maintenance of leather riding boots

Video Maintenance of leather riding boots

Never use leather grease, saddle soap or leather oil to maintain leather riding boots! For daily maintenance of boots, first wipe the boots with a sponge that is not too damp after riding to remove sweat and dirt from the boots. Then rub the boots clean and dry with a dry cloth. Leather oil is particularly bad for boots, as the oil penetrates the outer leather and into the lining, effectively dissolving the adhesive between the two layers!

Allow the boots to air out in an open space. Never store the boots in a boot bag, closet, or worse, a plastic (garbage) bag. The boots must be able to “breathe” and get rid of moisture from both the rider and the horse. Never place leather boots directly near a heater or other warm place!

Maintain the boot with a good shoe cream: Meltonian, Kiwi, Woly, and various other brands of shoe cream nourish the leather well. Allow the shoe cream to soak in for a while! Give the boot time! Naturally, polish with a soft brush or cloth. There are shoe creams and color creams. The color cream has more dye and covers bare spots better, especially with difficult colors (light brown and cognac). Allow the cream to soak in for at least 6 hours! It is still a common misconception that the boot needs this treatment on the inside (where it comes into contact with the saddle and horse) and that once the cream has been properly absorbed into the boot, it will definitely not crack or rub off.

Boot trees are essential for leather riding boots! Not only to keep the toe of the boot down, but also to provide upward tension to pull the shaft up. For boots with pull loops, the only good boot stretcher is the wooden last in combination with the matching wooden stick, which has a spring mechanism built in. Never tighten the stretcher too much, as this will cause creases on the outside near the pull loops!

Good luck!