“A rancher laughed and called me slow as a snail. I spent the next thirty-six years pouring him an answer.” — Why a 76-year-old Montana horseshoer is selling his last cast iron snail boot jacks at a special price, before the last pour is gone for good.

It happens at the end of every long day. You come in through the back door, tired, and the boots will not come off.

So you do what everybody does. You stand on one leg, grab the door frame, bend over and tug. Or you sit on the stairs and pull until your back aches.

At thirty, that is a little annoying. At seventy, it is a real risk.

The riskiest minute of the day happens by the back door

According to the CDC, more than one in four Americans over 65 falls every year. Many of those falls do not happen on ice or ladders. They happen at home, in ordinary moments.

Taking off a boot is one of those moments. You stand on one foot, lean forward and pull. All your balance sits on one ankle, and your head is down by your knees.

Ranchers solved this more than a hundred years ago with a boot jack by the door. Heel in, other foot on top, and the boot slides off while you stand up straight. No bending. No hopping.

Most homes today do not have one. In a small town in Montana, one man has spent 36 years changing that.

“Slow as a snail” — the joke that started it all in 1989

Clyde Tillman is 76 and lives in Big Timber, Montana, a town of 1,700 people on the Yellowstone River. For 41 years he was a farrier. He shod horses on the ranches up and down the valley, some days eleven in a row.

“I shod horses for forty-one years. You know what hurt the most at the end of the day? Getting my boots off.”

In October 1989, after eleven horses at the Sweet Grass Ranch, Clyde sat on the porch step and fought with his boots. The rancher watched him and laughed. “Clyde, you’re slow as a snail.”

The next weekend, Clyde carved a snail out of an old pine post from the corral fence. He gave it two long feelers, curved up like a fork. He poured it in iron in the small furnace behind his shop and left it on the rancher’s back step.

The rancher asked for three more. Since then, Clyde has poured about 2,600 iron snails. They lie by back doors all over Sweet Grass County and down into Wyoming.

Why Clyde’s snail holds the boot and never slides away

• “The Heel Cradle”: The two feelers rise at an angle and curl at the tips. Your heel sits deep inside the fork and does not slip out. The smooth iron does not scratch the leather.
• “The Anchor Shell”: Your other foot stands on the spiral shell. The shell is solid cast iron and lies flat on the floor. That is why the snail stays where it is when you pull, instead of sliding across the porch.
• “The One-Piece Cast”: The whole snail is one single piece of iron. There are no screws, no welds and no plastic parts that can crack or wobble. Left outside, it only gets a deeper rust-brown color with every winter.

Three steps, no bending, and the boot is off

Rubber boots, riding boots, work boots — the snail takes them all

The snail is just under ten inches long. It takes off cowboy boots, rubber boots, riding boots and ankle boots. With lace-up work boots, loosen the laces a little first. There is nothing to set up. Just put it down by the door.

Every single snail had to pass the test on Clyde’s own heel

When a new snail has cooled, Clyde does the same thing every time. He puts his own heel in the fork and pulls.

“If it doesn’t take my boot off, it doesn’t leave the shop.”

The old pine pattern still hangs on a nail above the furnace, dark and smooth from 36 years of sand and heat. “Every snail out there came out of that one piece of wood,” Clyde says.

Sixty pounds of sand, and a hip that said no more

Clyde will miss the Saturday mornings most. Country music on the radio, the smell of hot iron and wet sand, the glowing metal running into the mold.

But a mold full of sand weighs about sixty pounds. You carry it, flip it and stand bent over it while the iron goes in. In 2025, Clyde got a new hip, and his doctor was clear.

“Doc said no more lifting and no more bending. Well, that’s the whole job.”

He does not complain. He has had a good long run. But there will be no new snails. There are 180 left on his shelves. When they are gone, they are gone.

He turned down a store in Jackson Hole

A western store in Jackson Hole offered to buy all 180 at once, to sell them in their window for three times the price. Clyde said no.

“A boot jack doesn’t belong in a shop window. It belongs by a back door where somebody’s tired.”

He could have asked for much more. A cast iron boot jack from an American shop easily costs twice as much today. But Clyde wants his last snails with people who use them: ranchers, gardeners, riders, and anyone whose back and knees do not like bending anymore.

Clyde does not own a computer. His daughter Kristen, a nurse in Billings, built the little page where you can order now.

“Folks my age shouldn’t have to bend over to get their boots off,” Clyde says. “That’s all this snail was ever for.”

What folks with tired feet say about Clyde’s snails

• ★★★★★

  “I’m 71 and I used to sit on the stairs every night to get my boots off. Now I just stand by the door and they slide right off. The snail doesn’t move an inch.”

  Gary H., Bozeman, MT
• ★★★★★

  “Bought one for my husband’s birthday because his back is bad. He laughed when he opened it. Then he used it that same evening, and every evening since.”

  Linda K., Casper, WY
• ★★★★★

  “Every guest who comes in asks about the snail by our door. It works great and it’s the best conversation piece we own. I ordered two more as gifts.”

  Donna R., Boise, ID

Three questions people ask before ordering

Where can I buy one of Clyde’s snails?

Only through this page. Clyde’s snails are not sold on Amazon, eBay or in any store.

How long will they be available?

Only while supplies last. The furnace is cold for good, and there are 180 snails left. Once they are gone, there will be no new ones.

What if it’s not right for me?

You have 30 days to try it at home. If you are not happy, just send a short email and you will get your money back. No questions, no hassle.

More from people who already have one by the door

• ★★★★★

  “Heavier than I expected. Real iron, you can tell right away. It looks like it has always been on our porch.”

  Walter B., Billings, MT
• ★★★★★

  “I ride three times a week and my tall boots were always a fight. With the snail they come off in two seconds, and the leather stays perfect.”

  Karen S., Sheridan, WY
• ★★★★★

  “My dad had a boot jack by the door his whole life. Now that my knees complain, I finally understand why.”

  Ron T., Missoula, MT