Sunburnt muzzles

Box_Of_Frogs

Box_Of_Frogs

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There must be thousands and thousands of horses whose noses/muzzles burn in the summer. Why oh why doesn't SOMEONE make a face or muzzle cover that actually covers the muzzle. I mean, they could make a fortune!!! The nearest I can get is a Snuggy Hood but that's for flies really. The problem with every single nose net/cover I've seen (and again, they're really for flies) is that they only cover the top of a horse's nose/muzzle. My rescue girl has ragwort poisoning and a totally pink muzzle and she needs wrap around protection. I'm sitting here with a field safe head collar and one of OH's old white shirts (shhhhhh.....) and a needle and cotton to try to make my own as ALREADY my poor poisoned girl is getting a burnt nose. Anyone know of anything out there???? H E L P!!!!!!!!!!!!!
 
i cant help you with the creation of a super sun mask
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sorry
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but just thought i would say that the only thing i have found to work with sunburn is sudacrem, slap it on, and seems to work a treat
might be worth a try
i hope you find a solution for your girly, she sounds like she deserves it
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I smother mine with sunscreen - has worked so far (even though he tries to wipe it off on my on the way to the field or on the grass). He also does his giraffe impression when I put it on but I really slap it on so hopefully he doesnt rub all of it off.
 
I use factor 50 sunblock cream - has always worked a treat even though he hates me putting it on, also use it on pink heels which are easy to forget about but can get just as sunburnt
 
Not only has mine got sunburn(despite sun cream) but she also seems to be putting her nose into a tic factory! Masses of little black beads all over her face. I bought some tic repellant and, boy, they HATE it, thank goodness. I clear them all off and then she collects a new lot of 'pets' the next day. The other pony has not got one on her. Weird! Anyone else had the same thing?
 
we are having real problems with ticks our two pony's faces are covered in them so they have vaseline put on there faces seams to do the trick, got to be careful with the ticks me and OH where handling ponies today and found a few on us : (
 
Thanks guys, and Castlemouse. Prob with my girl is the ragwort poisoning. It turns "ordinary" sunburn into something out of a horror comic. She looked like a Chernobyl victim when I first took her on, with hideous radiation burns rather than just sunburn. The terrible damage to her liver means that her body is unable to break down the plant material that she eats so it circulates in her system and actually attracts the sunlight. I slap Kids Total Sunblock on her but it only lasts so long, especially if she sticks her head in the water trough straight after I've put it on. I was desperately hoping that with the amazing progress she has made she wouldn't suffer such terrible photosensitivity this year. But even with just a day or 2 of hot sun, she was rubbing her nose and muzzle on the stable walls when I brought her in for her "facial" today. I suspect she is already feeling prickly and sore and was trying to rub the nasty feeling away. I can't re-apply suncream every 2 hrs even if it was strong enough to protect her. Last summer she had to be stabled during the day, only out at night and I so wanted not to have to do that this year. The problem with nose guards is that they only provide a little "roof" over the horse's nose but my girl's totally pink muzzle (ie, all round) needs the walls as well as the roof if you see what I mean, or she will still burn badly at the sides. I'm making one of white cotton (thankyou OH wardrobe) which will fasten round a fieldsafe headcollar with velcro. Probably have to make half a dozen. It will be a little cotton cylinder with the bottom 3 or 4 inches cut into strips so it doesn't interfere with her grazing. Dunno if it will work coz what about when wet and how long before she gets the headcollar off. She'll have suncream under it. I have a nasty feeling we'll be back doing the in by day, out by night thing soon. Oh dear. I'm still totally amazed that the manufacturers haven't come up with something more than just the little nose "roof". Maybe I should apply to Dragon's Den.....?????
 
My black horse got terrible sun burn and we used to have to put sun cream on it all the time, then we bought him a fly mask with a nose attachment and he has never been sun burnt since.
 
My mare gets a really bad sunburned nose when its hot, no matter how much suncream I put on. Last summer I brought one of those crusadar fly masks with muzzle bit and it has worked a treat, no more sunburn!!
 
Equilibrium have an attachment to their fly masks and I think they have UV ray protectors in them. They velcro on from what I can remember, but are not flimsy.

