Keeping tread on your boots

Comfortable shoes and boots are a necessity in all professions. I realize different jobs require different looks and protections for our feet. I am not sitting at a desk. I don’t need to have a fancy look or style while I am out fetching cows or feeding calves. I do put on other shoes that are manure free when hosting a farm tour. My boots of choice are these super light Tingley boots. They are made out of the same material that Crocs shoes are made of. I have two pairs: one is a little snug on my feet for the summer, and the other, looser fitting so I can wear two pairs of socks in the winter.  

Tingley boots and Udder Tech overalls are something I always get for my interns who will be working with us during the summer. Many times, their luggage is full of items purchased here like blue jeans, cowboy boots and other items that are treasures to take home. The Tingley boots usually get very stinky, so they leave them here. I have many pairs of leftover Tingley boots from my past interns that usually fit anyone who needs a pair to go out to work in the barn with us.  

Often my high school employees have boots that they have purchased before, whether they worked on a different farm or just picked up new boots to stay here in their locker. Most of these boots have deep treads and the rule is to spray off the manure before entering the office from the barn. Many times, I see they haven’t been able to get the manure out of the treads and there are chunks of poop on the floor. I do make suggestions to them to buy this brand, but why would they buy another pair when they already have the ones they are using.  

I wear these boots so much that, over time, the lower treads wear off, and this can make them slippery. Sometimes, when fetching cows, I will slip and slide around, and I usually catch myself before landing on the floor. Our floors in the barn are not clean enough to make this fall not noticeable. Usually, I have myself slicked up on my knees or even all the way down my side. Clearly these boots are ones that should be thrown away, but I have a hard time tossing them because they are so comfortable. And a little manure never hurt anyone, right?

However, this decision to wear worn out boots has cost me some pain and agony. In April, as the cool nights are followed with high humidity days, the floor in our calf barn began to sweat. I opened a sliding door and stepped onto a slick floor. My left foot slid out as fast as lightning and my right foot and leg twisted like some amazing Micheal Jackson move. I was instantly smacked down, laying sideways, feeling a searing pain go from my hip to my knee. I remember thinking, “Can I move my feet?” I slowly uncrinkled myself, and carefully assessed my situation. “The floor needed lime, and I need to throw away these boots before I kill myself.”

Very slowly I walked to the porch and took off my boots and put them behind my other pair. This was to help me remember not to wear them, with the intention of tossing them in the dumpster next time going out to fetch cows, or feed calves. I didn’t realize my other pair was also thin on tread.  

Less than a month later, in the same barn, at a different spot there was a splash of milk on the concrete floor. I did it again, but a little more like a cheerleader flopping down from a high pyramid. My left leg went forward, and my right leg slipped and twisted in the gutter. This situation had me yelling out in pain. The words I screamed am sure you can imagine. This did get the attention of our intern who was in the old milk house mixing up more milk for the bottle babies.

She ran over to help peel me off the floor. Instantly I began to sweat, knowing and saying again, “I need to throw these boots into the dumpster before I kill myself!” I could not move my knee and it was not a good situation to hobble up to the house. I couldn’t climb up the stairs on the porch. I sat down and scooted backwards. My daughter, Anna, came running up, knowing that I did it again, but this time much worse. She said what I already knew. “You need to throw out both pairs of these Tingley boots before you kill yourself!”

Anna helped me get into the shower because I was all slimy and covered in lime and milk. My knee blew up. It started turning black and blue after I got into bed with a bag of frozen corn to ice it. Anna and I would head to urgent care in the morning.  

Come to find out after you pay the $600 co-pay the on-call doctor cannot order an MRI. He gave me a prescription for painkillers, gave me some crutches, and told me to get a hold of my primary doctor. I had to wait to do a Video Chat with my primary doctor the following morning. He informed me that I would not be able to get an MRI with all the inflammation, so I got another prescription of anti-inflammatory medication, and scheduled an MRI for the following Wednesday. After a few days with the new prescription, I put the crutches away and I canceled the MRI.  

I feel like an old cow. I am still uncrinkling myself getting up from a chair or out of the car. I am limping around but am being more observant of slippery areas on the farm. I have put new Tingley boots on my list to purchase and am wearing a different brand that has deep treads. All in all, a very good learning experience on what inflammation can do. It helps me have more sympathy for the cows that have injuries with swollen knees and hips.

Tina Hinchley, her husband Duane and daughter Anna milk 240 registered Holsteins with robots. They also farm 2,300 acres near Cambridge, Wisconsin. The Hinchleys have been hosting farm tours for over 25 years.