Boot addict here has acquired the most beautiful pair of leather open fronts, used (barely!), so I couldn’t resist. Tried them on last night and they fit but I wasn’t sure whether the bottom 2 straps should cross or go straight. There’s no little leather piece joining them like on my bevals (might be lost, of course). And I’m not sure how tight to do them, especially if they cross, as all the pressure on the extensor tendon will be concentrated. The bevals are so fuzzy that it’s not an issue, but these are leather lined (told you they were irresistible), so there’s not the same give even though there’s elastic on the straps. I can ask my jumping person but I won’t see her today and I wanna know NOW! haha.
TIA!
Never cross boot straps. NEVER. As far as tightness there should be no slack, not suffocatingly tight but not loose enough to slip down. I suggest putting them on and lunging your horse lightly, see if they stay up or if they appear to be too tight and bother him
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Straps should go on at the same angle they are attached to the boots at. If the straps are sewn to the boots at an angle, they are meant to be crossed. If the part sewn to the boots is straight, don’t cross them.
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Thanks guys. I think I’ll try them straight. Is the reason not to cross the pressure point on the extensor tendon? And the angle isn’t really clear, since the middle strap sort of floats so it can easily go straight or crossed. You can see the design - and why I’d be wondering - on this picture of similar boots… http://www.ebay.ca/itm/Leather-Antar…item1a328fede8 I may just use them in my next lesson. That way if they slip, my coach will notice and just take them off, and I can try them on the looser hole without worrying I won’t know if they slip.
(shhh, just ignore that the little leather piece in the picture I posted is on the wrong 2 straps in any case 
)
Do yours have those keeper things on them like the one in the picture? If so, those are usually meant to be crossed.
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If they don’t have the leather piece that joins them, as you say they do not, then you can’t cross them, regardless of whether they are meant to be crossed or not. If they are stitched at an angle, they are likely meant to be crossed, and are missing a piece, so I wouldn’t use them at all until you replace that piece. If they are stitched straight, then they aren’t meant to be crossed and you are good to go.
There’s no keeper thing to join the straps, but as I was thinking I knew someone who could make one, I realized, um, yeah, I have one on the sheepskin boots. It even matches.
The angle of the straps is interesting though. Because the middle strap isn’t stitched, but run through a slot in the leather piece protecting the tendon, I could as easily make it straight as crossed. The strap on the fetlock is on the usual angle, but also can go straight without looking wonky. Looks to me like they’re designed such that crossed or straight is optional.
I have a pair of leather open fronts that sounds similar- the top two straps can go straight across or they can be crossed and they are just as stable and fit well. I usually cross them because they are slightly angled and the straps lay a smidge better crossed.
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Most of the time - if you feel like you have to cross the straps then the boots don’t fit your horse.
Can you post a pic of the boots in question so you can get better input?
thanks, NA - there’s a link to a similar pair in my post above, but the horse resolved the question for me: he doesn’t like them crossed, and likes them just fine straight, so problem solved. Also trainer approved - never a bad thing when everyone agrees. ;).
Glad you have an answer. But I’ll add another idea (sorry, lol).
I cross mine where the bottom strap lacks elastic. My thinking is that by crossing the bottom pair of straps, you provide a bit of an “elastic fuse” for the bottom part of the boot. In other words, where that bottom strap crosses the extensor tendon, instead of that being a band of fixed length low down near the fetlock, I raise up the pressure point to a part of the leg where there’s less movement and I introduce the give of the elastic to that “figure 8” combination of crossed straps.
Take what you like and leave the rest. And if your horse has rejected my logic, give him veto power. They’re his legs, after all.
Darn you, mvp, and your well reasoned explanations! I’ll snag the keeper thing off the bevals and ask him again. 
But you’re right that he has the veto.
That is why I like crossing mine, actually- I like the pressure point to be higher, and dispersed.
There used to be plenty of boots that crossed the bottom two straps without any sort of keeper thing. But that style of boot has fallen out of fashion. Google Greg Best and Gem Twist – that was the right era for crossing the straps. My jumper barn growing up had a few pairs of the crossed ones and a few of the straight. The crossed are sewn on at an angle that makes crossing the obvious correct way (diagonally). You should be able to tell by looking at the boot.
I had a pair of FTEs that were definitely crossed, with interchangeable sheepskin and leather. Beautiful but too much of a PITA for everyday use, and I don’t show enough to make them worthwhile to save for that. I sold them. I strongly prefer something I can hose off and throw in the washer for daily use (Eskie types)! Ain’t nobody got time to clean leather boots every day.
