Tips for stretching long boots..

I_A_P

I_A_P

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Any ideas? I have a lovely pair of sergios but they are now a bit tight the last two inches from the top as they zip up. I can just about do them up but have sores on the back of my legs and they nip a bit when riding. Really, really do not want to replace them but they are making me so sore I think I may have to sell them.

I have some ariat boot trees in them all the time but is there anyway I can try and get them to stretch a bit more?
 
Put them on,go and sit in a warm bath,let them dry on you and smother them in leather food!
Been there,got the T shirt...
It's not pleasant but it works,a glass of wine helps.....
(IN you,not the bath)
 
Do you have one of those quaint old fashioned things known as a cobbler anywhere near you? Years ago the local cobbler was always a dab hand at stretching any slightly too snug long boots or even jodhpur boots for us. I don't know if such a person or trade even exists any more!:o
 
louisem - sounds interesting! Does it not ruin the leather? I am up for trying it if it works though as dont want to splash out for new ones :P

Teapot - Thing is I must have just got a bit chubbier as I have had them a few years :( Will they stretch much if they are not 'new' and have been worn a bit?

grumpyoldmare - I *think* i do have one locally, they are very rare now - they rezipped my old pair of boots for me a few years ago but didnt do a great job so am a little cautious about taking them there. Maybe i will try them as a last resort though - good thinking :)
 
i've got exactly the same problem with my Ariat Bromonts,have worn them a few times but they still pinch when i ride at the top behind the knee and i have quite skinny legs so can't understand why i'm struggling,gorge boots so don't want to sell them. It's hard to concentrate on a dressage test when your circulation has been cut off! Tips would be fab for this problem.
 
Fran - any warm leather will stretch in my experience, whether brand new or old if there's something pressing on it :) And unless they're at the point of snapping (like an old stirrup leather) then they have some stretch in.

Spent almost 2hrs of a RDA training day talking about stretched leather. Riveting subject :D
 
Try wearing heel lifts first. You can buy a pair for about £3 from any shoe shop and they do stop the boots pinching the back of your knee. My long boots have also shrunk where I did not wear them for a few years....
 
Thanks everyone. Dieseldog- they are not too long, if I put heel lifts in they would be tighther I think as would be done up lower down my calf. I think I will wear mine everday for a few weeks as well.

Teapot- will have to give it a go.
 
Thanks golden-match- didn't explain properly really- they are not too long unfortunatly. I think because they have dropped (few years old now) that's why they seem tight at the top as they are doing up at a wider point of the calf :(
 
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