Getting sunscreen on her nose!! HELP!!

[EventPony]

I dont know if Maya just doesnt like having things rubbed on her nose, or if she had a bad experience before, but she completely flipps out when i try to put anything on her nose!! she doesnt mind at all if i touch her nose..i can sit there all day and rub her nose, but once i come near her with anything on my hands, she throws her head up, backs up, and looks soo terrified. What could be the problem and is it fixable? if not, is there any alternative way to protect her nose from being sunburnt? thanks!

[Aly]

Often it is the actual smell of the sunscreen rather than anything else that the horse doesn't like.

My horse, Cavileer, has a big white blaze and a very fair nose, so in summer he must get protection of some kind. Trying to put sunburn cream on him has become an impossibility over the years, as he will bend over backwards to avoid it.

I solved this problem by purchasing a sun veil, type thing made up by my local saddler. It attaches to the noseband of the halter, and can be made of anthing. The ones I purchase are made from the rip stop summer rug material, as they last longer than many others I have tried. It is just a flap really, that comes down past the nose and offers the horse shade over the area. It has certainly worked and he no longer gets sunburnt, unless the cheeky devil, manages to pull it off when I am not around.

Another thing I like is that they are just attached with velcro and can come off easily if the horse gets it caught on a fence etc. Though you must put it on a breakaway type halter for better safety.

They are really cheap too, about $12 Ozzie, so that would have to be about like $5 US, or something around there.

Cheers and goodluck!

[Rachel C.]

Or.....

like me you could make a nose shield yourself, like I did for my pony. Just took some very heavyweight material and attatched velcro, cut into a semicircle shape and it does the job beautifully.
Plus it costs next to nothing!!

Rachel

[Fifteenbobber]

There is a company that makes them in this country - I saw them at an equine event at Hartpury College. Trouble is I have lost the sheet I picked up and cannot remember the name.

Anyone else know who??

[cvb]

My horse is quite fussy about which sunscreen we use. Some must irritate him, so he objects. Its often own brand (e.g. Tesco) unscented plain stuff which is ok.

A couple of other tips - get the sunscreen on your hands and give it some time to warm up before you go for the nose. This also avoids the horse associating the squirt from the bottle with a sore nose, and its easy to get something on their nose if you haven't got tyhe bottle in your hand too. Normally once I get some on his nose and he realises its ok, he lets me get on with it.

Also try and make sure you start using it BEFORE the nose gets sore.

[Georgie B]

It's worth a try, but I use a sun block stick on Rhia. You can try rubbing it on your finger tips and then onto her nose. Best of luck.

[nicolam]

Aha, even cheaper solution I used last summer.
Molly's pink right around the bottom of her nose, retail sun screen thingies wouldn't cover it all sufficiently so I made one myself.
First attempt: ordinary dishcloth, then new improved with more rigid but fairly loose cotton cloth.
If it's a double layered cloth, slit hole in top and thread noseband of headcollar through. Stitch the sides loosely to the metal at either side of the noseband so it doesn't slide about. If not double clloth, just loop it over the noseband and again, lightly stitch over.
Works a treat, they look hilarious adn feelings will no doubt be hurt when you laugh at your poor horse's face but you get used to it - honest!!

[EventPony]

hey thanks every1....im pretty sure its the smell b/c i put everythin on my hand from hair spray to corn starch to show sheen, and i didnt show her the bottle, but she didnt do anything.just sniffed it...then i put a little desitan (which is wut i use on her nose) on my hand w/out showin her the bottle, and i held it up to her nose, and she started backing up and stuff, so i think its the smell!

[K&K]

i have a quick question about sunscreen - my mare has a pink nose and it'll get burnt without sunscreen ... what kind is best? just human sunscreen? and how much should i put on? thanks!

[nicolam]

I usually use sunscreen made for babies.
It's stronger than adult stuff usually (haave found it up to 60spf) and it's designed to be kinder on sensitive skin.
Also find that if it's thicker you get far better coverage, especially with the kind that stays white when you put it on - you can see exactly which bits are covered (horse looks a bit odd but I don't mind that!!)