One version of it has been designed for the longer forelocked horse (native?), where you can pull the forelock out of the mask, ace!

http://www.equilibriumproducts.com/products.asp?range=1&type=2

I've got the max for my ID x TB who gets sweetitch and the midi fly mask (with ears) for my connemara.
 
As you have said this is not normal sunburn. One option is Zinc cream. Cricketers wear it all day. There are new outfits for babies that you can get that the material is factor 50. They can swim in them etc and it doesn't matter if they get wet. They might be quite expensive, but maybe you could try and contact the manufacturer and see if they would send you any scraps and you could make your own with it. Maybe try these guys http://www.sunsibility.co.uk you never know until you try
 
Thanks again all. Muddy_grey, that's exactly right, acute photosensitivity from ragwort poisoning is so much more than "ordinary" sunburn. All the wonderful links to face masks are just for little "roofs" that still leave the side of the muzzle wide open to the sun and my girl will burn terribly. She needs a full muzzle protection. The nearest is Snuggy Hoods but they are designed for fly protection. However, I hadn't thought about zinc cream and cricketers! I thought that an oily cream would actually fry her faster, like the old wives tale of putting butter on burns. But you're right! Cricketers in Oz wear it all day long to protect their noses etc! Will try that. Also looked at the Sunsibility site and it's got some great ideas and products so thanks for that. x
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I had this made for my girl as all the others only cove her nose and she needs side protection too, its made from special uv material and i specified exactly how i wanted it, this one is the prototype, have to say its brilliant i will find the details for you
not the best pics but you will get the idea...
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Keltic, thats great!!!

My pink boy doesn't seem to raise his head enough to really get a burnt muzzle but i do smoother sun cream on. My problem is he is a baldy cob and thats where he gets burnt so that all gets smothered in cream to. Just need a cool UV rug that he wont kill.
 
Mine have the flymasks with the muzzle bit attached, as one is really suseptable to a sunburnt muzzle and it really does the trick. I used to use suncream factor 50 +, but have not need to with the masks. I can't rememeber the make, but they weren't expensive, will have a look later.
 
I agree with you also what annoys me is that extra full fly masks that are supposed to have a bit that goes over the muzzle are never made long enough! pickles one that is supposed to cover face and muzzle just about covers his face!
 
I have a number of horses with pink muzzles and so far none have ever burned. I use SPF 60 suncream and I'm pretty diligent about putting it on - gotta be waaaay cheaper than having to buy some gadget to cover their noses?
 
I use the crusader masks for my two - these cover the nose and keep my boys noses as they should be - soft, pink and very kissable.

I won't use anything else - I must have UV protection for Cairo and he wears them all year round when the sun is out - including 24 x 7 from May to October - no rubs and has only come of a couple of times thanks to a small pest called Chancer.
 
I used the crusader full mask for the first time last year as my boy gets burnt eyes as well as nose, it works a treat and you soon learn to put in on tight enough so they can't get it off, on a couple of days spent hours looking for it!
 
OMG Celtic2!!!! That's absolutely PERFECT!!!! I made something similar (not half as good as yours!) this morning out of the sleeve of one of OH's tattier white shirts (shhh) but it's a bit tight and a bit long. I cut the last few inches of it into strips, like the eye parts of the Snuggy Hoods. Put it on Angel and she pulled all sorts of faces and tried to scrape it off. So I have brought it back home to snip a few inches off the length and snip the strips up further. But yours Keltic2 is brill! Is that velcro loops that you have sewn on to hold it on to the fieldsafe headcollar? And if you could let me know where to buy the UV material or - even better - who was it who made it for you and would they make me a couple???? Money no object! Thankyou everyone who has replied for all your help and wonderful ideas. xxx
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A company in Devon make nose covers that are lined with something to stop the suns rays getting through. They are navy and are put on over the head round the back of the ears with the clip on the near side. They are safe to wear in the field. They were originally designed for The Donkey Sanctuary but you can ask for them to be made for a horse. My horse suffers terribly, before the muzzle he blistered rught up and no prescribed cream helped. These covers are brilliant and safe, with no need for a headcollar. The company is Ashcott Equestrian i think (will double check), the covers are not on the website so best to give them a ring. Hope that helps!
 
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