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Tall boot secrets

- the Ariat Heritage Contour ($300) has the widest selection of sizes if you’re hard to fit. The calf will wear through if you ride once a day for 2 years. If you need it to last, get a patch added by a cobbler. The zipper will never break.

- Try Tredstep or Mountain Horse if you like the slim ankle fit but Ariats are too baggy.

- Don’t buy Parlanti ($600-1000) as a schooling boot. Our petty revenge on terrible trainers is to sell them Parlantis. Actually, don’t buy Parlanti unless you are a tall and thin 13 year old who will grow out of them in 6 months.

- the Tredstep Da Vinci ($500) is discontinued and on closeout for $250. They are getting replaced by the Medici ($400), which has an improved footbed and zipper. If you get a tight enough fit on the calf and the zipper doesn’t immediately break, this is a great deal. Swap the footbed out for an Ariat one. Only purchase from places where the option for a return is available if the zipper splits.

- the Tredstep Michelangelo ($800) is a work of art and beats the Ariat Monaco ($750-1000) but the Tredstep Donatello ($300) can’t compete with the Ariat Heritage Contour ($300). Don’t buy a Donatello for the next year until the “understated” weak zipper is quietly swapped out for the durable YKK one.

- Use heel lifts when breaking in boots that are too tall. Use those small tack sponges behind your ankles to avoid blisters. Literally a life saver.

- For unusual foot and calf combinations that aren’t available on any size chart, try men’s boots before you go custom.

- Your boots should be near impossible to zip up the first time, especially if they have a stretch panel. Someone should lace a string or shoelace through the zipper and crank them up for you. You should feel your calf throbbing. I promise they will stretch. If the calf is this tight, they won’t drop very much. If you can zip them up by yourself with ease the first time, expect 1-1.5 inches of drop.

- Affordable brown boots: Ariat Challenge Contour ($400), Ariat Heritage Contour ($300), Mountain Horse Sovereign ($400), Ovation Olympia ($225)