in very odd places that don’t actually touch the horse, and the soles are very worn. It doesn’t seem to matter how well I take care of them, they still wear out much more quickly and still cost hundreds of dollars.
The old pair of barely-used Ariat Monacos that I found are made so much better and they are holding up way better, consequently. They still look nearly-new after several months of use. Thicker leather, better workmanship, etc. I wish I had several pairs!
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Using that same logic, I ordered a pair of custom Dehners in fall of 2017 despite being an easy off-the-rack fit, because I thought it was better to order one super-durable pair of boots than to keep replacing boots every year or two. Unfortunately the Dehners didn’t turn out to be all that durable either. Customer service was less than impressive too.
I selected the boots with extreme durability in mind. I got pull-ons so there would be no zipper to break. Rather than calfskin I went with one of the more durable options, though I can’t recall now if I chose Voyager or Dragoon. I think Voyager. Both of those are considered less expensive options than calfskin and the boots still cost over $1,200 (way more than I had ever spent on boots before) but I was okay with that because I thought they would last many years.
They took about 3 months to arrive and did not remotely fit, even though my measurements were taken by a very experienced retailer and longtime Dehner dealer. Another few months passed and the corrected boots arrived, yay!
Sadly within a year the soles started separating from the boots. I never got them wet or muddy since I would only wear them to ride. I contacted Dehner and they told me to mail them back, which I did (at my expense). I asked if I could just have them repaired locally and get reimbursed under a “warranty” principle but they said no, they needed to see them to know what the problem was with the stitches. They stitched the soles back on and charged me $60-80 for return shipping. I could have had the soles replaced locally for much less than shipping the Dehners both ways, and I didn’t gain anything by them “know[ing] what the problem was.” This is the photo I sent Dehner at that time:
About 10 months later the soles were splitting again so I had them replaced locally. That hasn’t solved the problem either though because the entire sole/heel periodically rip off the bottom of the boot to leave a bunch of exposed nails, like this:
The last time the heel ripped off I ordered boot glue on Amazon and stuck them back together myself because I am sick of sinking money into them. That has held for about 9 months now, although I was injured and not riding during some of that time. Also, they are no longer my everyday boots because I am trying to baby them.
On the plus side, the leather is holding up so far. I’m lucky to be an easy fit so I found a pair of brand new $1,000 Konig dressage boots on consignment for $350 last year and those became my everyday dressage boots, so I only wear the Dehners to jump now. (The Konigs are holding up extremely well and I would gladly buy another pair of those every few years if I could find them on consignment again.) I hope that the Dehners will last a long time only being used once or twice a week, but I bought them for daily use and I do not feel like I got what I paid for or what I thought I was getting, based on old reviews of Dehners lasting for decades.
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I have a pair of Ariats that must be knocking on 25 years old, back when they were made in Spain and were just beautiful quality leather. I’ve taken care of them and they are still in remarkably good shape. I’d show in them. But they are a little old fashioned looking now, so I bought a pair of Ariat Caprioles last fall.
I’m fortunate to be an off the shelf size.
I clean them and polish them and keep them on trees, don’t abuse them, and honestly, they look in far worse shape than the old ones already. Not broken, just battered looking, with dye missing and rubs and wear and not entirely pleasing break down around the ankle.
So I do think that they don’t make 'em like they used to. But I guess a reasonably priced boot that lasts forever is a poor business model.
One of the trainers at my barn has custom DeNiros that she purchased in May last year. Admittedly she rides 6 horses a day, but she also cleans and conditions them religiously, and those things are trashed. Seams worn through, stitching blown out, the works.
When I wore through two pairs of Ariats in less than 18 months each, I admit I didn’t take white glove care of them, but I did clean and polish them. To be fair, I bought them as “everyday boots,” though.
When I replaced them with a pair of Tuffriders, yes, the Tuffriders are a bit uglier, but I haven’t really taken very good care of them at all, and they are going strong after three years.
I think the people who have ancient Ariats in beautiful condition are nostalgic for Ariats which exist no more and are in for a rude awakening if they get a new pair!
I would never get pull-ons, but I do wonder if people who have the super-old ones also are “benefiting” from not having zippers that can’t break, and I assume if you don’t have zippers, it’s “condition and care for the boots otherwise you can never get in or out of them.” Plus, a bigger incentive to wear chaps and paddock boots than deal with Boot Aerobics, except when showing.
