How to Deal With Heat, Flies and Sunburn

It can get very hot in summer, especially for your horse. Whatever temperature humans feel, horses feel2 degrees higher than that. So keeping your horse comfortable during hot muggy days is very important. Here is a small list of ideas for keeping your horse cool during the summer heat: 

-Hose your horse down to get him/her wet and cool.

-Place your horse in a cool, sheltered place. 

-Make cold treats for your horse.

-Spray them with a water spray bottle. 

-If your horse is in an enclosed stable, you could install a big fan on the ceiling, up in the corner of the stable, or for extra luxury, you could even install an aircon!

Also, here's one handy tip that you will find very useful: If you feel behind a horse's ear, if it's cold, that means the horse is cold; if it's hot behind their ear, the horse is hot. 

As soon as you find a way to keep your horse cool once summer hits, you will also come across "fly season." Flies are a real nescience to horses. If you have ever watched a horse that's standing still, you will usually most likely notice the horse stamping it's hooves, swishing it's tail and twitching it's skin in irritation; horses twitch their muscles as soon as they feel a fly land on their body to get them off. And they also swish their tails to shoo the flies away. Another defense is stamping their hooves. Horses do this when flies land on their legs, and because they are irritated. In summer though, sometimes it's just too much for the horses to handle. (E.g. Flies get all crowded up around the horse's eyes, and the horse cab barely blink without flies going into it's eyes.) To prevent flies from annoying your horse, here are a few things you can do:

-Apply Fly Spray all over your horse's body, including face/and neck, legs and back.

-Put a Fly Mask over your horse's face. (Flies always go for the eyes, nose and ears the most.) 

-Leave your horse's tail and mane. (Don't tie it up. Horses use their mane and tail a lot to shoo the flies.)

-Remove all manure from paddock, this prevents flies too. 

Now another thing you will encounter, especially if you have a horse that has white or pink coloring on their nose or face is sunburn. Sunburn is very common in a lot of horses. Even pure chestnuts can get sunburnt. Preventing this from happening is very important, as intense sunburns will severely damage the skin and leave painful wounds behind. 

As surprising as this sounds, there are actually a number of different plants that cause photosensitivity in horses. St. John's Wort is one plant that can cause photosensitivity in both horses and cattle. Alsike Clovers may also cause photosensitivity, as well as liver failure and gastric and neurological disorders. Dew poisoning is the name given to the sunburn that occurs on the horse's nose and lower legs as it grazes through patches of wet alsike clovers. 

Other plants that may cause photosensitivity are buckwheat and ground elder. (Or snow-in-the-mountain.) Sometimes grooming sprays or fly sprays may exacerbate a sunburn. Photosensitivity may also be caused by some drugs. 

Inexpensive Zinc Oxide Paste is very useful as both sunscreen and to help heal any irritated skin. Keep a tub of "Ihle's Paste" on hand for sunblock and first aid: 

Fly masks can also help prevent sunburns. A full mask such as the Absorbine Fly Shield (see picture bellow) covers your horse's whole from the top of it's nose it's ear tips. Pale coloured fly/sun sheets give horses a little protection over their backs. But sun rays will still get through a little. So these are not considered FULL protection. 

By using this ultra-fly mask, your horse will not only be protected from the hot sun rays beaming down, but also from the flies. 

One quick tip to remember: Aloe Vera is great to use on sunburns to help heal them. :) 

If your horse is suspected with a health issue, consult your vet straight away.  

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