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Cowboys herding cattle across American territories after the Civil War realized that they needed boots that were different from their day’s current boot styles. Neither the war boots nor the country-style boots worked well for long hours, as the riders navigated brush and brambles, creeks and rivers for months at a time.

Around 1870, a lone cowboy took his war boots to a shoemaker and asked if they could be given a pointed toe so that he could slip his foot into a stirrup quickly. He also wanted a larger shaft to protect his legs and wider, under-slung heal to keep his heel in the stirrup when riding difficult on the trail.

The shoemaker cobbled with a knee-high design to protect the wearer’s legs from thorny mesquite trees, barbed wire, snakes and other hazards. Long mullet ears straps were then attached to put on the boots.

The stiff leather of traditional “working cowboy” boots protected a rider’s ankles against the wooden stirrups that otherwise bruised and against the legs friction against the leather of the stirrups. Cowboy boots were sewn on the outside to prevent the leather from buckling and rubbing against a cowboy’s leg.

The trademark, under-slung heel of cowboy boots, protects the cowboy, allowing him to dig his heels in the ground when grounding a calf or leading a horse in treacherous terrain. It also keeps the boot correctly positioned in the stirrup, mitigating an ever-present danger that existed for thousands of years before the birth of cowboy boots.

The first pairs of cowboy boots were only intended for professional use. There was no “style”. Cowboy boots were simply seen as an enhancement of an essential tool, designed to keep cowboys safe and as comfortable as possible during the long and challenging months in the sun and rain.

The revolutionary new styleless design quickly became part of a cowboy’s toolkit, as necessary for him as his lasso, rifle, branding iron, his neckerchief, and his buck knife.

Originally, cowboy boots were made individually by a cobbler who measured a cowboy’s feet and made a pair of boots to adjust them. Mail-order companies came years later.

Over time, cowboy boots have become an important fashion statement, as the usual black or brown stitching on the outside of the boot has turned into more colorful stitching.