Boot-istry a.k.a. boot reading is the equestrian equivalent of palmistry (palm reading). Think about it. Have you ever looked at your riding boots? I mean really looked at them? What do the various wrinkles, dirt and rub marks say about us and our riding? Are your riding difficulties reflected in your boots? Come with me as I explore the art of boot-istry. (Disclaimer: This is an inexact science and to the best of my knowledge I’ve made it up.)
I’ll begin by reading my own boots.
Right boot: I’m right handed so that’s my dominant side and conscious mind.
Left boot: My left side is my weaker side and subconscious mind.
Pink = Inner leg
Blue = Back of the leg
Field boots: That means I’m a lower level dressage rider because dress boots are required at the upper levels.
Dirt: I took these photos right after a lesson and I didn’t want to remove any…evidence. Yeah, that’s right. Evidence.
Wrinkles: I have short calves. (Hey, it’s the whole package here. I’m short. To be specific 5′ 1.5″. Notice the half inch?) These are off the shelf boots and to be honest I either need custom made or another brand. There are more wrinkles on the left boot. Perhaps that calf is shorter (God forbid!) then the right? Remember our bodies are not identical side-to-side.
Inside leg view of my riding boots
View from the back
Inside leg: I’m using my inside leg as indicated by the pink circles. That’s good! With my inside leg I can communicate more subtly with my horse. I’m also providing a corridor between my legs for the horse to travel through. Hopefully, I’m not clinging.
Back of the leg: There are two blue circles on each boot indicating that I’m still using the back of my leg. Not so good. Sigh. When I use the back of my leg I’m opening the door. Of course, the horse is going to step right through and out. Wouldn’t you?
View from the back: The view from the back confirms that I’m using my inside leg. It becomes more obvious on the left boot that I rely on the back of my leg more. A bad habit from my H/J days that I’ve been trying to break.
Subconscious mind: Maybe a little unsure of myself or the horse. The rubs are stronger on the left leg and a bit higher up. I may go fetal more frequently with that leg (think canter!).
Conscious mind: Feeling confident for the most part. Notice that the rub marks are lighter and lower on my right leg.
Feel free to add your observations. Better yet, post photos of your own riding boots and readings.
Confessions of a Struggling Dressage Rider 
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December 20, 2009 at 6:59 pm
halfpass
I enjoyed this…my favorite boots are ten years old and you can read the progression on the calf of how turned out my feet and legs were back then through the more current wear that approaches a hopefully more “correct’ leg placement now….
December 20, 2009 at 8:07 pm
dressage rider
I’m glad you enjoyed it. Would you like to share photos? If you’d like to post them on your blog I’ll link back or I could post them here. leecullen @ comcast.net
December 21, 2009 at 4:10 am
halfpass
Would love to…but the boots are in Florida and I’m on Long Island snowed in! But when I get there, that would be great! I have a new camera to play with…..Don’t you love reading boots….it’s like reverse tea leaves….
December 21, 2009 at 1:44 pm
dressage rider
We got hit with at least a foot in the Boston area. Just let me know when you have a chance to take photos. I’ve always heard about our boots telling us about our riding but I can’t find anything on the internet! Unbelievable! I can find anything!
December 21, 2009 at 5:42 pm
Horseypants
You could start a whole new blog about this! Just have people send in their photos and post a new “reading” every week. Great idea–no wait, maybe this needs to be on a t-shirt or tote bag or something. Like a diagram with witty points. Go forth and monetize, DR!! On a more serious note, I am glad that I am not the only one doing dressage in field boots. Also, I loved what you said: “when I use the back of my leg I’m opening the door.”
December 21, 2009 at 6:40 pm
dressage rider
Hi Horseypants! Would you like to send in a photo? I’d be happy to “read” your boots. Monetize? Hmmm, I like money. I heard that dress boots are really stiff so I’ll stick with field boots for now. Just be warned! Field boots and peacock stirrups do not play nice. My loops have gotten snagged a few times and I almost got hung up. At the moment I’m in winter riding boots.
