Sun Shirt Review - Horze Blaire

There are many cool things about the horse blogging community, one of which is learning about trends in attire for both the horse and rider. I know I am super slow to the sunshirt party, having read several helpful reviews of EIS and Kastel shirts, but in my defense, sunshirts are still only starting to gain traction here in the great white north.

Despite it being Canada, we do get hot summers (you wouldn't believe how many people think it's a frozen wasteland year-round - my co-worker's cousins from India packed the heaviest parkas they could find for a trip to Alberta in July). Also, our higher latitude means the days are longer so even an evening ride doesn't prevent the risk of sunburn.

I wanted to buy a sunshirt, but they are expensive enough whereby I wanted to be able to try one on to evaluate the fit before buying, so ordering from the interwebs was out. My first opportunity to look at sunshirts in person came when I visited the Equestrian Factory Outlet trailer at one of the Gold shows I scribed at.

I first saw a rack of EIS shirts and tried on a couple sizes. I really wanted to like them, but I didn't. The fabric was stretchy, but it was not what I would call flattering. Also, the arms were too snug for my liking, and too long. The salesperson could see I was waffling, and showed me the Horze Blair shirts that they also had.

Technically, the name of the shirt is "Horze Blair Women's Long-Sleeved Technical Show Shirt". However, it's basically a sunshirt. It has UV protection, moisture wicking, and mesh panels on the bottom of the arms.

White Horze Blair shirt

It's a sunshirt, but it's also more than a sunshirt. It has a stiffer buttoned collar and cuffs, which is white with blue stripes. You can button it to the top and use it as a show shirt, or turn the collar down and have an appropriate work shirt. The mesh is the exact same colour as the rest of the shirt so it doesn't look too "sporty".

The second I put one on, I loved it. The fit was perfect. I loved how the arms were a little looser, it made it much more comfortable.

White one from the back
note: I chose a looser size for comfort, you could get rid of the creases if you sized down

The only colour they had in the trailer was white. I don't generally like to wear white, and especially not for grooming and schooling horses, but I did need a new show shirt so I bought one. Then I found out that they also had them in navy at their other location so I ordered one of those too. I've since discovered that they can be bought in baby blue as well.

Navy Horze Blair shirt

I've had the shirts for close to two months now. I've worn them numerous times, for riding, for showing, for camping, and also to work. I still love them.

Fit well under my show coat

They wash well, and have held up excellently. They do keep the sun off, and stay reasonably cool even in temperatures in the mid 30s (C).

If I had to give a complaint, I'd say that I wish the cuffs were made of technical fabric instead of cotton. The cuffs take substantially longer to dry than the rest of the shirt if you are out in the rain, or bathe your horse, or are shoulder deep in a river looking for your cell phone (what, you don't do that regularly?). The white cuffs also can start to look dirty pretty fast, but that's more when you use them for every-day use like me, the cuffs are good as a show shirt. I have gotten out all the stains in the wash though. My only other complaint is that they don't come in many fun colours.

I had my arms in this shirt submerged in this muddy river,
after washing the cuffs are still nice and white

Overall, if you are looking for a new sun shirt or show shirt, I highly recommend the Horze Blairs. The price point is also cheaper than Kastel or EIS at $80 cad which is another bonus.

Note: These views are entirely my own, nobody asked me to review this shirt and I got no financial benefit from doing so.