Tall boot zipper spin-off: a question and an idea

[MissAriel]

Where does the zipper break on tall boots? At the top, the ankle, the wide part of the calf?

The reason I ask is I have seen a number of pairs of tall fashion boots with a short zipper from the sole to just above the ankle on the inside. It seemed like that position would not interfere with your leg on the horse, not rub the saddle and also reduce the stress points on the zipper if they tend to break high on the zipper, plus it would give a really clean look when mounted.

I guess the downside is you would need a gusset to get your calf into the narrower top opening, but lots of boots have gussets even with the zippers.

[joiedevie99]

Some break at the ankle from all of the flexing/permanent wrinkles when the boot drops.

Some break at the widest part. This is especially true when the boots are just a bit too tight and you are repeatedly stressing the zipper.

[Jo]

One of the sales associates at Dover told me that the Ariat Volant front zips almost always break at the ankle and to prevent this you must use a boot tree every time you are not wearing the boots. It comes from the leg of the boot flopping over at an angle over the ankle. I don’t bother with boot trees but I am very anal about laying them on their sides flat out.