I will add that I did have Ariat paddock boots before the tall ones and they cheerfully broke down after 18 months as well.
I always bought my pull-on boots so I could get them on and off without doing myself an injury, just using pulls and a boot jack, and I think that helped them hold up better, too–a lot less strain to the seams!
I wish I could get into the same breech size as I wore 20 years ago…
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I used to use Ariats as my schooling boots. Can’t speak to any of the higher end models because I only ever had the heritage contours, but I think they’ve fallen out of fashion because they just aren’t pretty or flattering. Thick and kind of stiff leather, not at all fitted through the ankle. With the current trend overwhelmingly being, thin, soft, form fitting calf leather.
I switched to tuffriders for a cheapie schooling boot a few years ago and haven’t looked back. They are extremely soft leather so very comfortable. The trade off being that they don’t last very long—I generally get 8 months to a year out of a pair, but granted I abuse them. Most I do for care is just wipe them down with a damp cloth. I wear them all day—riding, teaching, working around the barn. I’m a professional so I ride a lot. I always get them from breeches.com because they nearly always have a 30% off coupon running I can use, so that brings them to about $150 for a pair I think. At that price I don’t mind replacing them every 8-12 months, and plus the soft leather makes them really comfortable. They are also fairly nice looking—fitted through the ankle and calf. They don’t take a shine very well so I wouldn’t use them as a show boot but they are great for schooling boots at a price I don’t feel guilty for trashing them.
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Wow, that is quite the boot saga, and it’s certainly not a great endorsement for Dehners. The way they fell apart, especially the heel coming off, makes me wonder if a trainee or intern cobbled them together. I mean, seriously, what the heck?!?
I had two pairs of Dehner paddock boots that I wore through, and both pairs had the sole separate because the stitching wore through at the ball of my foot (for those who don’t know Dehners, the sole is stitched on with the stitching visible on the bottom of the sole). Interestingly it looks like your soles were textured while mine were smooth; I had assumed the problem with mine was that the smooth sole caused the stitching to be in contact with the ground/stirrup constantly and resulted in the thread wearing through too quickly.
I glued the soles back on every few months and wore both pairs until the leather wore through (mostly in the ankle area where there was friction with the bottom of my half chaps). I think they each lasted two or three years of daily riding before the leather died.
Ariats never lasted for me; the leather would always crack at the flexion point on the inside of thr ball of my foot within a year. Perhaps the variety of experiences with Ariat quality are due to different stirrup positions/foot flexions putting stress on different points? A tack shop employee thought I was crazy when I most recently went paddock boot shopping because I refused to even consider Ariats.
I have had my Ariat Volants, with the tacky red trim, for over ten years. I will cry when these die. They feel like they were custom made for me. They are still in excellent shape, though, so fingers are crossed!
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I feel like your post was directed at me, so I guess I need to justify myself.
As mentioned by the OP below, my boots are only cracking at the flex point at the ball of my foot. I have taken better care of these boots than any previously - regular cleaning, conditioning, storing in boot bags daily with boot trees. I reached out to Ariat for insight on how to keep them from cracking more. They told me they couldn’t help me and to reach out to the vendor I purchased from.
Riding Warehouse was MORE than generous, even though these were technically outside the warranty period, and I do not fault them at all. Nor do I fault myself, although I guess I should’ve carefully inspected them at the 11.5 month mark, but TBH I had no idea when I had purchased them or how long they have been worn. I’m a mere ammy who tries for 4 days a week but often gets sidelined by lame horses and adult life so to me - there’s really no excuse for this to be happening.
Take is easy. I work at a tack store, so I see a lot and from several sides. If you re-read my post, you’ll see that I place blame where it is due, with folks who are careless with their purchases or care, but also with manufacturers.
If my PSA doesn’t work for you, don’t bother with it. Maybe it could help someone else.
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I have a pair or Deniros that I bought in July. I knew going in that the zips breaking may be an issue as my previous pair were Deniros. Unfortunately my leg size is weird- one leg is bigger than the other and my lower legs are quite long and Deniros are the only brand I can get custom made in person around here. So I don’t really have many options.
Currently my zips are falling down- I don’t really want to repair them at this point but if anyone knows of a short term fix they could pass on?
