pat-proof wellies

[AlexanderIII]

Dear all,
this is from the story "The Fold in the Heart" by Chez Brenchley.

Obligingly, she slipped her arm through mine as we plodged through heavy wet turf in pat-proof wellies. There was no beaten path between the stile and the sea cliff. This was cow pasture; we took a different route every time, veering around new pats and high-stepping over old ones.

It looks like pats are just puddles but then what is pat-proof wellies? Are they boots with a water-proof material on the top that is tied up to prevent water from the puddle to get in.

 

[Glasguensis]

Pats or cow-pats refer to bovine excrement

 

[entangledbank]

This was cow pasture; these are cow-pats, that is cows' droppings.

 

[Loob]

The pats concerned are cowpats:
Collins Concise English Dictionary © HarperCollins Publishers::

cowpat/ˈkaʊˌpæt/n

1. a single dropping of cow dung

.....
Multiply cross-posted

 

[AlexanderIII]

I see. Thank you, Glasguensis, Entangledbank and Loob.