 |
[RC] Shoes for the Rider - k s swigartI am almost definitely in the minority here; however, _I_ ride endurance in tall boots, and now that I have discovered them; I wouldn't trade them for anything else. The ones I ride in are made by Mountain Horse (although they run to wide both in foot and in calf, so if that doesn't meet the description of your feet they may not be for you). They have full zip down the back so they are easy to get on an off, and they have a gel insole (which you can change if you want to). The stability they provide through the ankle and the contact they provide through the leg make riding so much easier that makes them well worth the price (not cheap by foot wear standards, but not expensive by tall boots standards). They are made of good quality leather that takes me about 1 week of riding to break in (which _I_ don't have a problem with doing because I break the new ones in as "show" boots and when my broken in daily wear trail/endurance riding boots wear out, I demote the show boots to every day use and buy new ones to show in). After they get demoted from show boots to riding boots, they last me about 12-18 months of daily wear/riding (6-8 hours per day 5-6 days per week). I have no trouble wearing them the whole day, and I have no trouble running in them up and down hills when I get off during a ride. I DID do a 15 mile ride & tie in them to see if the advantage they provided in riding made up for the abandonment of running shoes for the running. But it didn't. Running shoes are better for running in, so if you are planning to run half the course (like you do in a ride & tie), then I wouldn't recommend them; however, if you are planning to spend most of the time ON the horse and only shorter periods running, then the advantages FAR outweigh the fact that they aren't the best running shoes in the world. Lots of manufacturers (like Ariat) are making tall boots with zips for making it easier to get them on and off, and they all have slightly different fits to them with respect to height, calf width, shoe width, etc. You may be able to find one brand that fits you as well as the Mountain Horse ones do me. And for riding, even/especially hours on end, tall boots are a vast improvement over shorter footwear and half chaps. One reason being that you really don't EVER have to worry about anything getting in to them. And keeping rocks out of your shoes and stickers out of everything else is very beneficial. I can put them on at the start of the day and take them off at the end of the day and never give single thought to my feet in between. kat Orange County, Calif. :) =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-= Ridecamp is a service of Endurance Net, http://www.endurance.net. Information, Policy, Disclaimer: http://www.endurance.net/Ridecamp Subscribe/Unsubscribe http://www.endurance.net/ridecamp/logon.asp Ride Long and Ride Safe!! =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
|