The BC-based company Cavallo Hoof Boots got some major celebrity exposure after superstar Beyoncé’s spotless white horse Marshmallow sported them during her Christmas Day NFL halftime show.
Carole Herder, who along with her husband Greg Giles launched the Cavallo brand of Velcro horse boots as an alternative to traditional metal nail-on shoes, didn’t know the last-minute rush order she’d received were for the megastar’s performance until she saw it live, like millions of others.
“We jumped up and down,” she told CTV News. “And had a glass of champagne, as you do.”
The journey to the ‘Beyoncé Bowl’ began when the production company Horses for Production reached out to Herder needing a rush (and sparkly) order for an undisclosed event. It turned out that during rehearsals in Dallas the concrete floors of the stadium were a potential slipping hazard for the horses used in the performance.
Cavallo’s EL Bling Boot.
According to CTV, Horses for Production had turned to Cavallo before when needing sturdy non-slip boots for Jenny the donkey who accompanied Jimmy Kimmel on stage during the 95th Academy Awards. Canadian Royal watchers might also like to know that the late Queen Elizabeth II had her Fell pony outfitted by Cavallo, too.
But the point of the horse boots isn’t all pomp and circumstance and flash; a study from Western Kentucky University evaluated hoof load and compared barefoot, horseshoes and horse boots to understand which treatment ensured the safest hoof. The boots provided protection on multiple surfaces, distributed pressure more evenly and absorbed shock better than the other two treatments. The boots are also useful to protect horses during rehab, turnout, or horses with thrush, bruises and abscesses.
But if all you really want is for your horse to look like a superstar, you can order the Cavallo horse boot in a Bling version for $85 per boot.
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