Womanly-sized riders, unite!

[equusrocks]

@pintopiaffe;2325865

For those of you who, like me, school in cotton/lycra stretch pants, Wally*World has a CUTE new model out that is somewhat tailored in the waistband. Not the heaviest tight in the world, but not horrible either. I only school in them, and don’t go ‘in public’ in them (like, not even to the corner store) but they last pretty well and come in at $9.96.

oooOooOooh. I got some of these made by Danskin, and they are incredibly comfy. :yes: I was really suprised. I got the ones with the sort of “bootcut” and don’t have a problem going to the post office in them. But I’ve gone in my PJ’s so…that might make you second guess my good judgement I guess. Anyhow, I like riding in them. A tad slick, but no worse than breeches I suppose. My aunt used to buy these and then buy a yard of the microsuede or something similar (for like $10 or so) and then sew on her own knee patches. Worked pretty well for schooling.

I had my Devon-Aires re-zippered and it cost be about $25. I think though, I’d have been better off at just putting the $$ towards a better boot. I got the zippers because I have one ankle that was injured and has scar tissue, it’s “fatter” than the other and pulling on boots over it is nearly impossible. Especially since the other ankle is normal. I have to “ease” the bad ankle into any shoes that go over it, even paddock boots. :no: It still gets sore sometimes if I try to even put shoes on without bothering to untie them.

I should have gone to physical therapy. Bad choice on my part. :sigh: I don’t think I’ll ever be able to wear regular field boots again.

Anyhow, good luck VCT, and nice seeing you over here too!! PS I still love that purple pad!!

[luvs2ride79]

@VCT;2325108

Its great that the Mountain Horse Boots are coming in sizes that fit you and me, but I can’t wear those to shows really… yanno?

Why Not??? Those are GREAT looking dress boots! I know quite a few people who show in them. They make a field boot version if you need field boots. Personally, I prefer the look of dress boots myself.

Oops, just read the rest of the posts! I can see why you would want a more traditional look.

I just got a pair of these boot-cut jods and really like them. The material is similar to cotton naturals, so it can be a bit unflattering, but I ordered a size big so they’d fit loose
http://aretesaddlery.com/tack/index.php?act=viewProd&productId=94

[VCT]

[QUOTE=Coreene;2326104]
Hell would freeze over before I would buy anything from Devonaire.[/QUOTE]

:lol:
Thats typically how I feel too, but I was blinded by the temporary insanity the idea of boots-that-fit caused. I sent them back yesterday. The shop owner offered to send me a new pair… I said, “No, Thanks.”

[Coral]

Hello! I’m new here as you can probably tell

I’ve read this thread (it’s actually how I got here!) and I haven’t seen exactly what I’m looking for so I thought I’d ask. I was just wondering if anyone knew a good site for wide foot all around riding/paddock boots. I have a very wide foot, sized US9.5-10 WW (double wide). I have a hard time finding everyday shoes in stores, never mind boots fit for riding.

Thanks for the help!

[Coreene]

@ruffian12;2327413

totally off topic:
Coreene, I discovered the Willem threads one night just before I was going to bed. I was up reading until all hours of the night, laughing my butt off…and then sobbing at 4 in the morning when I got to the later threads. Unbelievable. Thanks for sharing.

Thank you, that totally makes my day. :sadsmile: Hard to believe his model horse will be done next week - that will be major waterworks when I get mine.

[pintopiaffe]

Hi Coral,

I have wide feet too, though maybe not quite as wide as yours. It might help if you told us what you’ve tried already? Mountain Horse, for example is a much wider, boxier foot… Have you tried mens shoes/boots in the past?

There is a paddock boot that comes in wide, but isn’t the best quality… er… On Course maybe? The ‘sell’ line is that it is sport shoe technology in a boot. Dover used to have it. Not sure if they still do. They only last me about a year and I’m not horribly hard on my boots, I don’t wear them to muck generally.

What I do is buy Men’s. They are normally wider. I usually have to go up a size to a size and a half in women’s to get wide enough (i.e. I can fit a 8.5 in a wide Dr. Scholls sneaker just right with normal socks… but have riding boots that are 10.5. :x ) In men’s, it is much better to start with. The rule of thumb is to go down 1.5 size from womens to mens. IE a woman’s 10 is a men’s 8.5. It’s not hard and fast… but I LOFF my men’s ariat paddies. MUCH wider and more comfortable than the ladies… And heavier leather too.

For dress boots, I simply had to get close then get the foot stretched.

There have been mixed reviews, but Nittany boots does do wide FEET as well as wide calves. They make tall and paddocks. The two pair I saw at a consignment shop were VERY nice, and much better quality than comprably priced boots.

