Now that the nights really are drawing in up in the Northern Hemisphere, we thought it was the perfect time to restart our blog. Typically, shorter days correspond to wetter weather too which can result in softer hooves and increased sensitivity. Hoof boots can become very much a necessity!
Many of us find ourselves hacking on roads these days, probably more so in winter months as off road tracks become impossible to ride over safely. It is our responsibility to make sure that both horse and rider are as visible as possible to other road users, so we raided the stockroom to see how each hoof boot brand has attempted to improve the visibility of their boots.
We just have to start off with the new GLOW Renegade Vipers. They actually glow in the dark!! If you find yourself needing to put in a lot of miles in winter, which risks you starting or ending your ride in the dark, these could be a perfect addition to your regime. They fit the same as standard Vipers, so feel free to use our fitting shells to check if these will be a suitable option for your horse.
Sticking with Renegades, both the Vipers and Classics are also available in different colours, if glow in the dark boots are a bit much for your tastes. Cosmic Orange would be our ‘hi vis’ suggestion for Vipers, with Sport Orange and Yellow Gold the brightest options available for Classics.
If Flex Boots fit your horse the best, you’ll probably already be aware of the huge range of colour combinations available. This season, Flex released new back strap colours which focused on increasing boot visibility. You can now have Hi Vis Orange or Yellow back straps, perfect for hacking out on roads or boggy ground, just in case a boot is lost to the mud depths! Lets not forget their Reflective Gaiters either, a must have for hacking on roads nowadays.
Scoot Boots have to be one of the most popular hoof boot brands on the market currently. They really have taken the barefoot world by storm! The boots themselves are a classy black but that doesn’t help in our mission to be more visible. Luckily, Scoot Boot quickly caught on to the equestrian ‘matchy-matchy’ craze and released coloured front straps and pastern straps. Not only are they perfect for satisfying our need to colour code our horses, they are also great for increasing visibility. We find the Marigold colour the brightest option but equally, Marine, Blossom and Hibiscus should be seen as brighter options too.
*There are some brighter colours available as pastern straps but they have been discontinued, so we don’t have them available in all sizes any more. Come on Scoot Boot, new colours please!
It doesn’t have to be all about bright colours. If your horse needs the added protection of the Equine Fusions or Cavallos, both brands have made simple tweaks that improve the overall visibility of their boots.
With Cavallo, the Trek model is available in a bright(ish) green. You can also replace the front velcro strap with a super hi vis version. The strap has an added Scotchlite reflective layer, meaning they glow super bright when caught in headlights, for example. The Sport model also has a reflective piped edge to the velcro closure, increasing the overall visibility of a solid black boot.
Equine Fusion have taken a similar route with all their boot models, using reflective stitching/piping to ensure their boots offer some kind of hi vis property. The new ‘Ultra’ model also has bright red straps, replacing the previously black straps found on the ‘All Terrain Ultra’.
That just leaves us with the slightly less well-known brands. They may not be as popular in the UK but they are all still fantastic hoof boots so we’re not leaving any of them out of this blog!
Swiss Galopper have created a ‘Lemon’ version of their boot, which is a fantastic bright yellow. They are special order only BUT we’ll happily order in a pair if you’d like to brighten up your rides over winter.
Easyboot Gloves have a power strap attachment, designed to help snug up the fit of the boots but there are some bright colours available that could act as a hi vis boost for the all black boots. Yellow, Orange, Pink, Silver and White will really stand out, plus they’re super easy to wipe clean and stay bright.
Evo Boots are starting to increase in popularity, due to how adjustable they are (if you’re brave enough!) and they also have bright coloured accessories to help you stand out. The second skin can be switched to Pink or Yellow and a safety strap can be added to the front of the boots too. We think the Yellow and Blue would stand out best in lower light conditions.
Explorer Magic hoof boots are also becoming more widespread in the UK. Unfortunately, only the upper guard can be changed to a brighter colour, which sits over the heel bulbs so not the best location but anything is better than straight black. We feel the Yellow, Orange, Pink and White upper guards are the most easily spotted.
Last but by no means least, we have Floating Boots. Not only are the boots themselves not black, they have designed the frontal piece to be interchangeable. This helps improve visibility from the front of the horse which we feel is a little more useful. We’d suggest trying the frontal piece in Yellow or Pink for the brightest boots but all the colours stand out well really.
So, there you have it. Hoof Boots don’t just have to be black! Even if matchy-matchy isn’t your thing, we all need to do our best to keep ourselves safe when riding out. Hi vis should be worn all year round but we know we only tend to buy it when it’s turning dark by 4pm!
From the Hoof Bootique team, stay safe this winter.