Cowboy boots refer to a specific style of riding boot, historically worn by cowboys. They typically have a high heel, toes may be pointed, rounded or squared, with a high shaft and traditionally no lacing. Cowboy boots are normally made from cowhide leather, but are sometimes made from exotic leathers such as lizard, ostrich, snake, alligator, sting ray, just to name a few.
There are two basic types of cowboy boots, western and roper. The western style is distinguished by a tall boot shaft going to at least mid-calf, with an angled "cowboy" heel, usually over 1 1/2 inches high. A slightly lower, still angled "walking" heel is also common.
The "roper" style boot, the newer of the two designs, has a short boot shaft that stops above the ankle before the mid-calf, with a low squared off roper heel, usually less than 1 inch high. Roper boots are usually made with round toes, but pointed or squared toes are also seen.
The cowboy boot traditionally were made with tread less leather soles to allow easy insertion and removal of the foot into the stirrup of a western saddle. The original toe was rounded and a bit narrowed at the toe to make it easier to insert into a stirrup. While in the saddle, the taller heel minimized the risk of the foot sliding forward through the stirrup, which could be life threatening. The tall leather shaft of the boot, helped hold the boot in place in the absence of lacing. The tall shaft's comfortably loose fit, and lack of lacing helped prevent a cowboy from being dragged, since his body weight could pull his foot out of the boot if he fell out of the saddle while his boot remained in the stirrup. While mounted, the shaft also protected the lower leg and ankle from rubbing the stirrup leathers, as well as protecting the lower legs and ankles from, brush, thorns, rocks and rattlesnakes.