Product Review: Danner Quarry USA Boots

Welcome to EN’s Product Review series! Who doesn’t love shopping, especially when the object of your search is new gear for yourself or your horse? As an enthusiast of all products equine, I LOVE trying out new gear. Please join me as I narrate my personal journey of trying out all of the products featured. While I will make no recommendations, I hope you have fun reading about my many adventures of trying new products, and that hearing about my personal experiences helps you on your own quest for new gear. Go Shopping.

So the verdict? Work boots really can make for a great pair of boots to wear around the barn. The Quarry USA boots from Danner have kept my feel comfortable, protected and dry.  Photo by Lorraine Peachey. So the verdict? Work boots really can make for a great pair of boots to wear around the barn. The Quarry USA boots from Danner have kept my feel comfortable, protected and dry. Photo by Lorraine Peachey.

My feet tend to cover a lot of ground when I’m working around the barn…just ask my Fitbit! When you manage your own barn and care for your own horses, there are a lot of chores involved. Stall mucking. Water buckets. Stacking hay. And just managing horses in general.

Anyone who manages a barn or farm can attest to the fact that horses make for a lot of work. Which can put a lot of wear on my feet. Especially when I find myself walking significant distances, trudging through manure, urine, and water.

Conditions around the barn mean that my feet put up with a lot of abuse. And that’s before I get stepped on by a wayward hoof! All that being said, I definitely want to make sure that I wear footwear that adequately protects my feet when I’m around the barn.

Obviously, my riding boots are not the best choice of footwear for heavy duty barn work, for a couple of reasons. Firstly, comfort and utility…because my feet need more support when I’m spending hours on my feet, and am tracking all over the farm to bring horses to and fro.

And secondly, I’m concerned that wearing riding boots in the harsh conditions around the barn and paddock will prematurely ruin them. I’m thinking that regular exposure to manure, urine and water, combined with lots (and lots) of walking is NOT good for my boots.

While I’ve spent years wearing muck type boots around the barn, I’ve always wanted to try finding footwear that offer me more in the way of support, protection and durability. Especially since I tend to replace a typical pair of muck type boots every 9 months to a year.

Through mucking and walking through manure and urine, the leather has held up really well against such tough conditions. And I'm super happy to report that bedding releases nicely from the treads. Photo by Lorraine Peachey.

Through mucking and walking through manure and urine, the leather has held up really well against such tough conditions. And I’m super happy to report that bedding releases nicely from the treads. Photo by Lorraine Peachey.

Something that I’ve want to try out for years is choosing an entirely different type of footwear for extra tough barn conditions…a pair of work boots. Yes, that right…women’s work boots to wear around the barn and farm.

I’ve been wearing a pair of women’s Danner Quarry USA 7″ work boots. And over the past year, I’ve found that work boots are a great fit for life around the barn. They are durable, provide good traction, they protect my feet and are still comfortable…but I jump ahead.

One of the first things that attracted me to Danner boots is the fact that a number of their boot models are made right here in the USA, in Portland, Oregon. The Quarry USA boot is one such boot that is made in the USA (no surprise, especially with their name!).

The Quarry boot has a number of features that make them “barn tough”. They are made out of a full grain leather upper, which provides protection for the foot. When my pair of Quarrys arrived, I was excited to find a lovely looking and sturdy pair of work boots.

When I took them out of the box, they felt solid…the boots do have some weight to them, as they weight 60oz a pair. The leather felt smooth and durable, and I also took note of the rugged feeling hardware and heavy duty laces that were included.

And when I pulled the Quarry boots on for the first time, the leather felt like it was sturdy. I pulled the laces tight to get a comfortable, yet snug fit. Once I started wearing the boots to do my chores in, I found that they developed a pleasantly broken in feeling.

Over the past year, I've found that work boots are a great fit for life around the barn. They are durable, provide good traction, they protect my feet and are still comfortable. Photo by Lorraine Peachey.

Over the past year, I’ve found that work boots are a great fit for life around the barn. They are durable, provide good traction, they protect my feet and are still comfortable. Photo by Lorraine Peachey.

The stitching of the boots looked very nicely done to me…and it is triple stitched in order to help it hold up. The stitch down construction of the Quarry boot also has been handcrafted, to help provide increased stability.

The boots also feature a Vibram Quarry outsole, which means that it boasts a 90 degree heel and is made of a slip resistant rubber compound. The tread pattern provides traction, and it also releases debris. Like bedding particles and caked in mud, in my experience!

And something that should be familiar with equestrians, is also near and dear to my own heart. The Quarry boots feature a GORETEX lining, which is 100% waterproof and breathable. Which allows me to trudge through barn conditions without a second thought.

In all of my time in the Quarry boots, my feet have remained happy. Through mucking and walking through manure and urine, the leather has held up well against such tough conditions. And I’m super happy to report that bedding releases nicely from the treads.

When doing a lot of standing around on concrete holding horses for the farrier, my feet stay more comfortable in the Quarry boots versus normal muck type boots. And I have found that if a horse quickly steps on my foot, they help to protect them well.

And even when I trudge though muddy paddocks and fields to go and catch my horses, I don’t have to worry about my feet getting soggy or wet. Thanks to the GORETEX lining, my feet do stay dry through all kinds of mud and puddles.

So the verdict? Work boots really can make for a great pair of boots to wear around the barn. The Quarry USA boots from Danner have kept my feel comfortable, protected and dry. The boots have a retail price of $250.00, and you can find them here.

Go Comfortable and Durable Barn Boots. Go Danner. Go Eventing.