Last Friday, I reviewed the Horze Women's Trista UV Sun Functional Shirt. I like that shirt a lot, especially for the price. At $29.95, it's a good, all around summer staple, and I want at least one more.

Unfortunately for me, I also got a Kastel Denmark Charlotte Signature UV Short Sleeve Top in turquoise. I tried out the Horze shirt first because I didn't want to like the more expensive Kastel. I'll admit it, I am cheap and not influenced by name brands. If I can get the same quality in a lesser known brand, I am all over it.

As soon as I slipped it on though, I knew I was in trouble. Kastel just has the most amazing fabrics, and this one seems even more luxurious than my other three. The short sleeved Kastel boasts all of the same features that I admired in the Horze Trista: it's lightweight, dries quickly, has ventilated underarms, and provides up to 30 UV protection.

I don't know how, but the Kastel does it all better. It's lighter, never felt damp, and it wore effortlessly. Not that the Horze bunched up or twisted either, but the Kastel felt ... invisible. Once I got to the barn, I completely forgot about it. It actually felt like I was in the thinnest tank top. I could not feel the fabric on my skin; it was virtually weightless.

The only negative to this shirt is the price, but it is worth it. I will definitely be asking for more of these as birthday and Christmas gifts, but at $55.00, I don't think I'll be tossing them into my cart for the free shipping.

As I dressed for the barn that day, I had to stop and laugh as I realized I was decked out in Riding Warehouse gear from top to bottom! 

• Kastel Short Sleeve Top - $55.
• C4 Belt/Buckle - $29.90
• Ovation Euroweave Breeches - $79.88 (on sale)
• TuffRider Baroque Tall Boots - $161.95
• Dublin Dressage Whip - $12.95

I am in need of a new pair of Roeckl gloves, but Riding Warehouse doesn't have them in navy (yet). I bet a quick phone call or email would solve that problem. I have the same issue with my Ovation Glitz helmet; I need/want a new one in navy, too. 

I think Riding Warehouse gets more of my paycheck than I realized! 

I do a lot of my writing over the weekend, so sometimes life happens after I've written a post. Of course, that doesn't change the good things that have already happened, but it makes a published post feel a bit like a lie.

I feel like I keep writing the same thing over and over: Izzy is amazing, Izzy is awesome, Izzy is the best horse ever.

I am not sure when it started, but some time last year, things started to go south. Izzy got heavier and heavier in the bridle until he was simply running away with me. He ignored all of my aids until bolting, spooking, and running around like a giraffe were his normal. 

Over the summer, I had the saddle fitter check out my saddle, the chiropractor did some body work, and I had Izzy's hocks injected. None of it made a difference. By the fall, I was genuinely considering selling him. Nothing I was doing was helping him to relax or feel comfortable in his work.

Then he refused to take the bit for bridling. My trainer suggested we change bits, so I switched him to the Myler Correction bit and things started to improve almost immediately. After that we moved him into the double bridle which worked like magic, until it didn't. He had a major meltdown about that, so I went back to the correction bit.

Throughout the late fall into winter, the jackassery began to fade, and we actually started to make some real progress. At the beginning of this year, I moved him into a Myler ported bit which is almost dressage legal. Since then, Izzy has done nothing but be fantastic.

Now, rather than simply get control of a freight train, we are schooling movements from Training through Second Level. We have a decent stretchy trot, we can maintain the canter lead on a single loop, and he can even do a pretty nice little turn on the haunches! 

​I have a dressage legal bit ready to go, but since I don't have any shows lined up just yet, I am going to wait a bit longer before we transition to it. While he is super fabulous, he still has an occasional brain fart. The ported bit gives me the control I need, so that his shenanigans don't get out of hand. 

I've always been creative with my bit selection, but after working with my big brown horse, I am an even firmer believer in adding a bit check when trying to figure out why a horse won't work for you.

I hate flies. Not that anyone likes them, but they drive me batty, and the truth is, our flies are nothing compared to yours (probably). I hear horror stories about the lethalness and cunningness of the flies around the country. Ours are just regular black flies that lazily hover around the manure pile and dive buzz our ears. My least favorite trick is how they like to land on my forearms while I ride because no amount of blowing will dislodge them. I hate the little boogers.

Speedy is pretty immune to them, maybe it's his white coat?, but not poor Izzy. The flies love him as much as they do me. It pains me to watch him do the fly shuffle - lift the right leg and shake, lift the left leg and shake, kick your belly with a back leg, repeat all day long. Fortunately, he's not a stomper, just a lazy lifter. I also hate to see the party going on in his eyeball goop. The flies practically swim in the corners of his eyes.   

