Photosensitivity from ragwort poisoning

Box_Of_Frogs

Box_Of_Frogs

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Anyone got any ideas? I have a rescued mare with significant liver damage from ragwort poisoning with a previous owner. Last summer she had to be stabled by day, out at night and, with the guidance of the wonderful Prof Knottenbelt, I have pulled her back from the brink. Her dreadfully burnt face is completely recovered and my local vets think she might be able to live an almost normal gypsy cob life this summer, ie out 24/7. I expect to stable her say July - August for a couple of hours across the hottest part of the day but would like to help her live out for the rest of the time. Does anyone know of a full face/neck hood, preferably white to reflect the sunlight, that also covers the eyes and the muzzle right down to the end of the nose? I'm interested in the Snuggy Hoods one but it's not available in white and I'd have to sew a muzzle strip on. The Aerborn face mask is almost the right thing but, again, the nose/muzzle protection bit doesn't go right round the muzzle and she would probably burn terribly on any unprotected bit of skin. A lady at my Horse Insurers made one herself for her horse but I'm looking for other options coz I just KNOW if I spent weeks making one she'd rip it in 5 mins!
 
I think people in Australia and similar places usually use white mesh rugs to protect their horses from the sun- could you try ordering one from there?
 
Erm, I thought it was st.johnswort that caused photo sensitivity?
one of mine gets it and I find tea tree cream as effective as anything for that and sunburn (the wendals one is good but v expensive, local health store will have same product for about £5). White mesh rug would probably prevent alot of UV damage too
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My horse has a photosensitivity on his white legs which can get very scabby if I don't manage it properly. I have found that E45 Factor 50 works really well. It's very thick and stays on for a few days and works much better than the various other sunscreens I have tried. Hope this is of some help.
 
Thanx guys - some brilliant ideas here! Didn't know Snuggy did a made to measure so am talking to them. Also, the Aussie connection could well be worth exploring. She already has the highest level sunblock slapped over every bit of skin I can see but ragwort (and St Johns Wort - same family, same problems) poisoning is very different from straight sunburn. Angel has over 70% destroyed liver and livers damaged by the alkaloids in ragwort lose the ability to regenerate. At 76% damage, Prof Knottenbelt will tell you that ALL horses will die. So we walk a very fine line. Ragwort poisoning means that the liver cannot process the green chlorophyl in plants so it circulates in the blood and actually attracts sunlight (coz thats how plants live). The sun damage is truly terrible and looks more like radiation burns. Even a nose net will not protect her as she needs something that goes right around her nose - nose nets just provide a top-side shade. Added to all this of course is that Angel doesn't think an awful lot of face masks and can scrape headcollar-based masks off in half an hour! That's what's so nice about the Snuggy option - they are close fitting and I bet she wouldn't get one of those off in a hurry, especially if it fit down her neck too and did up round her girth line. I feel a massive hole in my bank balance coming on..........................
 
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