December 21, 2009 at 6:34 pm
tangodressage
I enjoyed this! I just started a blog and it’s a little intimidating but I looked through yours for some inspirtation! Thanks for the hel[p and when I get back I’ll post on your blog a reading of my boots. I have a few pairs so we’ll see if they show consistent results!!! I’m almost afraid to look!
December 21, 2009 at 6:50 pm
dressage rider
Hi Tango! Don’t be intimidated. I started this blog, then dropped it for a number of months and picked it up again. I did it for myself, to vent about my riding lessons. (OK and to laugh about my blonde moments.) There really aren’t many people writing from the lesson student’s point of view.
Feel free to write about your readings on your blog and I’ll link to it if you let me know.
December 24, 2009 at 5:36 am
tangodressage
Did you read up on blogging or are you just very creative? I am going to keep pushing along and hope to learn something on the way- as a trainer that finds adult amateurs complicated (I enjoy them but my teenagers sure are easy!!!) i will continue to read your blog in an effort to better understand the psyche!! thanks again!
December 24, 2009 at 3:27 pm
dressage rider
No, I didn’t read up on blogging. I don’t even remember really reading a blog before I started mine. I stumbled across them here and there during searches though. You find me creative? Thank you. I have a BFA in Graphic Design and I’m an avid reader. In school I was told that I could write…I guess it just all comes together here.
I’m not trying to teach anyone through my blog because I don’t feel that I know enough. Although an instructor asked my if I’d teach (shrug) so maybe I do. I’m just sharing glimpses (not blow by blow steps) of my lessons, etc. Maybe you should write from a trainer’s perspective about different students. Compare the differences of the teens to the adults. What in your opinion is a perfect student? Share a triumph, the agony & defeat.
I’m not a newbie rider either. I started riding 8 years ago but I’m…enthusiastic. My private email is listed in an earlier reply if you’d care to discuss things offline. Good luck and I’ll check in with you soon!
December 24, 2009 at 7:39 pm
halfpass
Hey tango…we adults are not complicated, merely much more cerebral….and at our age, we actually take it more seriously than the teens! Not that the teens aren’t serious, but we older folks do long term commitment better…check our boots, they do tell the story…
December 25, 2009 at 2:54 am
dressage rider
I’ll be the first one to admit that I over think it. I agree with long term commitment but I don’t think we all fall in that category.
As an adult rider you could be a very successful exec. but a dead beginner on a horse. How long does it take to be proficient? to show, etc. It can be frustrating to realize that it could be months or even (gasp!) years. Unrealistic expectations from the rider and sometimes the instructor. Then there’s a realistic fear of falling. We don’t bounce like kids and even worse we may have dependents that depend on our ability to earn money.
I get tunnel vision and focus on the bad things, totally forgetting about the glimmers of good stuff. Mention it was a good lesson, or improvements were made in an area. Trust is huge! Trusting my instructor, myself, the horse. Mileage. We all need mileage. Personally, I have good balance, I’m in decent shape, good muscle memory as long as you tell me when it’s right.
What else? Imagery may work. Try to tie things into their lives. If their parents tell them that the horse is testing them just like their toddler to see if they can get away with it. Sorry, but I could go on…
December 27, 2009 at 9:24 pm
Anonymous
I was pretty much a dead beginner at age 45….one of my pet peeves with the pros is that they “forget” that an adult with 5 yrs. into riding is equally experienced as a junior rider of 5 yrs. ridng experience….which makes that adult a very young rider! Yet the kid will be pushed and praised and encouraged, while the adult is just someone who started late and not coached as effectively. I feel that the trainers automatically lower their expectations!
I don’t know if this is conscious or unconscious on the part of trainers! But in my 12 years of ridng I’ve come up against it with every trainer I’ve ridden with. It’s the “oh you’re just an adult amateur rider” syndrome. It permeates our USDF and the USEF….where they sure love to hit the adult amateur base for financial aid and volunteers but give a heck a lot LESS back to us in the long run!