I will say that I constantly browse through the mens shoe section in the clearance/discount stores. I got a pair of LLBean boots that were close to $100 for $18 by winter’s end. They are AWESOME, the new version of bean boots, but lined with the squishy moon boot stuff… sole is like a sneaker… and they FIT.

Hope that helps!

Equusrocks–yep, LOFF some of the dankso pants. Just look for not more than 10% lyra, and make sure they are cotton based not nylon. The 8% Lycra 92% Cotton seems to be the ideal for NOT slippery but still stretchy. Yoga pants are pretty awesome for riding too, if you can fold up the leg into your boots/chaps. I WISH I could sew. I’m sure it would be fairly easy to trim up all the foolish bell bottoms everything comes in now. :uhoh:

[citydog]

@Coral;2328941

I’ve read this thread (it’s actually how I got here!) and I haven’t seen exactly what I’m looking for so I thought I’d ask. I was just wondering if anyone knew a good site for wide foot all around riding/paddock boots. I have a very wide foot, sized US9.5-10 WW (double wide). I have a hard time finding everyday shoes in stores, never mind boots fit for riding.

Welcome, Coral!

Try Blundstones. They are very roomy, and the half sizes are specifically for wide feet. A little pricey, maybe, but They. Last. Forever.

[citydog]

[QUOTE=pintopiaffe;2325865]

Have you looked at Nittany? Results are mixed on them, but I saw 2 pair in person and they were thick, well stitched and very nicely cut (just a wee titch too tight in the calf for me ) I was about ready to order a pair when I found my Effie’s on Ebay. Customer service as a potential buyer was excellent in my experience, which was around the holidays too. [/QUOTE]

Eight months. It took eight months of utter runaround (albeit rather personable on the rare occasions I actually got a response), and then the boots I got were dress instead of the field I’d actually ordered and been unable to get a refund on. Now no response from them on that either, of course.

The boots are actually decent quality for the money–depending on which of their plants they are made at–but I would strongly advise anyone to order from horse-rider-etc or whoever it is who actually has them (and on eBay) rather than dealing directly with the company.

[Coral]

@pintopiaffe;2329167

I have wide feet too, though maybe not quite as wide as yours. It might help if you told us what you’ve tried already? Mountain Horse, for example is a much wider, boxier foot… Have you tried mens shoes/boots in the past?

I guess it would help if I told you the important stuff huh?

Well usually I go with men’s boots about 1 - 2 sizes smaller, but the problem I run in to there is that the heel is too wide and I always feel like I’m about to fall out of them. :rolleyes: Yes, my feet are very difficult! And very sensitive also, I get blisters if I even look at my feet cross eyed so that is a concern for me as well. I guess I have a wide foot pad but a narrow heel if that makes any sense at all.

I’ve tried several of the “wide width” paddock boots from a few of the sites listed in this thread (horse-rider-etc.com is the one I remember off the top of my head) and I couldn’t get my feet into them at all and had to return them.

[Vesper_Sparrow]

[QUOTE=citydog;2329281]
Welcome, Coral!

Try Blundstones. They are very roomy, and the half sizes are specifically for wide feet. A little pricey, maybe, but They. Last. Forever.[/QUOTE]

I love my Blundstones, too. Last year, I even cleaned them up and wore them on a non-riding weekend in NYC!

FYI, I received my Equitector dress boots (short, extra-wide calf) from the UK a few days ago. It took about three weeks. They are a little utilitarian looking (wide elastic gussets on either side of the zipper) but fit well, feel great and should be fine for the local dressage shows where I’ll be showing this summer. They are supposed to fit calves from 16.5 to 19 inches–my calves are 17 and 17.5. They are also a little short–I should have ordered the regular extra wides. The only real complaint I have is with the Canadian government; the boots came to around $400 Cdn. including shipping but the taxes and duties were $175 Cdn.! Oh well, at least I have my boots.

[Coral]

[QUOTE=Vesper Sparrow;2329348]
FYI, I received my Equitector dress boots [/QUOTE]

I have a funny story about Equitector boots that will help to show exactly how bad to fit my feet are. I was surfing around their site about a year ago having this same problem, they have a size checker on their site that you put your foot measurements into and then it will tell you what size you should buy! Well I put in my details and got back:

“Your foot width seems to be far too wide for your foot length.”

All I could think is believe me, I know they are far too wide! I tried to email them as they suggest doing if you have a problem with the calculator and the answer I got back was very polite telling me that size 9 ones should be fine but I didn’t have enough confidence to buy them. They are expensive and I wasn’t sure about being able to return them overseas. I’m not adverse to paying a good bit for shoes, provided they fit and don’t cause me blisters, but that’s rare for me to find.

