My parents have agreed that Field Boots would be a lovely graduation gift since I outgrew mine in college and have yet to replace them (or require them as I have not been competing). Mom and I went to 4 different tack stores in Virginia Beach when I was home for Thanksgiving. NO LUCK!! I tried on a pair of Ariat Heritage II zip back in a size 8.5 Wide Medium. They Zipped which was AHHmazing since I was convinced that I would need an XW (I'm a chunker!). But, as you may know, Ariats run big. So my usual 8.5 translates to am 8 in Ariat. I love love my Heritage II zip Paddocks (size 8). I hate boots too large b/c I feel like I can't feel my irons. I guess its the same concept as me only riding in close contact no knee roll saddles-- I need to feel my horse. I tried on the 8 wide and what do you know... NO LUCK. In addition they would be a touch too short once they settled (I am 5'8).
Now, I'm not married to the idea of Ariats. I hear the zippers don't hold up very well on the tall boots anyway. This is my mother's money I'm spending here and she doesn't have much of it. She has probably been saving for a while for this. So my max is close to $250 (Internet shopping and such lets me get retail $300 for about that).
I looked at some new TreadStone's at a tack store this summer. They felt amazingly soft. Apparently the leather is Indian but is tooled in the English style which keeps the price point low and the quality high. They have the spanish top and I have read some COTH reviews that speak very highly of them. I found some on EBay and the measurements are 18.5 height and 15 3/4 W (for the 8.5 foot Wide Calf) These are the same measurements as the Ariat 8.5 MW that I was able to zip but may have been a tad short once they settled (now keep in mind they were NOT spanish top).
I am wondering... Do I take a chance on those? What are my other options? It seems that I may need semi-custom, but thats not in my budget!! My other thought was to get a pair of Ariat size 8 Tall and see about getting the calf stretched??
Suggestions? Opinions? Sympathy?-- I will take them all.
16 days til graduation btw... Classes are over & Papers are submitted. I only have Oral Defenses left on the 8th!!!
In other news, IT. WONT. STOP. RAINING. I am going to paddle out to see my pony tonight. When I went to see him Monday, his back legs were both swollen although he appeared sound (I trotted him through the barn aisle as it was pouring!!). I gave him a bute, antibiotic, and DMSO. The farm owner emailed yesterday saying she didn't notice any swelling. So lets pray it is gone and a non-issue. B/C I cannot afford a major (or any) injury. I may really have to consider selling him if he keeps getting injured! I just can't maintain until I get a better paying job :(
Thats all for now. I have been brainstorming awesome blog posts for after graduation. Stay tuned!
I'm an XWC girl too, dont be sad! I recently bought a pair of lightly used Effinghams (my most fave, and only $45 bucks!!!!) on Ebay and was sooo happy with them but they were a tad too tight in the calf even with a zipper. I'm not familiar with the idea of stretching out the calf but my shoe guy was able to add in a strip of extra leather right along the sides of the zipper to make mine a little wider and they look great (however, in the hunter world I dunno...y'all might be appalled by it, haha). If you want me to take a pic and send it to you, lemme know...it wasnt too expensive of fix that got me to a custom feel boot I could actually zip up :P
ReplyDeleteI have no real input other than to wish you luck. My calves are unfortunately wider now than when I started college, so my old boots don't fit any more. I'm leery of zippers because they have a reputation for failing at inconvenient times, but I've never had a pair, so I can't say much.
ReplyDeleteI think it's Ariat, one of the brands makes a boot with a panel of leather that is stretchy so that it conforms to the shape of your leg for a custom look. I will find out and let you know. I am still wearing my first pair of tall boots, which I bought when I was 15, because I am a shrimp. They are pull-ons, which are a pain in the butt, but I can't bear to part with something that still has usable life left in it!!
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