Hufglocken Dressage Boot Review

Sorry for all the clutter on my desk but aren't they cute!
Also gotta love my grandma's wallpaper ;)

I picked my package from Hufglocken up on Thursday from the post office on my way to H's lesson which you can read about in my previous post. From date of order it took 8 days for them to attempt deliver but since they required a signature and I was at work I didn't get them until 9 days after I ordered. Really good for free shipping from Australia in my opinion!

I opened them up in the parking lot of the post office but didn't have much of a chance to examine them. I will say that I really dislike stiff boots and have always felt like they would be uncomfortable or even bad for horse's legs. However, I would classify DSB boots as stiff and many, many people use them and love them so I think it's just a personal thing. The softness and flexibility of my POH boots is probably one of my favorite things and I do hope that in the future I can own another set the price on those is just tough to swallow.

First Impressions:

So, back to the Hufglocken boots. When I first opened them up I was concerned both about how stiff they are and about the size of the XS that I ordered for Katai's front legs. The stiffness is due to the foam they use and while I'm sure it will soften up and break down a bit over time it was quite stiff out of the package. I bent and manipulated all of them a bit and fastened them like you would on a horse's leg but I was curious how they would work on Katai's little legs. Regarding the size there's a fairly significant size difference between the XS and the S boots so the S actually looked like they might be slightly large and the XS looked like they'd be way too small.

That small looks pretty small even for my pony

Fairly large size difference

I was actually quite convinced that the XS wouldn't work and was disappointed that I wouldn't be able to try them out until the next evening. However, my other impressions of them were great! The fleece does a great job of giving the impression of fleece and it's nice and soft. The stitching and construction is at least close to the POH boots and I really love how thick and strong the elastic is with very sticky velcro. Plus, the boots are very accurate to the pictures they had on the website with colors matching (the blue is a little bluer which I'm really happy about) and the textures and patterns match as well.

Compared to the POH Boots:

Sorry for another not so great picture
and yeah, those POH boots really need to be cleaned.

The size was a bit different but not as bad as I was concerned about. However the velcro/elastic length is very different which we'll get back to later. Also, the real sheepskin in the POH boots is so plushy and wonderful, however, I'm not sure if I would pay for just that. Katai has good, sturdy, hairy, pony legs so I doubt she could tell the difference. On a thin skinned horse it might be a different story.

Not as much size difference as I'd feared

On the Pony (or But Would They Fit?):

I held my breath when I put them on and I honestly didn't think they'd fit at first. With a bit more manipulating/softening of the foam I got them to the point where with a small amount of pressure I was able to just close the velcro. That was the worst part of it. The POH boots have at least another half inch of velcro so they're more forgiving plus the elastic is a bit softer so even if they were exactly the same size they'd closer easier than these. However, they did work and stay on for my ride and I think they're really cute. I'm also certain that they'll soften and stretch with time.

Cute and the length is good but you can see
that they don't meet up completely

So cute!! You can see that the back boots wouldn't fit
if they were any bigger and they certainly don't fit her front legs

Final Thoughts:

I really like these boots and will probably order more boots from them in the future. I know that the fit will only get better as they soften up and the elastic stretches out a bit. Also, during the summer when she sheds out a bunch of her leg fuzzies they'll fit better as well. With that being said, if money weren't an issue I'd probably buy another set of the POH boots instead. The only thing that's better with these is the extra patterns or colors that they have and of course the price (plus that little logo is adorable). Otherwise the sheepskin, softness, and fit of the POH boots is just tough to beat.

Also, completely unrelated to this post but I made some of my most beautiful vegan sushi to date!