Put a Zock on it!

So if you have a new pair of boots you know how much of a pain it can be putting them on. Your new best friend will be a Zock. Zock is a company that makes a stretchy tall sock. There are other companies but I find Zock to be decent priced and very durable. Usually the crazy colored ones usually are $6.50-$12.50 depending on the design. Elvis ones I saw one time were $12.50.

Why is this your new best friend? Because these little guys can help make your life easier putting your boot on and off by a lot.

The material is usually kind of stretchy and it helps the boot to slide on/off.

Sorry for the photo quality. I was too lazy to find my digi camera cord so I used my cellphone.

I have 4 pairs: green dragon, Rosie the Riveter, Halloween bats, and a cool orange/pink swirlie one.
In a sport where tradition and conformity is a norm, our way of rebelling is having a cool pair of socks, that get's covered up by our tall boots. When I show I have to wear white breeches. That's why I get the crazy color ones. I have to stick out somehow. ;)

But they do come in normal colors if you're just feeling basic.




Stay tuned... Small Contest coming soon.
Boot Maintenance post coming soon as well.

Unzip the Zipper?

So I got a question about zipper boots. Someone asked if you can take the zipper out of the boot? Well I had no idea. In theory it can be done. So I went to Chronicle of the Horse forum. I got yes. But generally why?

One poster commented that they could take the zipper out but then when they stitch the zipper back you'd have a smaller calf size. So unless the cobbler (I assume a cobbler) can add a gullet or add leather to make it bigger it'd probably not be cost effective.

On the Hunt

Consignment shops are a great place to go shopping for boots. Especially since the trend for the boot industry is to go to the zipper many folks will dump their boots off at their local tack shop to be consigned. Some boots go ignored for months even years. These can be a gold mine for you.

Rich equestrians are notorious for buying an expensive item, using it for one show season and then getting rid of it. So you can potentially be buying a pair of boots that only been worn at horse shows 12x in one year.

Some may have been normal store bought boots while others can be custom made. So if you have a wide calf you can try and see if there was another wide calf individual who abandoned their boots at a lonely tack shop.

Who knows you may strike it rich.

Ariat Maestro Sale

The Washington Caps won in double overtime. So I'm a little wired. So I figure I channel my crazy energy and look for special deals on boots.

Ariat Maestros from Equestrian Collections.
one word: awesome.
These boots usually retail in the $400 range. They have them marked at $170. They don't have zippers so they're trying to get rid of the boots.

So if you have a skinny calf and are looking for a good quality boot check them out.

I've actually tried these boots on. I tried on size 10 in the ladies style with a zipper. They almost fit. While the lady told me that they will stretch and conform to my calf I wasn't a fan of buying a boot that almost fit me. Plus I'm a size 9. And I didn't really feel like wearing winter socks and still have my boot too big. But these are really nice boots. So grab them if you can fit in them.

Looking Good

Well asides my job sucking, life has generally been good. My laptop was on the verge of death, but dear old father fixed it. It really sucked a whole month without my laptop and our contract saying no more internet for us at the same time. :(

My laptop dying put my videos that I had planned behind. Plus I've been so busy with work and horses that home was only there for sleeping. Hopefully we'll get it shot on Sunday.

Getting my Imperial Officer costume commissioned. I haven't sewn in ages and I don't have the time or patience anymore.

I found a few people, but I emailed this lady. I always get vibes of situations/people and I have a good vibe about her. Let's see if I'm right in eight weeks. I got a quote from another lady, but Lady A is cheaper by $65 and she's making the code disks as well. So all I have to do is buy the belt and the rank bars.

So yay! Looking forward to finally getting into the 501st.

Rubber Boot Debate

Rubber boots are not acceptable for the 501st. I'm going to make a weak argument for rubber boots.

The age of synthetic materials has improved drastically in the past decade. When the members of 501st were looking at boots and such they probably did pick up a rubber boot and cringe at how awful it looked.

Rubber sucked back in the day.

Some rubber boots still suck to this very day.

But some of the more higher quality "pleather" boots look and feel like leather. In this picture I'm on my mare Lilly. I don't think I've ever featured a picture with her. She's a demon in horse form. When she wants to be delightful, she's pretty darn awesome.

I'm wearing...

Saxon Equi-leather Zip-Back Field Boots

Now what I can say there were often times where I forgot these boots were pleather. I had urges to clean them with my leather conditioner.

Now these boots sell for about $75. The problems with this particular boot are:
*field boots (they have laces not the type Imperial Officers should be wearing)
*zipper is on the back.

There are a few other brands. Major issue with rubber boots is the fit. They just don't conform to you like a nice pair of leather boots will. They're annoying. Most won't look as good as the Saxons and I don't believe the Saxon's make a dress boot version.
(They also squeak a lot when you ride horses. The zipper sucked too only lasted like 5 months, but it could be my calf was monstrous.)

I think I was suppose to be making an argument for rubber boots...

hmmm....

Leather is so much better. But I think these companies will eventually figure out how to get it right. Saxon is on the right path, maybe the other competitors will follow their path. But I don't know how big the market is and how much they want too, since leather will always be king in the equestrian universe when it comes to tall boots.

Spring is Here!

This time of year is exciting. Us equestrians await diligently by our mailboxes to recieve the newest catalogs filled with exciting new stuff. Last year wasn't very exciting, but this year Dover Saddlery and SmartPak was filled with cool new stuff.

I always have my highlighter ready to highlight some stuff I need and don't really need.

I haven't seen these in the catalogs yet (or I just probably missed them, I need new clothes and stuff for my horse), but side zip boots I've heard are allowable.

These are pretty sexxy. Calf sizes seem average. This is a ladies boot, but guys if your foot can fit you can probably deal with it. I think the rule is I wear a size 7 in mens, my ladies size is 9. If that gives you an idea.

They are averaging $269-300 in catalog. Shipping varies. SmartPak, equusunlimited.com, and equestriancollections.com seem to be carrying them.


I'm computerless at the moment, on my dad's comp. So hopefully I'll be back to posting a little more frequently when I can get a new laptop/desktop.