The seams have also started to wear so it’s a little disappointing. The leather seems much softer than my last pair so I guess that’s the cause.
Dovers’ Riding Sport Essential field boot is currently on sale for $105. I’m not expecting it to be great at that price but taking a flyer so I can have brown boots at least for a short while. (Black is also same price.)
They seem to be a bit of a weird in between size. For my foot size of 7.5 the shaft height is 17.5" which is shorter than most regular tall boots but a bit taller than my Ariat short height so I’ll probably try with heel lifts. And the regular calf is also wider than what I need, but the slim is too small. But with free returns I’ll at least try, I’m not too picky for schooling boots.
https://www.doversaddlery.com/rs-essential-field-boot-brown/p/X1-381388/
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Thank you for the morning chuckle… As a past Dover employee… I felt that! If it wasn’t boots, it was a ten year old saddle. Really! I once had someone bring a well-worn saddle that was 10 years old in, who demanded a cash refund in full.
I couldn’t figure out how to also quote @skipollo but wanted to tack on I feel boots – of certain quality – should be able to handle these rigors and then clean up new. I’m sad to report at least in my experience, that hasn’t been the case.
Everyone who knows me IRL, knows I have a bit of a problem when it comes to leather. I’m frugal by nature, but I spend $$ (to me, anyway) on quality goods. You bet that I am there the second it’s being pulled off of a horse, wiping it down. Doesn’t matter if its after an XC school or after a hunt, I’m in the trailer once the tack is off, wiping it all down while my horse grazes or munches on hay. This routine works, and I have a lot of leather goods that still look brand new despite their abuse…
Except my tall boots (Tredstep Donatello). 
They have wanted for nothing in terms of care, have only been on my feet for about 30s before I mount the horse, always cleaned off and conditioned, only used for hunts, shows, or clinics… and the lining fell apart and the stitching to the zippers broke within a few rides. I’m with @foursocks in that these suckers got the Delicacy Setting treatment and they still disintegrated. I’m still using them because I paid a lot of money for them, dammit, but they are not show quality any longer.
@Libby2563 's Dehner story scares me… I’ve got that kind of luck, I’d shell out painful amounts of money only to have it break right away. That is totally unacceptable, BTW! Both that they broke within that kind of time period, and that you had to PAY to fix it. They should have covered repair at a local shop… and if they had to see the boot for themselves they should have sent you a return label. Wow.
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Yeah. We can talk about customers who abuse return policies in another thread. But! Just to double-down on my claim to be a fair-minded, accurate spewer of blame, I think Treadstep has earned some. And the Donatellos are bad.
In the interest of full disclosure, I am personally bitter because I have been suckered into buying some various models of Treadstep boots like an untreated co-dependent lover. “This time it will be different…” only to be left with stiff, fugly leather the morning after. If riding boots were modeled after a hangover, Treadsteps would be it.
And I know about leather care. I’m also frugal like you, and I do the whole “Mr. Rogers” changing of boots ritual immediately surrounding my ride. My boots don’t touch the ground often, and never wet or muddy or mucky ground.
The Dehners story is bad and unexpected. She said the soles on hers were flat and that’s not how I remember Dehners being for a very long time. They have had ribbed soles, but I had a pair of off-the-self paddock boots with the flat soles in the 90s.
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I am bitter too! In this case, COTH lied to me 
I bought them specifically because people were saying Ariat had lost its quality (FWIW – I never had a pair that didn’t come undone within two years) and there weren’t many other options locally. COTH suggested Tredstep.
It’s alright though. I just know never to buy Tredstep boots again.
FWIW, @Night_Flight had smooth-soled Dehners that fell apart and mine were ribbed. I don’t think that affected how they fell apart since it was a matter of splitting, not wearing through. If you order custom Dehners you can choose from a bunch of different soles: https://dehner.com/guides-info/customize-your-boot/#soles--heels. At every step of the process I asked the dealer, “What is the most durable option here?” and picked whatever that was, because I was concerned with durability over appearance. Joke’s on me I guess!
I have a friend who is so traumatized by her Tredstep experience that I am careful never to bring up that name in her company. She had an almost-new pair fall apart at an event, right before dressage. She sort of taped them together so she could ride in her three phases, and ended the day with completely broken boots and blisters everywhere.
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