Fitting riding boots properly is essential for your safety, comfort, and performance as an equestrian. Improperly fitted boots can cause injuries, discomfort, and poor communication with your horse. On the other hand, well-fitted boots can protect your feet, enhance your stability, and support your posture and leg position.

1. Before putting on the boots, make sure you have the breeches, tights and socks that you wear for riding on.
2. Your boots should be hard to pull on or off at first. If they have zippers, you should be able to close them completely and fasten the top while standing. The boots should fit tightly around your calf but not too tight to affect your blood flow. If you have wide calves, you might want to try wide calf riding boots for more comfort.
3. To get the best height for your field boots after they break in, the front of the boot should reach the center of your kneecap. If your kneecap is hidden, the boots are too high. For dressage boots, the front of the boot should be slightly below your kneecap. (please look at examples below)
4. See if the footbed is good by making sure the ball of your foot fits well on a stirrup pad. If you ordered a bigger shoe size for a taller boot height, add an air cushion, gel sole or other padded footbed to the boot shoe to fill up the extra space.

Tip: Loose boots will stretch and break in, creating deep creases around your ankle that can rub and irritate your skin. Loose boots will also sag too much and become too low in height.

• When buying zippered boots, choose a calf size that matches or slightly exceeds yours to prevent zipper damage. If your calf is more than 1/8 inch bigger than the boot size, try the next size up or look for a different boot that suits your leg shape.
• When buying boots that come in whole sizes only, think about the kind of sock you will wear with them. For instance, suppose you usually wear size 7 1/2 shoes. If the boots you want to buy are in whole sizes, then the sock thickness will affect the size you need. You should pick size 8 for thick, warm socks and size 7 for thin, regular socks.
• How your boots fit around your calves depends on what you like and what you do. Field and dress boots usually hug your calves more. But remember that the leather will loosen up a bit after you wear them for a while. If you are not sure about your size and you want your boots to be tight, you should go for a smaller size. If you want your boots to be loose or your weight changes often, you should go for a bigger size.