You don't understand how redundant it would be to re-animate everything. Chances are you would break something and there would be console errors about missing animations. And textured models look like crap when people don't have download textures enabled. Making it an item is much simpler. When your working with computer software, the simplest solution is always the best, and make the boots an item is a million times simpler.
And like I've said a few times before in this topic, making it an item gives players much more ability for customization.