[criss]

I have liked Dansko paddock boots. Blundstones were too hard-soled, and put weird pressure on my big toe that eventually started making it go numb, though I suspect better-quality insoles (Spenco, available at athletic-shoe stores, is the best brand IMO). Mountain horse might be okay for someone with arches, but on me, what happened was that my wide, clunky, totally flat feet sort of crushed the last. They had a metal inset with the MH logo right under the instep, and it actually popped out from the pressure, causing the boots to leak if I stepped in a puddle.

Right now, I have some no-name paddock boots that were on sale somewhere. They’re a 10, while my feet are actually 8.5-9, but it’s okay. I mean, they look like @$$, but whatever, I don’t wear the to show in, and they’re reasonably comfortable. My tall boots are custom Dehners that I’ve had since I was a teenager, and they currently don’t fit me, but I’m going to re-measure my legs and send them back to Dehner for a gusset. Argh. But that’s the only way you’ll really get the right fit, unfortunately. And when they do fit, boy, do they fit. They’re really gorgeous. And, unlike the Devon-Aire ones and whatnot, they are ten years old and still going strong, as soon as I get them altered, so the pricetag is really pretty reasonable as long as you don’t anticipate drastic changes in your height or weight anymore (like, I should have probably waited until I was no longer a teenager to get them).

[citydog]

[QUOTE=criss;2329469]
Blundstones were too hard-soled,[/QUOTE]

Was this some years ago? There was an old version that looked the same but was way harder. They’re quite cushy now, and I always stick the Dr. Scholl’s gel insoles in everything anyway.

[Vesper_Sparrow]

[QUOTE=Coral;2329405]
I have a funny story about Equitector boots that will help to show exactly how bad to fit my feet are. I was surfing around their site about a year ago having this same problem, they have a size checker on their site that you put your foot measurements into and then it will tell you what size you should buy! Well I put in my details and got back:

“Your foot width seems to be far too wide for your foot length.”

All I could think is believe me, I know they are far too wide! I tried to email them as they suggest doing if you have a problem with the calculator and the answer I got back was very polite telling me that size 9 ones should be fine but I didn’t have enough confidence to buy them. They are expensive and I wasn’t sure about being able to return them overseas. I’m not adverse to paying a good bit for shoes, provided they fit and don’t cause me blisters, but that’s rare for me to find.[/QUOTE]

That’s very funny! The Equitectors fit me, but I have a wide but not extra-wide foot. Plus, they have a steel toe, which would be very unforgiving–hence their slightly clunky appearance. I think you made the right decision.

[ruffian12]

[QUOTE=citydog;2329307]
Eight months. It took eight months of utter runaround (albeit rather personable on the rare occasions I actually got a response), and then the boots I got were dress instead of the field I’d actually ordered and been unable to get a refund on. Now no response from them on that either, of course.

The boots are actually decent quality for the money–depending on which of their plants they are made at–but I would strongly advise anyone to order from horse-rider-etc or whoever it is who actually has them (and on eBay) rather than dealing directly with the company.[/QUOTE]

After my HUGE runaround (they shipped to the wrong state) I just told then to cancel the order. They said, “oh, they went out today! just send them back!” and they’ve never, ever showed up, nor have I been credited them. Really, no idea what’s going on because Holly in customer service is very friendly, but they just never sent the boots!

[luvs2ride79]

Friendly does not always equal competent…

[Nski32]

[QUOTE=citydog;2329307]
Eight months. It took eight months of utter runaround (albeit rather personable on the rare occasions I actually got a response), and then the boots I got were dress instead of the field I’d actually ordered and been unable to get a refund on. Now no response from them on that either, of course.

The boots are actually decent quality for the money–depending on which of their plants they are made at–but I would strongly advise anyone to order from horse-rider-etc or whoever it is who actually has them (and on eBay) rather than dealing directly with the company.[/QUOTE]

were these the hispars you are talking about? sorry i dont want to read way back.
i am looking into getting the Hispars. Although i am worried that they will drop a lot and be too short.

[ruffian12]

no, we were talking about the Nittany’s.

[ThreeHorseNight]

I was checking out the new Dover catalog last night, and noticed that Kerrits now makes some plus-sized riding clothing – up to size 2X in some items! Whoo-hoo! I’m off to order a pair of breeches! The Cargo Tights look interesting…

It’s so nice that manufacturers are realizing that we’re not all a size 8…

[Manes_Tails]

I found a lady on ebay that makes show shirts just to fit me, so they fit great and I am plus size. for less then 50.00.

If you are like me I do not like to tuck my shirt in because of my big waste, so I wear a nice show shirt with the squared tail out and a belt on the outside.