These Boots were made for………

 

These boots have been my faithful hard-working friends over the past two years. This scarred and dirty duo started off with humble beginnings bought off a Walmart shelf more than two years ago.

 

I’ve never much cared about name-brands or the way things looked. Whatever I buy must be dependable, useful and tough…and comfortable, too. These Faded Glory boots have been all that and more. Surprisingly I don't even think they’re real leather (I know. *gasp*!) I’ll let y’all in on a secret. Ranchman John is a shoe snob. He won’t buy anything unless it’s name brand and made of leather. It has to fit and be comfortable from the moment he puts it on, or he won’t buy it. Needless to say, he tends to do most of our family’s shoe buying. And he likes it that way.

My Walmart boots have always bugged Ranchman John. He believes that shoes not only affect comfort and gait, but can also affect the entire body, especially if the shoes are cheap and not of good quality.

Well you can only imagine how concerned Ranchman John was, when after two weekends of taking long trailrides in the snow, he saw me squeezing Gorilla Glue in between the gaping space of my old boot’s sole and upper. My cheapy old boots just weren’t cut out for the task of wading through a foot of snow and sloshing through mud and ice. They leaked and they were on their last foot, so to speak.

The Gorilla Glue worked wonders, though, and gave my boots a second lease on life, carrying me through another two weekends of riding clinics and snowy trails.

But I was in for a big surprise.

Ranchman John has been busy hitting the streets looking for a job, and although noone seems to be hiring just yet, he’s been taking care of other things around here that needed doin’, too. One of those things was getting the taxes done early as we were expecting a generous refund this year. Well, he got ‘em done and then he went shopping. (Can you guess where this is going?)

This is a man that likes to shop. Not me. I just want to get in, and get out. I get overwhelmed when there are too many choices and selections. I just can’t make up my mind. It makes me crazy! And I abhor lines, and all that walking in crowded stores. So, I just avoid shopping as much as possible. Not Ranchman John.  No. He likes to go to the stores and malls. He even likes to window-shop with no particular agenda or list to shop for. I haven’t been to a mall in years!

Well Ranchman John knew I could use a new pair of boots. He had a good idea of the style I like, too. He knows I prefer the lace up paddock style boots because I have trouble finding slip on boots that fit over my chubby calves.

 

He also knows the size I wear, too. It’s not an easy size to find at all. I can’t buy shoes online, unless I’ve tried them on already in a store, which makes my options even more limited. I’m almost 6’ tall and I usually wear a size 10.5 IF the shoe isn’t too narrow. My old Faded Glory boots are a size 10, but they must have just been cut larger. It’s difficult to find shoes in half sizes, so we have to move up to the size 11. But size 11 is often just too large. So, sometimes, if we can find the right style, we pick out shoes in men’s sizes. I wear a size 9.5 in a men’s size. I can almost trick myself into thinking my feet are smaller when I wear that size. Almost. haha!

Does anyone else have big feet, or weird feet, too?

So, anyway, the other day John was gone all day, doing his thing, shopping. When he came home he was so excited to show me something he had bought for me. (Can you guess what it was?)

Yes! A pair of new boots!!!!!

And not just any old boots off the shelf. Brand spankin’ new Ariat Cascade Paddock style boots!!!!

      

Of course, the Boot Barn didn’t have any women’s sizes past size 9, so Ranchman John told me he had a look at the men’s sizes. I must admit when I first saw them, I thought “Gah! Clown feet!” But after I put them on, I realized they fit almost perfectly. So, yeh, I just have to deal with the fact that I just have big ol’ clown feet. haha!

What I was and am most surprised about is how these Ariat boots immediately felt so comfortable the first time I put them on, that I wanted to wear them all day long. There is no stiffness or breaking-in period at all. I love that! I’ll always appreciate my hard-working $20 Faded Glory Walmart boots, but it’s time for them to retire now. Looks like I’m going to be a devoted Ariat fan from now on. These boots were made for working and riding!

~~~~~~~~~~

And speaking of riding, this Saturday I’ll be participating in a Walk/Trot/Canter Class, riding Rosie, of course.

But that’s not all. On Friday, my friend Colleen is driving up towards Santa Fe, with John and I, to go pick up a potential horse prospect for me. We’ll load up the little mare, named ‘Blackie’ and trailer her back to Colleen’s, where we’ll try her out during the Walk/Trot/Canter Class and possibly ride her out on some trails around her house.

I’m finally going horse shopping, my friends!

Here is the photo from “Blackie’s” ad:

 

What do you all think of her?