Many people look at cowboy boots and focus on the aesthetics of them. The stitching, the inlays, the shaping of the boot, any additional decorative work, the type of leather, color, quality, and how exotic the leather is, etc. This is, of course, very much the idea that makers have in mind when adding decorative elements to boots, of course, but underneath any sort of adornment is something even more important: function. Cowboy boots, of the working variety, are one element of western wear that we know the evolution of, and can say with certainty that they were designed with the specific needs of cowboys in mind. At the time of the cattle drives in the late 1860s many were wearing military riding boots and the like, which certainly made sense for the time. Much of western apparel was then being pieced together from what was available and what could stand up to the job. When that first pair of cowboy boots was commissioned, it was with a design that took into consideration the needs of a trail rider and the hazards that could and most likely would be faced on any given ride. The cowboy boot design specifics included:
* The foot-stirrup interaction. The pointed toe was designed to enable greater ease of insertion and removal of the foot from the stirrup. The stacked heel was designed to help a rider keep their foot in the stirrup while preventing the foot from sliding all the way through the stirrup to allow for stability.
* Trail hazards, such as: snakes, rocks, brambles and anything else that might pose a threat to the well-being of a riders foot, ankle, or calf. The thick leather of the boot and the high shaft helped to keep the foot, ankle and lower leg safe.
* The ability to pull-off the boots quickly. Cowboy boots are designed to pull on and off with no lacing, a design which allows for the boot to be pulled off the foot in the event that a rider is thrown or their boot gets somehow tangled, thus enabling the rider to roll to safety without being dragged.
These, along with other considerations such as having the stitching on the outside to prevent irritation and the high shaft that enables riders to easily cross over streams without getting their feet wet, to name just a couple additional advantageous to those riders, and of course, all who came after them. While western wear absolutely has elements of fashion and style- as it should- there is also an underlying construction that is much more about performance than anything else. Which is easy to understand if you take just a couple minutes to look at the time and place that western apparel and particularly cowboy boots first developed.
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No matter how great western wear look, that is not what they were originally designed for. Cowboy boots were developed for cowboys as their namesake suggests. From the stacked heel to hold the foot in the stirrup of a saddle, to the stitching on the outside to prevent irritation to the wearers leg, cowboy boots are all business. If you are one of the many that do work outside, or in the saddle, you should have a sturdy pair of the Boot Store cowboy boots and western wearto keep you safe and comfortable every time you wear them.
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