| Cowboys herding cattle across U.S. territories | | | | wrong side of a stirrup! |
| after the American Civil War realized they needed | | | | The first pairs of cowboy boots were for |
| boots that were different from common boot | | | | working purposes only. There was no "style." |
| styles of their times. Neither war, carriage or | | | | Cowboy boots were viewed simply as an |
| field-style boots served well during long hours as | | | | improvement on a vital tool, designed to keep |
| riders navigated brush and brambles, creeks and | | | | cowboys safe and as comfortable as possible |
| rivers months at a time. | | | | during long, hard months in the sun and rain. |
| Around 1870 a lone cowboy took his war boots | | | | The revolutionary new "no-style" design quickly |
| to a shoemaker and asked if they could be given | | | | became a part of a cowboy's tool kit, as |
| a pointy toe so he could slip his foot into a stirrup | | | | necessary to him as his lasso, his rifle, his branding |
| quickly. He also wanted a taller shaft that would | | | | iron, his neckerchief, and his buck knife. |
| protect his legs and a larger, under-slung heal to | | | | Originally cowboy boots were individually made by |
| keep his heel in the stirrup when riding hard on | | | | a cobbler who would measure a cowboy's feet |
| the trail. | | | | and make a pair of boots to fit them. Mail-order |
| The shoemaker cobbled together a knee-high | | | | boot companies came years later. |
| design, to protect its wearer's legs from thorny | | | | Over time, cowboy boots became a significant |
| mesquite trees, barbed wire, snakes, and other | | | | fashion statement as the customary black or |
| dangers. Long mule-eared straps were then | | | | brown stitching on the outside of the boot segued |
| attached for pulling the boots on. | | | | to more colorful stitching. Designs and pictures |
| The tough leather of traditional "working cowboy" | | | | began to be sewn into the boots and boot |
| boots protected a rider's ankles from | | | | makers started experimenting with inlays and |
| otherwise-bruising wooden stirrups, and from the | | | | overlays. Within a decade, clever boot designs |
| rubbing of legs against stirrup leather. Cowboy | | | | appeared across America and began to intrigue |
| boots were stitched on the outside to prevent | | | | the world. If a cowboy boot could be made truly |
| the leather from buckling and rubbing against a | | | | extraordinary, the designers realized, so much the |
| cowboy's leg. | | | | better! |
| The trademark, under-slung heel of cowboy boots | | | | Cowboy boots have been on the mail order |
| serves to protect the cowboy, allowing him to dig | | | | market since the 1880's. In the early 1900's, with |
| his heels into the ground when grounding a calf or | | | | silent motion pictures spotlighting cowboys, and |
| leading a horse in treacherous terrain. It also | | | | railroads running reliably between coasts, the |
| keeps the boot properly positioned in the stirrup, | | | | popularity, manufacture and distribution of cowboy |
| alleviating an ever-present peril that existed for | | | | boots mushroomed. |
| thousands of years before cowboy boots were | | | | Today, cowboy boots are on millions more feet |
| born: the very real possibility of being dragged to | | | | that that first cowboy and his cobbler could ever |
| death by a spooked horse should a rider fall from | | | | have imagined! |
| his mount with a foot and boot caught on the | | | | |