Sun sensitivity
Contrary to what we all think, when our horse gets a sunburnt nose or whatever ,there's quite a bit more going on .
While sun is certainly beneficial in terms of valuable vitamin D absorbency ,horses with pink skinned areas are likely to suffer from sunburn and a higher risk of skin cancer later on in life .As I am fond of saying , a healthy horse with a strong immune system is less likely to be as drastically affected as on e that is less so ,indeed this goes for a variety of ailments.
Getting on to the problem early , that is using a suitable sunscreen while your horse doesn't mind you putting it on is a good idea, once the area is already sore will be more difficult. I recommend ZINC OXIDE cream which has been around for ever, its safe for horses and will help heal irritation and blistering.
Photo sensitivity
A horse affected with photo sensitivity will have an extreme reaction to sun damage . The skin will become swollen and angry , cracked, painful and easily infected. Some items in our pasture can be responsible for this condition [along with a variety of other ailments such as tying up , colic and so forth ,stuff we don't want to mess with , more on this on my correct horse feeding procedures web pages .a work in progress].
Heres a list of the culprits
- Tetracycline's antibiotics
- Sulpher antibiotics
- Nonsteroidal anti inflammatory drugs
- Chlorpromazine tranquilizers
- St johns wort
- Klamath weed
- Rape pasture
- Goat weed
- Spring Parsley
- Alsike clover
- Buckwheat
Yes it's a lot to think about , and I would guess a person would need to learn what how to identify what the you are looking for and then take steps to remove the offending plants.