I don't know how fly season always sneaks up on me, you'd think I know it was coming, but it does, and it did. I have some old fly masks that are still in excellent condition, but they're way too small for Izzy. I am not sure why I have two Speedy-sized masks in storage, but he got one of them this weekend. 

Riding Warehouse is running a fly control promotion right now that prooved very timely for me. I really want to get Izzy a fly sheet, but I know he'll just destroy it. Instead, he got a new fly mask and a fresh bottle of Pyranha. Riding Warehouse tossed a $10 gift card into my cart without me even needing to enter a promo number. Nice, right?!

For me, I tossed in a pair of Noble Outfitters Over the Calf Peddies, my favorite socks. I hate paying shipping if I don't have to, so socks are always my go-to for hitting the order minimum.

The Riding Warehouse's Fool the Flies promotion is good through May 11th. If you haven't stocked up on your summer fly defense, this might be a good time to start. Who doesn't love a gift card?

Well, not YOU, the reader you, but you as in Speedy G. After my most recent lesson with Chemaine Hurtado, owner and trainer at Symphony Dressage Stables, Speedy now has a permanent (or at least for the immediate future) go button installed. This has opened a new can of worms.

When I put my leg on now, he practically leaps forward. It's awesome. As I collect his walk in preparation for a transition, I can feel him bunch himself up ready for the cue. When he takes that first step forward, it now comes from behind (rather than dragging himself forward) with a rounded back. 

It feels amazing, but now I look like a complete moron as I bounce around trying to balance myself and keep that newly found energy from exploding every which way. During the lesson, Chemaine told me that I would get the rhythm, but it's been challenging.

I had just gotten comfortable with a longer stirrup. Now, I am raising them, lowering them, and thinking about chucking stirrups altogether. On a more positive note, the new gel handled whip is working out amazingly well. Who knew that a tip that actually extended out instead of flopping around could be so much more effective?

While I feel like a brand new rider trying to get her sea legs, Speedy's not doing a lot to help me out. I love his new found energy, but dude, soften just a bit, please! He's pushing hard from behind, but he's also against my hand rather than simply lifting his withers.

We've been schooling the medium to collected canter, but it hasn't been easy. I wouldn't have had the courage to stick to it had Chemaine not given me "permission" to ride with such a heavy feel. From the medium canter, I am holding him firmly with added leg/whip until he'll soften. As soon as I get a moment of softness (self carriage?) in the collected canter, I send him forward again.

As we were pounding our way down the long side, I asked him if he was ever going to get it. We took a walk break, and then went at it again. And wouldn't you know it, the dude finally started transitioning from a medium canter to a collected canter without being against my hand.

Maybe Second Level on my slightly downhill, slightly long in the back, non-warmblood Arab is a possibility. If anything, I can stick to it like nobody else!

Just about the time I think I have everything possible there is to own, I prove myself wrong. I recently came across a few things from the Riding Warehouse that I simply had to have.

Did you happen to notice the shirt I was wearing during my recent lesson? If not, you can see it in the photo above. Nice, huh?! It's the Horze Women's Trista UV Sun Functional Top/Shirt. I bought it in navy, but It comes in four other colors: blue, pink, white, and yellow.

For a good Second Level test, Speedy and I need to get a better medium and collected canter which will lead to a cleaner canter to walk transition in the simple change. As I mentioned on Tuesday, we're struggling with this because Speedy is so behind my leg.

When I met with Chemaine on Friday, I described it like this: Speedy is either stalling out behind, or he's running off on his forehand with his nose in the air - sometimes both at the same time!

We started the lesson by getting him more responsive to my leg. Once Speedy was thoroughly in front of my leg, we had to work on getting him to accept the contact while he pushes from behind. The transition from medium canter to collected canter is where we have the most trouble because he doesn't want to sit. 

The exercise was supposed to go like this: medium canter from one letter to the next while counting strides. In between the next two letters, I was to get more strides as he collected, and then between the next two letters, fewer strides as he lengthened. Once in a medium canter however, I couldn't get the smaller strides in a collected canter because Speedy plowed through my hands.

Instead of counting, Chemaine modified the exercise to just getting him to come back slightly while I insisted on keeping his head out of the sky as I drove him forward into the contact with my seat and legs. Like this:

In the video, you can see where he decided to ignore my leg because he stopped pushing forward. Like before, he was choosing to listen to my hand or my leg, but not both. I had to use the whip, he kicked out, so I had to use the whip again.

When I ask for the collected canter, Speedy doesn't want to keep pushing from the hind end - he wants to slam on the brakes which means I have to use a TON of leg to keep him going forward. I can't squeeze hard enough, and he now ignores my spurs, so it's more whip work for him. Do you see how this is all related to being behind my leg?

