Photosensitivity or sunburn??

[Birker2020]

I visited Lari with a friend last night on spec as it was such a lovely evening. We found him down the field with the herd and his nose was quite burnt. I suspected it was sunburn and ordered a fly mask last night with a full nose and also bought some factor 50 sun cream today at work. However, after speaking to the YO by text earlier asking her to please apply the sun cream in the mornings she wondered if it might be photosensitivity. Now I'm not sure. He's out in around 50+ acres with 20+ others, they have plenty of shade. There is no ragwort as YO is very good digging it up when first spotted but there are buttercups and other weeds in places.

Two Questions:

Q1. Can we still treat the same way regardless of what it is, i.e. with a full face mask covering nose and sun cream or should I do something different? He has two white legs and neither showed signs of PS last night (I also wondered if it was this) but his white legs did have dried mud on them so guessing that would protect against both sunburn and PS.

This image below is from the internet. Lari looks similar although not quite as bad.

Second image was Lari and I last Thursday evening. We visited again Saturday and he was maskless (keeps losing them) so we would have noticed if he was burnt.

Q2. Does PS happen suddenly with exposure or is it something that develops over time? TIA

 

[Pearlsacarolsinger]

Tbh, I'd be looking for Giant Hogweed on the land, if I saw that o my horse's nose.

 

[webble]

Looks like hogweed burn to me

 

[Birker2020]

Tbh, I'd be looking for Giant Hogweed on the land, if I saw that o my horse's nose.

That's the plant with the white flowers and the furry stem. Ok will have a look.
50 acres plus means I won't be likely to remove it if there's much but I can certainly have a gander. I can't remember ever seeing any but I will have a nose (pardon the pun). Poor Lari, he seems to court problems wherever he is and whatever he does!

 

[Pearlsacarolsinger]

That's the plant with the white flowers and the furry stem. Ok will have a look.
50 acres plus means I won't be likely to remove it if there's much but I can certainly have a gander. I can't remember ever seeing any but I will have a nose.

Very big leaves, usually grows in damp shaded areas near water.

 

[Shoei]

I've had this recently, one of mine is a sensitive soul and does react to lots. It turns out it was normal hogweed (we think) some horses can have a reaction to this. It was only short and we mistook it for cow parsley and he clearly likes the taste

Just to add we aren't near water, on top of a hill and it was scattered through the field.

 

[lamlyn2012]

Common hogweed can act in the same way as Giant Hogweed.

 

[Birker2020]

Update: visited Lari at retirement in Thursday evening and put some suncream on his nose.

His mask hadn't arrived from Ebay but we found 7 or 8 in the fields as we walked around (including an old one he lost) so put one of the long nosed masks on him.

We found some hogweed (sure its hogweed, has the upside down unbrella stems) down by the river, but it was in part of the farm that has been closed off to the horses to allow rotation of the fields. Couldn't see anymore anywhere.

Ironically the dog has been scratching like crazy but we think that's harvest mites, she has a vet appointment we've brought foward to this afternoon, her eye was sore so we put a cone on her yesterday to stop her scratching.

 

[Shoei]

He may have eaten them all, apparently my horse thinks its crack!!! He's now covered in filtabak