Help! My Horse is Sun-Sensitive Contest: Editors’ Picks

Sun-Sensitive Horses: "Romeo"

Congratulations to Heidi Nash and "Romeo," whose story won our fan-voted "Help! My Horse is Sun-Sensitive" photo contest. Romeo is an 8-year-old spotted draft horse who suffers from photosensitivity. | Photo: Heidi Nash

Sun-Sensitive Horses: "Atreyu"

"I have always wanted a white horse, but never thought of how hard they are to keep clean and in the sun," said Nina Amelung. "Atreyu has never gotten a super bad burn, but he's always pink and peeling." | Photo: Nina Amelung

Sun-Sensitive Horses: "JR"

"JR is a 20-year-old Quarter Horse, and if we do not put sun screen on his nose when he is in the sun, he gets bad sunburn," said Dianne Boothe. "We had to put him in this stall, which has an attached paddock (which is all shady) and this helps! It's when we go to shows that we have an issue." | Photo: Dianne Boothe

Sun-Sensitive Horses: "Blue Ice Te"

"My blue-eyed paint horse, Blue Ice Te, deals with issues with the sun daily," said Alyssa Greco. "With his pink adorable nose and light eyes, I do my best to always protect him from the suns harmful rays. He spends most of the summer with a UV-protected fly mask for his eyes and UV-protected fly sheet for his body. If we do not keep up on his sun care, his poor pink nose peels and burns." | Photo: Alyssa Greco

Sun-Sensitive Horses: "Titan"

Elizabeth Blake shared the story of her rescue horse, Titan. "Titan is a cremello and burns all over his face, but thankfully not his full body," she said. "His eyes and nose had scabs around them from sunburn when I got him. Now his face is almost 100% healed thanks to a full fly mask with a nose and regular sun blocking." | Photo: Elizabeth Blake

Sun-Sensitive Horses: "Jasper"

"My 6-year-old, 32-inch mini mule, Jasper, has freckled skin, and the pink skin around his eyes can get sunburned," said Patricia Weeks. "I sewed a visor to both his fly mask and driving bridle. It seems to make a difference and he seems to really like it

Sun-Sensitive Horses: "Powder My Nose"

Charlene Bandy-Smith submitted the story of her 14-year-old cremello mare: "On bright sunny days Powder will stand in the stall, but apparently that was not enough to prevent a cancer from growing on her eyelid. Here is a picture of her undergoing surgery." | Photo: Charlene Bandy-Smith

Sun-Sensitive Horses: "Dakota"

"My horse Dakota is a 7-year-old Appaloosa gelding and we board at a wonderful barn in Hampstead, NC," said Amanda Surratt. "He is very sensitive to the sun. He has pink around his eyes, on his nose, and on his back, so we always have trouble trying to figure out how to protect him from sunburn every summer. We have tried putting his UV sheet and fly mask on, but the UV sheet just makes him sweat so much so he ends up having to spend the day in the stall." | Photo: Amanda Surratt

Sun-Sensitive Horses: "Miss Mia"

Jill Rafuse and her Appaloosa mare are located in Nova Scotia. "This is Miss Mia," said Jill "She is a 15-year-old leopard Appaloosa and this is a rare picture of her because her fly mask isn't on. Mia has squamous cell carcinoma, and this has caused Mia to have multiple surgeries at Prince Edward Island Veterinarian College and to have chemotherapy. Mia also has to wear this fly mask anytime she is outside, she only has it off for shows. I have only owned Mia for two years and the cancer was discovered a month after I got her. Mia can still see, but she will probably lose her sight sooner rather than later." | Photo: Jill Rafuse

Sun-Sensitive Horses: "Avatar"

"This is my sun-sensitive horse, Avatar," said Eva Kortizija. "He's a cremello Morgan gelding who is constantly dealing with sun problems: sunburn, moles, etc." | Photo: Eva Kortizija

Sun-Sensitive Horses: "Carson Cody Bars"

"This is APHA Carson Cody Bars with his favorite pasture pal," said Barbara McGuire. "We have used many sunburn prevention techniques like masks with extended noses (don't stay on long), stalling during afternoon (labor intensive), zinc oxide slather (cannot buy zinc oxide anymore), so we are interested in a new solution!" | Photo: Barbara McGuire