Trail riding during cold weather involves one universal problem-keeping your feet warm. Feet turn icy quickly as you head down a snow-covered trail, because in stirrups your feet are completely surrounded by cold air.
More important, the blood circulation required to keep your feet warm is curtailed by inactivity. Your feet don't flex with every step as they do when you're walking. And, since your horse is doing most of the work, your heart isn't pumping as much blood to your extremities.
Frequently dismounting to lead your horse down the trail is one solution. A vigorous walk of hundred feet or so will get blood flowing again. However, if you're bucking a foot of snow, plowing through it on foot may not seem very attractive.
Tapaderos enclosing an oversized "overshoe" stirrup (available from suppliers of outfitter and packing gear) help in two ways. By partially enclosing the foot, they cut down on air circulation, and they also tend to keep the feet dry.
More important, oversized tapaderos allow you to safely wear snow packs or another type of oversized, insulated boots, because your foot is less likely to catch. Plus, tapaderos prevent your feet from sliding completely through and becoming caught. Never use bulky, cold weather boots with traction soles in a regular stirrup! Doing so is asking for a wreck.
However, heavy, cold-weather boots are clumsy for riding. They make leg or heel cues difficult, and they don't slide nicely in and out of the stirrup while mounting and dismounting.
Lace-up "packer" boots have become popular in recent years, because they combine the shape of a cowboy boot with the support of a lace-up. Recently, several manufacturers have offered an insulated variety. My Riverton Dry-Plus boots from Cabela's (www.cabelas.com), with 400 grams of insulation, seem extremely warm.
Another approach is Kennetrek's 13-inch Cowboy Packer (www.kenetrek.com), a rubber-bottomed snow pack slimmed down for the stirrup. It even features a heel shelf for your spurs.
A word of warning about any lace-up riding boot: It's not likely to slide off your foot like a cowboy boot should you hang up in a stirrup, so be careful.
Happy winter trails!
Dan Aadland raises mountain-bred Tennessee Walking Horses on his ranch in Montana. His most recent books include Sketches from the Ranch, The Complete Trail Horse, 101 Trail Riding Tips, and The Best of All Seasons. For information on his horses, clinics, and books, visit http://my.montana.net/draa.