I grant there are real differences between adults and kids…muscular flexibility, kids don’t have the fear of pain, injury and death that the adults have, those two come to mind…but I would maintain that adult starters have a real shot at success, maybe more than the kids in Dressage who may actually give up horses to go to school, for the boyfriend, for marriage and kids…we adults tend to stick it out a lot longer because we understand that time, commitment and a certain financial investment makes it happen for us.
So we may not make the Olympics, but we certainly have the capacity to get to Grand Prix….Kid or adult, we all have to put in the work! And I believe we adult amateurs generally have it over the kids in that department!
And Dressage Rider, I want you to go on and on…this is fascinating and I love talking through all this stuff! I may not arrive at any hard and fast conclusions but it sure helps with the learning process!!!
December 29, 2009 at 11:55 pm
dressage rider
Hi Anon, I agree with you that sometimes trainers have lower expectations of the late blooming adult rider. I think that’s when we need to have an open discussion with our trainer to discuss our goals or even say “push me”. I’m worse then “just an adult amateur”, I’m a lesson student without a horse. Gasp!
You also bring up an excellent point regarding the USDF/USEF. We ARE their bread and butter. However, I’ve read that change is a foot and they are open to other ideas. Darned, if I can remember where I came across this info. I’ve also been a volunteer at shows and at least once I was offered waived entry fees…if only I had a horse. Sigh.
December 29, 2009 at 4:56 am
tangodressage
OK you guys. You scared me into password protecting the blog in fear of the brutal bulletin board treatment!!! I’m putting it back up with hopes that nobody takes my sarcasm personally. I love my students and they seem to like me! It won’t be any fun if I have to write so politely so nobody thinks I am talking about them. I am only joking about the idiosyncracies of the people I deal with in the horse world. Please feel free to give me the things that annoy you about your trainer and or trainers in general. I will try and give you some insight into our job as well. It’s just for fun!! (leave your trainers e-mail and I will get the real scoop!)
December 30, 2009 at 12:00 am
dressage rider
Egads Tango! Don’t compare this to a bulletin board…blech! This is one of the first discussions, if you will, and I’m enjoying it. I’ve taken your comments to be genuine. A true request for knowledge. Please don’t tailor your comments and I’d love to know more from the trainers point of view.
December 30, 2009 at 2:51 am
halfpass
Hey Dressage rider! I have boot photos but am not sure how to get them to you…should I post them in my blog?
December 30, 2009 at 3:14 am
dressage rider
Hi Halfpass, That’s sooo cool! This is going viral. I sent you a private email so it’s up to you really. If you’d like to read your own boots and post it on your blog, I’d be happy to place a link in a post here. Or you can send them in an email to me and I’ll post it. Either way…I’m easy 🙂
January 2, 2010 at 6:05 am
I come in Peace! « Tango Dressage Blog
[…] https://dressagerider.wordpress.com/2009/12/20/boot-istry-a-k-a-boot-reading/Â click here to see dressage rider’s post Posted by tangodressage Filed in Uncategorized Tagged: dressage blog, dressage instruction, dressage training, equine blog, equine bulletin board, horse blog, horse training, riding Leave a Comment » […]
January 2, 2010 at 2:46 pm
Baroque Lady
The boot thing is great! I thought I was the only one who analyzed the
dirt/sweat patterns on my boots! I wipe them down after every ride and
check them for evenness of marks, placement etc… I also have trouble with
my left leg. I can’t straighten it totally (bad riding accident eons ago) and
struggle to keep proper leg position and stay balanced in the saddle.
I too am an adult amateur rider. A year into lessons with my current teacher
she sat me down and asked me ‘where do you see yourself in 5 years’.
