Boots for riding horses are totally different than other outdoor boots. "Cowboy" boots have the tapered toe and high heel for very safety reasons. Stirrups. The pointed toe makes it easier to get the foot into the stirrup and the high heel is the block to keep the foot from getting too far in. If the foot goes too far in, it is near impossible to get it back out and if a fall should occur the rider will be drug to death. Growing up on a ranch, I had cowboy boots and I had plowboy boots and I can testify, getting a heavy soled, mud lugged boot out of a stirrup is no fun. By the same token, walking more than a few hundred yards in cowboy boots means ouch.
The key to any good boot is the fit. The best White, Danner or any of the other high end boots are a literal pain if they don't fit correctly. Also, as a teen-ager, his feet may still be growing and why spend hundreds on "the best" when a good fitting pair of lesser expense will do just fine for the summer fun. He'll probably need new ones in the fall anyway.
Last edited by Grandpa; 02-06-2012 at 11:21 AM.
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