Keeping white woof boots clean? Or should I just get black?

[RegentLion]

My parents are REALLY EXCITED about my new horse. :) They were sad when I stopped eventing and always asked when I was going to "really ride" again. :sadsmile: And then were VERY Excited when I decided I really missed it and was going to get back into it! :D

Part of the reason they're SOOOO excited about the new guy is that they were "part of it" from the get go-- he came from the town they currently live in, so they looked at him before I did, came with me when I tried him, and my mom was present for the PPE. The whole thing was kind of cool, I was able to reconnect with my parents.

They've asked me what I want for Xmas, and all I can think of is Woof boots. I can email new horse's previous owner for info (size, type) that she used on him. BUT, I'd prefer WHITE boots... are they impossible to keep clean? I've never owned Woof boots before and I have no idea if they'd clean up well enough to use for every day (in all conditions including mud) AND for shows.

New Horse is a chestnut and I really like white on a chestnut. Aesthetic reasons, clearly, not functional ones!
Thoughts?

[Jaegermonster]

Why don't you get a set of black and a set of white, and save the white for show?

that's what I did when I had my chestnut, and when the white ones got dirty I used oxyclean on them and put them in the washer.

[mg]

I (stupidly) bought white ones since I have a dark bay. It's completely possible to get them very clean again, but I'd prefer to just be able to brush the boots off and have them good to go rather than go through the washing and scrubbing cycle all the time.

I'd second getting two pairs if it's a possibility. Unless you really like cleaning boots weekly...

[faluut42]

i never have a problem with them. they arent gona be blinding white but even in my area where the soil has a lot of iron in it they are pretty easy to keep clean.

[mybelle]

:lol: Wow! Your parents sound wonderful! I wish I had that kind of support

I have a mostly white paint, so I've opted against white so that it does not clash if I haven't gotten him white enough. I did lease a horse that had white boots and we did not have too hard of a time keeping them white without a intense cleaning regimen. White certainly looks snazzy!

[RegentLion]

:lol: Wow! Your parents sound wonderful! I wish I had that kind of support

I have a mostly white paint, so I've opted against white so that it does not clash if I haven't gotten him white enough. I did lease a horse that had white boots and we did not have too hard of a time keeping them white without a intense cleaning regimen. White certainly looks snazzy!

I don't think they are... but I can ask! ;)

They were great parents, involved 100% in all aspects of my life, not just horses. They worked hard to "understand" horses rather than just write the check. As it were, when they went to see Jackson ("to see if he was worth it for me to come look at" :lol:) my dad was impressed with his straightness and transitions. The highest compliment my dad knows how to give a horse is "WOW! HE goes STRAIGHT!"

Can you tell what I struggled with in my formative years? :lol:

[OverandOnward]

I have the old black ones for home, new white ones for show. (Also for a chestnut!) For me there is no hope of keeping white ones white if they are in daily use.

I wash my whites in the machines after every use (which is only showing or clinics where my horse wants to look especially nice. :wink ) Then soak them in bleach solution. Then wash again, mild soap, to be sure the bleach is off before they are strapped to sweaty legs.

I do scrub the heaviest stains and scratches, carefully.

The biggest stain issue has been poopy matter from excited horse on the back ones. The stain is hard to completely remove or to turn from green to white. But the worst has been minimized to faint. If he wears them in the trailer for a schooling day I put shipping boots over the backs to protect from poopiness.

So far the Woof white leather is very tough and has stood up to all this treatment.

My whites look white and fine at a distance. Up close they do not look brand new, nor should they, how embarrassing. :wink A few brownish scratches, minimal, are ok with me and my horse. I would like to do a better job with the green, although it is faint.

I have only one horse, and am happy to do the extra work on the whites so he can enjoy a little more attention from people who notice chestnuts with chrome. He loves attention from humans. :)

[eventingismylife]

I would just go with the black, I think they look very nice on Chestnuts. :)
You then wont have to worry about stains and such as you would with the white boots. I wouldnt buy to pairs of brushing boots- one to school in and one to show. I think it would be wiser to just get the black woofs and a set of open front jumping boots that look really nice. Hope I helped, and congrats on the new horse!

