# Why do they make the calves so small



## WickedNag (Sep 7, 2010)

On English riding boots? My 88 lb daughter who is 5' tall and skinny can't pull her new boots on. I had them stretched 1/2 " and now they fit but doubt they will with her breeches. I gave up and got her wide calves as I doubt they can be stretched much more....


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## MudPaint (Aug 14, 2010)

No clue... I'm in the same boat... 5'10" and 125lbs... you'd think a regular would fit... nope. 

What I've done with no-zip boots is had a zipper put in w/an elastic insert, that seems to create a nice snug fit that has room for varying breech thickness.


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## Chiilaa (Aug 12, 2010)

Because of skinny wenches like me. I am 5'4" and about 100 pounds, but my height is all legs. Normal sized long boots don't fit me - they are too wide already.


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## tlkng1 (Dec 14, 2011)

Even at my thinnest point, right out of bootcamp, I still had calves that were well larger than even a wide..I have have a heck of a time finding boots. Even those advertised as X-tra wide are still a good inch to inch and a half smaller than I am. Now, the other issue I have is that my right calf is a full inch larger than my left. Even if a normal x-tra wide calf would fit my left, I woulnd't be able to get into it with my right. Add in a wide foot to the mix...try and find even that in a riding boot..all these manufacturers think people who ride horses only have a 3 inch wide foot (yes exaggerated there  ) I recently ordered a pair pof paddock boots in a half size larger than my shoe size and in a wide and I couldn't even get my foot into the thing.


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## VT Trail Trotters (Jul 21, 2011)

Im 5' 11" and i got legs that are all muscle and big calves. And when buying half chaps online i bought them to small -_- so i had to send them back and i went to a tack shop and tried ones on 2 sizes bigger so a Large and they fit awesome! So i re order a Large and they fit awesome. But the size charts for half chaps and tall boots arent very umm accurate you may say. Better to try them on first then buy a pair.


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## emeraldstar642 (Jul 16, 2011)

No idea. I'm 5'3 and 105 pounds with relatively skinny legs and I don't even fit in a regular.


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## SlideStop (Dec 28, 2011)

I'm 5'1 and a little on the heavier side. I couldn't find boots anywhere!! Hispar (just Google it) makes boots for a size 8 in calf sizes up to 18 3/8 an inch. Best of all the boots are available in half sizes!! They are comfortable, reasonably priced (I paid $350 with shipping I believe), come with a zipper option (freaking life saver!!) and I must say they are very well made. Thank god I found these boots!
_Posted via Mobile Device_


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## midnighthighway (Jun 6, 2011)

haha yeah its a problem for me as well. I can get my tall boots on quite easily but getting them off is another story altogether. My ankles always seem to get "stuck" and I cant get them off by myself which did result in me wearing them all day on sunday XD (from like 9 am till like 11pm before i could get home and get help)(i went to hunger games and got many weird looks). why didnt i get a pair that had zippers.. ughh Ive also learned that my left foot is just slightly bigger than my right for me to notice.


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## Delfina (Feb 12, 2010)

I think it's the opposite!

Short boots don't come in a slim calf, so I am stuck with short boots, regular calf and THICK socks, to fill up the boot.


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## tinyliny (Oct 31, 2009)

I thought you meant that calves, (baby bovines) were made small. Yeah, well, I guess they're small compared to their mothers.

Ok, carry on . . . .


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## Kayty (Sep 8, 2009)

I have given up trying to find boots off the shelf now, and just get them custom made. It's not too expensive and if you look after them a good pair will last you forever!


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## Allison Finch (Oct 21, 2009)

I just ordered the first pair of stock boots in over 20 years. I ordered regular calves so that I could get winter layers in the boots. When they came they were huge calves! I sent them back and ordered semi custom boots. 

The black were my old custom boots, the brown the new ones.































BIG calves


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## Back2Horseback (Mar 21, 2012)

tinyliny said:


> I thought you meant that calves, (baby bovines) were made small. Yeah, well, I guess they're small compared to their mothers.
> 
> Ok, carry on . . . .


Haha...cracking up!


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## Remy410 (Nov 7, 2011)

Haven't you seen the models in the Dover Saddlery catalog? If they made the calves any wider they wouldn't fit any of those models!


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## crimsonsky (Feb 18, 2011)

and here i thought i was the only one. makes you feel like there's something wrong with you if you ALWAYS need a wide calf. um hello... we're RIDERS. aren't we supposed to have calf muscle? :/


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## busysmurf (Feb 16, 2012)

I could never find them skinny enough!! I have twig legs, LOL


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## Strange (Jan 11, 2009)

After being a working student for a year and now being a full-time groom my old tall boots were too wide (regulars) and I had to start buying slims. Haven't ever had the problem with them being too small, just too big!


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## busysmurf (Feb 16, 2012)

You want to know what's worse?!?!? Skinny calves, BIG skinny feet (size 11), and long legs. Now that SUCKS!!!


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## texasgal (Jul 25, 2008)

Every time I see this thread pop up .. I'm looking for baby cows .... lol.


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## Valentina (Jul 27, 2009)

Riding boots come in various heights and widths - and vary greatly by manufacturer. I personally have almost 17 inch calves - so custom is required. Ariat boots tend to be skinny calves, Mountain Horse riding boots tend to have larger calves but you still need to look at which "model" is the correct one for DD's calf size. 

It also helps to purchase zippers in the boots and/or the elastic gusset to handle slightsizing differences (between the calves, time of day can cause more water weight in the calves more than other times of the day, etc.) 

Just really take a look and find a website that tells you how to properly measure her calves, making certain she wears her thickest breeches when you do the measuring.

Alcohlol INside the boot when she gets it on also helps stretch the boot a bit.


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## freia (Nov 3, 2011)

I'm 5'9" and 140lbs, so pretty normal. My legs are really long (my husband calls me a spider-monkey). For me to get my calves in a boot, I have to go with wide or extra-wide, and then they're always so tall that I can't bend my knees.
Luckily I don't show, so I get to use paddock-boots with half-chaps, and those puppies can fit anyone, even humans.


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## Cruiser (Aug 28, 2011)

You guys got me scared about buying my first tall boots, I'm 5 foot 9 and only 120 pounds, it is a pain looking for something tall enough taking size 9 1/2 to 10, 21 inch tall, and a 13.5 inch calves. Bonus I only have a $200 budget, I wish I could just buy another pair of my favorite black cowboy boots for $50, but it looks silly riding in breeches and cowboy boots.


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## VT Trail Trotters (Jul 21, 2011)




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