I sit before you, brokenhearted.
My absolute favorite (human) trail riding boots have been discontinued.
(pregnant pause)
I know, I know… ‘what’s the big deal about silly boots’ with all the problems in the world…
I realize that. I know I’m being small and obsessive.
But just humor me for a moment and I will tell you about my very special boots.
My one true loves.
GLASS SLIPPER, RUBY RED SLIPPERS… and my boots.
To me, my riding boots are in the same class as the glass slipper and ruby red slippers. They are magical to me.
I’ve never had a blister, I can hop off and on easily, my foot never slips through the stirrups or hangs up, I can walk for miles in them – they’ve held up for so. many. years. Yet, they’ve been discontinued.
How could this be? They are the best boots I have ever owned!
Waaaaahhhhh!
Why didn’t I think ahead and purchase another pair before they were gone – forever.
Are there any out there?
I’VE TRIED TO MEET ANOTHER
As soon as I saw the fraying begin, I perused the Mountain Horse website (the brand of my beloved boots) to find another. I had no idea how precious my one true loves would become…
You see, Mountain Horse had cast aside the design I loved, for another.
OK, I thought to myself, I’ll try the other style. Any new style must be advanced and more engineered, right? It must be better… besides, the photo of the very new and improved paddock boots looks very similar to my tattered but beloved pair.
So, I purchased the Mountain Horse Rimfrost Paddock boot size 38, black.
On arrival day, I threw open the box and with the apprehension of the prince and the glass slipper, I tried them on.
Ouch. Oh my gosh, these are so different. They pinched me in a place that I didn’t think would soften over time.
How could this be? Same manufacturer. Same boot, essentially. The upper is slightly different but I could not imagine that the shape and size would be so variable and … different.
The boots looked beautiful, but alas, they were not the same.
I was devastated in the way that only women will understand – like when they discontinue our favorite mascara or lipstick or moisturizer. ” Noooooooooo!”, you shout at the innocent Lancome counter lady… “Don’t they understand the amount of time it will take to find another?!”
And so it is with me, today…
This is the boot that replaced my favorites… I tried. Here is a new pair, still in the box.
AN UPCOMING TRIP
Hubby is once again gifting me with a trip to the RLazyS Ranch this summer. I am so excited, I can hardly keep food down.
But… can I wear the same, badly beaten boots again? Will they hold together one last time?
It is true that the plaid interior is in tatters and some type of plastic is coming through the inside, but so far, it isn’t causing any pain. I cannot clean them back to normal – they are that far gone. There is a hole in one at the sideseam which lets in water… but will we get wet, I wonder? I can avoid puddles…
Can I wear them again?
I think so… I think I can hide them fairly well under my very well worn half-chaps that have a large front flap which lays nicely over the jagged upper and crushed toe area.
I cleaned them up as best as I could… but they just don’t come clean anymore. The insides are ripped and the toes have permanent indents. Water leaks through the seams of the soles. I don’t even know how many years I’ve had these, but I do know I cannot remember ever trail riding in anything else.
IN DESPERATION, I QUERIED THE INTERNET…
Isn’t that what we all do when faced with losing a close friend? So, I asked Mr. Google if he could find my friend again… a fresh pair of my favorite boots.
But he couldn’t.
I didn’t have the model number or model name. I was stabbing in the dark web ethers, trying to stab the random olive in an ocean with a toothpick.
Humpty Dumpty.
CONTACTING MOUNTAIN HORSE PERSONALLY
And so I decided to contact Mountain Horse and plead with them… You never know. They may have a box rattling around a closet that has a long lost pair of my lovlies – in just my size.
Stranger things have happened and it couldn’t hurt to ask…
A girl can dream, can’t she?
MORAL OF THIS CAUTIONARY TALE?
If you love your boots, buy a second pair RIGHT AWAY! ;)
You can try to hunt them down… Go to the website and list all the stores that sell Mountain Horse, then call them up and ask if they have any older stock. If they have them, order as many as you can. It’s worth a shot. I am like Sonya… when I find something that is ‘perfect’, I usually buy as many as I can. Good luck!
Hi Dawn, sorry to read about your boot problem, I feel for ya! Have you considered a bootmaker for repairs, just to hold you over until you can find a suitable pair? It will probably cost more to repair them than to buy a new pair, but you can’t put a price on comfort . . . or love. Good luck on finding a replacement!
I feel your pain. I have a favorite pair of paddock boots that are at least 15 years old, and while they look a bit scuffed and battered, they still are in one piece with no holes or leaking. I will cry when they finally die. Perhaps I should be on the lookout for a new pair in the meantime.
Fully understand, Dawn. Wranglers discontinued my favorite jeans…I was lucky enough to have the model number (14MWXLS) and found one pair on EBAY but I’m still pouting. These jeans fit so well, stretched, and wore so well, no bling crap, just a good pair of work/riding jeans. HMMMM, maybe I could call Wrangler and see what they “replaced” them with.
Good luck with your search…maybe you could get a model number from Mountain Horse and do an EBAY search.
Oh, honey… I do that with EVERYTHING. They don’t make my favorite Wranglers either… My friends all laugh at me for having 4 or 5 of the same thing… Until THEY get their stuff discontinued…
I’m so sorry! Wear them to the camp! One last hurrah! God bless you!