[Threedaydream]

I also have a chestnut that I use white boots on! They are a little tough to keep clean, but not horrible... other people gave good suggestions for cleaning.
But I was just going to second that I save them for shows as much as I can, and just use polos for daily stuff. One thing you can also consider is buying black ones so you can use them daily and then for shows wrapping the entire boot in white vetrap. From a distance this looks just like white boots, and they are BRIGHT white every time, never get dingy because you just use new vetrap.

[KBG Eventer]

I don't think they are... but I can ask! ;)

They were great parents, involved 100% in all aspects of my life, not just horses. They worked hard to "understand" horses rather than just write the check. As it were, when they went to see Jackson ("to see if he was worth it for me to come look at" :lol:) my dad was impressed with his straightness and transitions. The highest compliment my dad knows how to give a horse is "WOW! HE goes STRAIGHT!"

Can you tell what I struggled with in my formative years? :lol:

Your parents sound like mine! My mom rode a few times when she was a kid, and my dad has probably ridden less than 5 times. They both know quite a bit about horses though. It's really nice :).

What about getting black boots and wrapping them with white vet wrap? I've seen people do that, and IMO it looks very nice. I would do that or get a black set for home and a white set for shows.

[Go Fish]

Put them in the dishwasher. They come out just sparkling!

[sch1star]

I just bought white Woof fetlock boots for a clinic, put them on (relatively) clean legs one time, and have not been able to get them clean either inside or out. I tried warm water and scrubbing in the barn with castille soap, and then I put them in a mesh bag in the washing machine with Pepede. That didn't work so I resorted to scraping with my fingernails. They are still dirty inside and out!

I will try the dishwasher when the DH isn't looking...I'm about at the end of my lead rope!

[OverandOnward]

Bleach ... it does help. :)

As mentioned, I do try to be sure it is out of the boots before they are used again.

Once the cleaning routine is established I haven't found it bothersome, since I let machines do most of it.

[Dr. Doolittle]

GET THE WHITE WOOF BOOTS!

Life is short, and this is why chemists created bleach. And OxyClean.

Spoken by an owner of white Woof boots, who (like other posters) uses them only for competitions, x-country schoolings, and clinics. I too have a chromey chestnut (coming back from an injury, so don't know whether or not she will make it back to Prelim :(), but I always liked the look of the white Woofers on her. Plus, I don't have flashy colors (I'm old and conservative), so this is my one attempt to "bling it out" a little.

They will never be as clean as when you take them out of the box, of course, but you can get them pretty darn clean with a bleach soak and Oxyclean and Tide detergent--and as my wise husband always tells me: really, who can tell from a distance? ;)

[pday09]

I don't have Woof, but I have the Nunn Finer boots that I LOVE in white. It's pretty easy to keep the neoprene/plastic whatever clean, but I try to save them for shows/special occasions. I usually just rinse them off the best I can after muddy sj/xc, then when I take them home I machine wash them (do up all the velcro so it doesn't stick and rip the neoprene) with a little bleach. Hope that helps!

[CarpeDiem]

Not a bad idea to get a second pair, but you can keep the white ones clean.

I have had a white pair for three full years of eventing, hunting and schooling. I wash them about once a week and they still look great (the materials are finally starting to fray around the edges.)

I pre-treat stains with detergent, soak in very warm water and bleach for 30 minutes, and wash as normal with additional detergent. I also add a product called Mrs. Stewart's Blueing to the wash cycle and then do an additional rinse cycle with more blueing. This is what makes them "blinding" white. Bleach otherwise has a yellowing effect which will make them look dingy, especially the straps.

I used to buy the blueing at a grocery store, but it looks like online is the way to go now.