With holiday shopping season officially underway, why not splurge on a new pair of matching sneakers for you and your horse?
It is finally happening – horses can now wear designer shoes! Although hoof boots have been around for a while, the new designer kicks on the market are designed by hand and custom made for each horse to fit any breed and discipline.
The mastermind behind this new concept is Marcus Floyd, a Lexington (Kentucky) based shoe designer and pioneer in this new genre of footwear. Floyd studied at the Shoe Surgeon’s SRGM Academy, where he learned the art of shoe deconstruction and reconstruction. Floyd founded the company ‘Horse Kicks’ to create horse boots which are crafted from popular models such as Air Jordans, Yeezy, and New Balance 650, deconstructing and reconstructing custom footwear and using equine protective hoof boots as the base. The concept aims at using as much of the “real” original shoe as possible, with the final product slipping on the horse hoof like a slipper. While the reconstructed horseshoes are crafted from designer sneakers, the artist states on his website that his work is not affiliated with these brands, but rather his art works to repurpose their design.
These high-end horse sneakers were born from a collaboration between Floyd and VisitLex, the Kentucky City of Lexington tourism board. Wanting to promote and bring awareness to Kentucky as a world-famous equine state, VisitLex’s message on Twitter highlights the following: “Only in the Horse Capital of the World can you find Horse Kicks, designer sneakers for the world’s greatest equine athletes by artist & Lexington native @InfiniteKustomz.“
The debut Fall 2022 collection took place at the Sneaker Ball Lex Charity earlier this month, where a pop-up shop was open for visitors to see the shoes in person. An online auction was held on November 12th and a portion of the sales benefits were donated to the Sneaker Ball Lex and its charities.
As the first retailer specializing in luxury horseshoes wear, the new trend became viral on social media. Reposted by hundreds of sports and equine accounts worldwide, Horse Kicks did not fail at grabbing the attention of the equestrian online community. Floyd also went on a number of interviews and several newspapers have featured his work, including CNN, USA today, and the New York Post. Indeed, while hoof protection devices have been around for centuries, the horseshoe wear industry may just be on the brink of a fashion revolution!
Floyd is now taking individual custom orders- and it looks like there may already be a long waitlist. And if you are interested in getting your own Horse Kicks, you can expect a starting price of $1200 per hoof!
To learn more about Horse Kicks and place your order of custom horseshoes, visit: https://horsekickslex.com/.
To follow Marcus Floyd on Instagram, follow @infinitekustomz.
Photo Credit: Horse Kicks www.horsekickslex.com.