While it's tough to have a horse a bit on the lazy side, Chemaine pointed out that's why Speedy is so happy to tote around kids, non-riders, or strangers. It might be difficult at times to get his butt moving, but he can do it, and with a bit more work, it'll get easier for him.

In the meantime, I still have my good natured pony who is happy to pack me around bareback in a halter as long as I don't ask him to do it very quickly! 

Or, at least do a turn on the haunches. The turn on the haunches, according to the US Equestrian rule book, is "For younger horses that are still not able to show collected walk, the ‘turn on the haunches’ is an exercise to prepare the horse for collection. The ‘turn on the haunches’ is executed out of medium walk prepared by half-halts to shorten the steps a little and to improve the ability to bend the joints of the hindquarters. The ‘turn on the haunches’ can be executed on a larger diameter (approximately one meter) than the pirouette in walk, but the demands of the training scale concerning rhythm, contact, activity and straightness are the same." 

Speedy and I only just started schooling these this year. To the left, he has no problem, especially since he wants to carry his haunches left anyway. To the right (as pictured) has been more of a challenge.

Most of our problem comes from a lack of forward. Rather than take those small, supporting steps with his hind leg, he wants to step backwards and sort of just pivot. Here's our first attempt at the "hard way" which was actually pretty decent.

I know this went as well as it did because he was already well in front of my leg. As we kept finessing it, it got harder and harder until Chemaine finally had me do them on the rail. Once we did it on the rail, I had a much better feel for how to "finish" the turn.

The feel I need for Speedy is one of walking forward with the inside hind into the outside rein. When I rode this movement by myself on Sunday, we got stuck to the right like usual. I tried tapping his outside shoulder with the whip, but it didn't help. All of it sudden it dawned on me that he had lost the forward. I asked for a medium walk. Once he was forward again, I half halted and then encouraged him to move his shoulders by tapping with the whip. Viola! Problem solved - for today, anyway.

​More on the lesson tomorrow.

On Friday, I had a lesson with Chemaine Hurtado, owner and trainer at Symphony Dressage Stables, and oh, man, was it a good one. Surprisingly, I didn't take Izzy. Speedy is the one who has been giving me fits lately, so I showed up with a small but challenging list of Things That Need Work.

Every "issue" I have with Speedy can be traced back to one thing - he's behind my leg all the time. The turn on the haunches to the right - he stalls out. Canter to walk - he can't sit because he doesn't have enough impulsion coming from behind. Medium trot - see above.

As we started working, I told Chemaine that I am tired of having this same exact lesson, but no matter what I do - transitions, spurs, whip, I just can't keep Speedy in front of my leg. She laughed and said that it's a problem with many horses, some of hers included. Fortunately, she had a new lesson to re-address the problem.

We started out with a walk. At each letter, I asked for a halt and then a walk. I was to ask for the walk with the quietest of aids. When he strolled forward, I was to pop him with the whip. With most horses, this probably lights their fire pretty quickly. With Speedy, it just ticks him off and makes him cranky, so instead of walking off quickly, he throws his head up or kicks out.

Chemaine explained that Speedy is chosing to respond to my leg or my hand instead of both. When he won't respond to my leg, I often let go with my hand thinking that he needs room to go forward, so then he pops his head up and we get no real push from behind. So now, I have to insist that he NOT pop his head up. He needs to push from behind and lift through his shoulders. This is how we'll achieve throughness and collection.

Once Speedy was listening to my leg (and hand) at the walk, we moved on to the trot. It took the same reminders, but Chemaine had me be really firm with him. I have no trouble going to the whip, but I try to use it judiciously. Chemaine helped me see that I need to really get my message across. If I tap with the whip and Speedy kicks out, I need to tap him again to let him know that the whip doesn't mean kick out; it means go!

After a few rounds with the whip, Speedy got the message and started to offer the biggest and loftiest trot he's ever given me. You can see it start to develop in the video. 

I've been plunking away for so long on his little out-for-a-Sunday-stroll trot, that I really struggled with my balance while riding his bigger trot. He struggled too! I love this moment though as it might be the first time that he's actually had all four feet off the floor at the trot.

Once I had Speedy behind my leg, we moved on to some real work - the turn on the haunches and the canter work. Look for that tomorrow.

I'd like to wish Speedy G a very happy (belated) birthday. Speedy turned 13 on Saturday! I love that he's turned out to be such a good boy, but hitting his teen years also means that he's no longer on the young horse side of things. While maybe not quite middle-aged yet, he's getting closer to the top of that hill.

So in tribute, here's a photo from each year that I've had him.

Three Years Old

Speedy G has been such a great guy to get to know and hang out with. I look forward to celebrating many more birthdays with him.