These Boots Are Made for Careful Walking

The bathtub trick WORKS. I can vouch for it! Put on your socks and boots and get in the bathtub. Soak in warm water until your boots are saturated inside and out. Get out and wear the boots until they dry. No pain involved. Extra points for prancing about your horse in your tall boots. And nothing else. Please do not post pictures.

Ok, so I don't have a good break in trick BUT I have a WONDERFUL way of putting on boots with no zippers! I too have traditional boots with NO zippers and it's part tradition and the $ factor for me as well. A good friend who was in the hunters for years told me this trick to putting on snug fitting tall boots: get a plastic grocery bag and put a small hole(big enough for your big toe to fit through it) in the bottom corner of the bag, then stick your foot in the bag with your toe sticking out of the hole, grasp on of the bag's handles in each hand or loop them around your boot pulls, then simply slide on. The bag will tear as you stick your leg down in to the boot but not before getting you past that HORRIBLE part of getting past the ankle and since you have the handles, you just pull the ripped bag out of the boot. The slippery grocery bag makes this SO easy even with end-of-day swollen and sweaty legs. It's worked for me everytime! Good LUCK!

I definitely have used the bathtub trick but I used a giant horse soaking bucket. Its awkward having soaked squishy riding boots on. But you can NOT take them off untill they are almost or completely dry and it can take a long time for them to dry. I would plan on doing it first thing when you get to the barn so they can dry while your riding and doing other stuff.

I've always had zippers so I don't know if this will work for non-zipper ones since they are harder to get your arm in but its worth a try. If you clean and condition your boots multiple times and then take either like a butter knife or a really clean hoofpick and gently rub it along the insides of the boot it softens them up really fast. You can do it with your hands too. Its an easy thing to do when your watching tv or hanging out with friends (barn friends that is so you don't get odd looks).

WALK!!! JUST WALK!! Don't even ride in them for like a week, it's just too painful! I personally like the searing the back of your knee break in part. Walk around the house like a Gustapo, straight leg marching if you like......in shorts, Pj's, socks, whatever, just cruise around the house, occasionally yell in German and your boyfriend might start saluting and yelling HEIL when you walk around.......or at least that's my experience....LOL

I have not had new boots since I learned of the "bathtub trick", but have heard several success stories (and more importantly, no negatives) and I used it with new driving harness. I will admit I was apprehensive, which is a much better-sounding term for "scared", but it was a great shortcut and the logic is sound. (The obvious disclaimers: If you are breaking in harness, don't get a flocked saddle wet and don't try this method if you have brass!) My only additional comment concerning soaking any leather would obviously be to make sure to oil afterwards! Nothing like dried out brand new leather and a nice long crack to spoil the fun.

Can vouch for the plastic bag method as well -- the sweaty feet are worth the lack of removal aggravation and your grooms/friends will thank you.

When I got new boots - which was not too often - I used the bag and nylons trick really well. Dang cold in the winter though. Mind you I NEVER wore my leather boots except a couple of days before a show to remember how they felt and at an actual show. They were almost brand new looking when I sold all my tack before moving out of the country for a few years.
I rode in the good old fashion kids rubber boot ones for YEARS - and work boots with half chaps.
My leather boots made me feel soooooooo special when ever I put them on. I felt like a queen. I was probably walking like a total dork too mind you but....lalalaal hehehe Back then It was so dang cool.

Trick I learned is to oil the inside of the boot, let it soak in completely and wear. Repeat as necessary.

I've not been brave enough to try the bathtub trick but I've done the chicken version! Soak two hand towels in hot water and wrap around your boots while you're wearing them. I combine this with karimarie26's marching around the house routine or just watching tv. This seems to work especially well to help the ankle area break- in. I've used talc and show sheen/ silicon spray inside my boots to ease the putting on/ taking off battle. Having said that, I have zippers now, you're not missing much! They break frequently, usually when you're about to show. I'll be buying the zipper-less ones next time.

The "bathtub trick" is the ONLY way, if you ask me. However, you don't have to get yourself entirely into the tub. Put on the breeches and socks you'll wear regularly and dunk your booted legs into a deep water source-pool, hot tub, river, muck tub, bath tub, etc. You don't have to completely soak but do get them wet enough that you can feel the wetness from the inside. Do the dunking around 6 am. Plan to keep the boots on until they're completely dry, usually around bed time. Do all your normal stuff in them. Around lunch time, I like to slather Kocholine all over the boots and rub it in well. This method is not going to hurt the boots. Do it a couple of times if you need to-I don't think you will. Perfect fit for me every time.

A trick I heard about but never used. (I was lucky - I found a pair of Effinghams that Just Fit and didn't need any serious breaking in phase. Please don't hate me!)

Get a sponge, moisten it with hot water (as hot as you can stand) and then wipe the insides of the boot. Use a grocery bag or dry cleaning bag to help slide the (still damp) boot onto your leg. Vacuum your house! (Or apartment.) This should take 15-30 minutes (depending on how big your house is) - if you finish before 30 minutes do a few more housekeeping chores (dusting, emptying the trash, etc.) before you call it done.

Remove boots. Spend a few minutes working the crease area to help it soften. Repeat weekly until your boots don't need any more breaking in. A nice side-effect of this process is that you get into a habit of spending 30 minutes once a week to do some basic house cleaning!

Also, because you wear the boots for only 30 minutes it usually doesn't lead to any blisters!

Oh just go with baby powder!

Just buy good boots! I bought Dehners 23 years ago, I now only use them for showing, they look brand new and I have NEVER had a blister from them!!!! They are probably my most comfortable pair of boots or shoes. And I get a lot of mileage out of telling the teenagers at the barn that my boots are older than they are!!!

I swore that I would never try the "bathtub" trick until I got a pair of dressage boots that were killing me! I was still too scared to actually jump in the bath with them, so I sprayed them with very hot water (just the outside) in between doing barn chores. When they would start to hurt, I'd go back to the wash stall. After a couple of hours, they were fine. Doing that saved me, because they hurt so badly I almost took them back! There's no hassle, the inside of the boot never gets wet, and you can do it while multitasking.

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You are exactly right this is so true. It's weird how so many people don't realise this. great post on a really great area that I always find interesting.

Im sorry to ask again, but have you an email or something. I-d like to ask you a few things. it-s quite important. thanks /instantempo

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