Solving Sunburn with EquestrianClearance.com

With what feels like the longest winter finally behind us we can put away heavy weight turnouts and bring out the fly rugs, and swap mud fever cream for fly spray.

With the sun only just breaking through the grey clouds it is hard to believe that sun rays can be damaging to our horses, particularly those that are turned out.

The horse’s natural coat helps protect against the suns ray’s but white-skinned areas are left exposed and are most susceptible to sunburn.

Most commonly affected areas are the face and believe it or not the heels, there is little hair in this area to guard against the sun.

Lorraine Meadowroft from EquestrianClearance.com, has had horses all her life and offers some tips and advice on how to combat sunburn.

Redness, peeling and scabbing are most commonly seen as a result of over exposure to the sun, but repeated exposure can cause more long term damage such as thickness and scaling of the skin and in some extreme cases skin cancer - Make sure you moisturise and protect the skin.

Make sure shady shelter is readily available.

Use high factor sun cream on the horse’s white bits, test patch an area first – if irritation occurs seek veterinary advice.

Fly sheets not only protect against biting midges, but some protect against the sun. WeatherbeetaKool Coats are specifically designed for this. Go for a light colour turnout rug to reflect the heat away.

Head and muzzle masks are great for beating off UV rays.

If severe sunburn is already evident, you should bring the horse in so that the appropriate areas can be treated. Do not continue to expose the damaged area to the sun.

Where the skin is severely damaged e.g. blistering seek veterinary advice