I recently started riding English in my lessons and am going to ride on the riding team at the college I'm going to. I need to find some tall field boots but the problem is I'm disproportionate: I wear a size 10, have a wide calf, but my legs are short. My mom bought me a size 10 w/ a wide calf, but I had trouble getting them on w/o breeches on, so I determined I need an extra wide calf. The other problem was it came up too high past the back of my knee. If anyone can give me any suggestions on where to get boots that will fit me, or if I might have to get them custom made. Thanks everyone for looking.
Tall boots are supposed to be a bit tight on the calf when you first buy them. They WILL loosen up as you ride in them a bit more. If they are comfortable when they are brand new, they will most likely end up being too loose when you break them in. They will also drop a bit as you ride in them more.
Put mink oil on the lower part of the boot around the ankle to help break them down. After you put it on, "work" the leather to help soften it and encourage it to break down. When I first got my boots, I oiled them, bent them at the ankle, and then placed them under the edge of the chair so they were standing up, but bent (NOT squished, heh). Riding in them as much as possible should also help break them in.
If you feel they are way too tight/tall though, I would go to an english tack shop and have one of the people that work there look at how the boot fits you so they can help you decide if you need to buy new ones.