I said I had hoped to be riding first level. She said, ‘no…you will be at
third level’. I wasn’t quite sure I believed her but she believes in me. I am
now second level-ish. 🙂
January 2, 2010 at 11:56 pm
dressage rider
@ Barogue Lady, Isn’t it cool? That’s so wonderful that you’re doing so well in your lessons! Adult amateurs rock! BTW I didn’t clean my boots until after the photos as I was afraid of destroying evidence.
@ Halfpass, You really had me going there. I wasn’t sure why the person would choose to be Anon. I owe you a reading so stay posted!
January 2, 2010 at 3:50 pm
halfpass
Hey dressage rider….that anonymous post was me!!! I don’t know why it didn’t say halfpass….
January 3, 2010 at 1:59 am
Make them earn their Check… « Tango Dressage Blog
[…] the different psyches involved with teaching teenagers and teaching adults. (see comments: https://dressagerider.wordpress.com/2009/12/20/boot-istry-a-k-a-boot-reading/#comment-460) This generated some discussion on why adults may have specific concerns. Alas, I too am an […]
January 3, 2010 at 6:14 am
enlightenedhorsemanship
Absolutely brilliant idea. I love it!
January 3, 2010 at 3:46 pm
dressage rider
Thanks Kim! BTW, I love your new site. I’m bummed out that I can’t keep track of you through my WordPress subscriptions though. I guess that means I need to get with technology and sign up for Google Reader or something…so many blogs to read, so little time.
January 3, 2010 at 8:29 pm
Baroque Lady
“Doing so well” in my lessons is not quite how I see it which is why I said I was ‘second level-ish’. My progress is so uneven. Some things I can do very well and there are some quite basic stuff I struggle with…like timing of half halts in the canter. I ride my teacher’s 4th level schoolmaster . She is great. If I let her, she will plop around nose stuck out and hocks trailing! But if I ask correctly she will give me a lovely collected trot. I am just starting to understand how to use my seat instead of my hands to accomplish proper transitions. I love your blog!
January 3, 2010 at 10:31 pm
dressage rider
Hi Baroque Lady, Thank you. You’re further along then I am. If I had to define where I am it would be First level-ish, I guess. I also have access to a 4th level schoolmaster and he can be totally on the forehand if my aids aren’t there. If I’m too there with the outside rein I get a beautiful passage. I’m trying harder and harder to use my seat aids over my hands. Hands! That’s a whole other post.
January 10, 2010 at 3:39 am
theliteraryhorse
I love your “bootistry” readings.
I’m onboard. I’ll send you a photo as soon as I can get to it! Hm. My boots are newish. Not sure what they’d tell you. I have a pair with a broken zipper I can dig out maybe compare those?
One “wear” pattern you’ll find on my boot is wear on the outside of the calf. One !@#$%# horse I ride consistently looks for an opportunity to scrape my leg on the rail. Most of the time I stay conscious, but there’s that one moment when someone calls my name, or a turkey flys by, and scraaaaaaape. I swear he knows!
Jane
January 10, 2010 at 1:39 pm
dressage rider
Alright! I’d love to read your boots Jane. My boots are newish too. I bought them a year ago but by the time I broken them in, etc. I had only been wearing them a few months. We can try to compare too..see what your trying to hide with new boots LOL!
I can relate to the wall scraping. Thunder tends to scrape me against it when we’re on the right lead. I haven’t coordinated my thoughts and aids enough to get him more balanced on the left side…but…my foot is parallel to his body and it’s only the stirrup iron scraping.
January 17, 2010 at 6:13 am
tangodressage
I’ve got a boot marking I want to show you! It perplexed me for a long time but I figured it out! I’ll take photo tomorrow and post here!
January 17, 2010 at 12:58 pm
dressage rider
Looking forward to seeing the photo and what created the marking. I don’t think you can post the photo unless you send it in to me or post a link to it somewhere else. We’ll figure it out though.
January 24, 2010 at 9:00 pm
Jane’s Boots Speak « The Literary Horse
[…] Boot-istry! […]