Why You Should Not Touch Boots on Fence Posts in Rural Indiana

Once you get away from the hustle and bustle of Indiana's metropolitan areas, Hoosier drivers will find miles and miles and miles of county roads that take you through beautiful farmland. If you get the chance to spend some time on those back roads, I highly recommend you do it - you never know what you might see.

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While driving past a farm, you might notice a peculiar site - a lone boot perched on one of the fence posts. I can (almost) guarantee that it's not there because someone found it and decided to hang it on a fence (like you might sometimes see with hubcaps). A boot on a fence post is not random or unintentional - it's there for a reason - and you should leave it alone.

What's the Meaning Behind a Boot on a Fence Post?

Farmers wear their boots every day - they love and depend on them. And once those boots have seen better days, a popular tradition for farmers and ranchers is to hang one or both boots on a fence. According to Classroom.com, that symbolic act can have a few different meanings.

• Anyone who works with horses knows how special that relationship can be, and how tough it can be when that horse passes away or is sold. A boot on a fence post can be a farmer's tribute to his/her faithful steed.
• A boot on a fence can also express the same sentiment for a farmhand who has either died or moved on to greener proverbial pastures.
• In simpler times, before electricity and telephones, a boot on a fence served a very simple purpose. The boot would let visitors know that the owners were home and the workday was over.
• And sometimes, a boot on a fence has no meaning at all, it's just something that farmers and ranchers do - it's a tradition.

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So next time you spot a solitary boot on a fencepost, remember it's more than just forgotten footwear. It's there for a reason, even if you or I don't fully understand it. Just leave it alone. Maybe snap a pic, smile, and appreciate all of the hard-working men and women on that farm.

[h/t: johnjayandrich.iheart.com]