Why did men stop wearing high heels?

[Mad Jay]

Originally Posted by Avril

Okay, I get that this is tongue-in-cheek, but something I've long found very annoying is this assumption that if you're a Texan, you somehow know things about livestock.

More annoying than the assumption that a particular profession wouldn't have changed in the past few decades?

I would assume that real cowboys are using horses a lot less than they used to during their grandfather's time.

[RichardM]

My grandfather and uncles were cowboys of a sort, they ran a feeder-calf operation. No working horses around on the 1800 acres by the time I was a kid. Well, none that is unless you count the hide of my Grandfather's first horse that he plowed with. That was a rug in the palor. And they all wore what I would call work boots, not cowboy boots. Of course, this was in South Dakota, not Texas. Or even Oklahoma.

And another cowboy boot joke:
How can you tell a real cowboy from a drug store cowboy? By which side of the boot the manure is on.

[Avril]

Originally Posted by Mad Jay

More annoying than the assumption that a particular profession wouldn't have changed in the past few decades?

I would assume that real cowboys are using horses a lot less than they used to during their grandfather's time.

I think if you'll read through my posts you'll see that I'm not saying what you say I'm saying. But in case I was unclear: I do know that many ranchers do not have need of horses. That does not negate the fact that there are places where a horse is still the best option, and where they are still used.

[RichardM]

There is one commercial for an ed drug that shows how horses can still be used on a ranch. The rancher is returning home with the team of horses in the trailer behind his pickup. He gets stuck in a water crossing and uses the horses to pull the pickup out.

So why didn't he use his cell phone to call a tow truck? Cell phone service is not universal especially in wide open ranching country. Heck, even the field just behind my house lacked service not all that long ago and I live in Dallas county. So why didn't he just walk to the house? Some driveways are several miles long.

Now for some real examples that even a New Yorker can understand (telling jokes about New Yorkers is a Texas thing ) where horses are the better option: crowd control in Central Park (see I told you a New Yorker could understand); search and rescue in tall grass and brushy areas, a rider on horseback has a higher view point and can hear better than someone on an ATV; and even rounding up cattle in arroyos as 4 feet or hooves as the case maybe can climb better than even an off-road motorcycle.

[NorthernLite]

I used to wear heeled cowboy boots for the reasons list.The rounded toe went into the stirrup better and the heel prevented my foot from sliding through. I had two horses. With one I had to wear spurs while with the other I could go slick heeled. IT was important to remember which horse I was on if I had to go over a corral fence. Hooking a spur and going face first into a pen full of corral cookies was no fun.

The main reason for working off a horse was that they can go places a machine just won't get to. As well, sitting on a horse you are much higher than on an ATV and there is a little more intimidation there when confronting a bull or recalcitrant cow. Plus you can adjust your hat without your ride slowing to a stop.

[ganzfeld]

Originally Posted by Avril

They had heels of about 1 inch, if that's what you're getting at. Cowboy boots have a range of styles.

I wouldn't think people call one inch a high heel. (Otherwise, the OP should be titled "Why does the US Army dress its men in high heels?" )

[Avril]

But I wasn't calling cowboy boots "high heels." There was thread drift. I was saying cowboy boots were preferable to sneakers for horse-riding cowboys.

And cowboy boots with higher heels are common enough, if somewhat more popular among the rodeo circuit.

[ganzfeld]

Yes, I know, Avril. I was just saying that I'd bet he didn't wear high heels. I wasn't saying your were saying. I thought the high heels at the rodeo are more for show than anything.