Scoot Boots - 1.5 year Update
Short Version: These are still awesome and work the best for us. Lasair is able to throw steel, nailed on shoes and utterly destroy other boots. Scoots have held up the best against all his forceful abuse. They hold up to all kinds of riding reliably. Obviously, the more extreme you ride, the greater chance of losing a boot…we've tested this ad nauseam.
For those of you who love to watch Lasair's antics and personality - this is a great video to watch. Remember how clingy he gets after a race? Yup. We just had a race 2/24/18 and now look at him. Also…I'm really allergic to hay, that's why I usually don't let him lick me. He was just too funny and I was distracted trying to do my video so he got some good licks in. The result is me scratching for the rest of the video like I have some skin disease. Please excuse that. It's just a contact allergy from the hay proteins/allergens in his saliva.
Lasair has been able to throw these boots off at a standstill when forceful pounding at a canter for 25 miles doesn't budge them (See 20MT Ride Video). Deep mud have been able to pull them off (1 out of 4 came off in deep mud) - when I got off to retrieve it, I almost lost my laced on Ariat Terrain H20 boots to the mud as well. The boot was stuck about 2 feet down in the mud and I almost fell on my butt trying to pull it out. Lesser mud than this haven't been able to pull off the boots. We've galloped over 34 mph and had them stay on, just to lose them all in a turbo boost at 20 mph. We've cantered over huge rocks in a shallow water stream bed, the boots getting bashed from all angles left and right. They stay on at slower speeds, but at higher speeds (above 34mph), I could see them taking too many hits, too often in rapid succession and them coming off. So what I’m saying is - for normal, aka "Sane" riding - these boots should work perfectly for most riders. They should also last you for quite a long time. We've tested them to the max and while, yes, we have been able to exceed their capabilities…it also proves to me just how much they can take. Surprisingly, through ALL the abuse we've put them through, we've never actually broken the body of the boot. We've torn front straps, torn pastern straps, broke off screw heads, and wore through the sole at the breakover, but all those parts were replaceable and boots were still usable.
I would love to see more improvements (if possible) to these boots. But as it stands, these have outperformed any other boots (and steel shoes) we've abused…and we really know how to put them to the test.
Update:
I just realized that I may have inadvertently poo poo'ed on a bunch of different boots by saying talking about the "Big 3" and how the all encompassing boots are not great "performance boots". Please understand that these statements are from my personal experience and are "shortcut/generalization" statements. I can back it up with data and it's also from what I've seen from others in the Endurance world. BUT. First and foremost is whatever works for your horse. So you can totally ignore those statements if those type boots work for you. You can also ignore those statements if you do easy type riding. I never want to discourage people from trying out all options to find the best fit for their horse.