For some reason, we didn’t have this issue last year but we are this year. One of my horses is burning the sides of his nose and mainly lips. It looks very painful 
I put on Desitin every morning and he wears a long nose fly mask but it seems it’s either not long enough for his nose or just doesn’t cover his lips well enough.
He has a nice run in and spends the majority of his day in there but he can go out, and he must be enough to be burning his poor face.
does anyone know if a fly mask with a really long nose part?
I use a zinc powder sun screen on my horses nose and lips - works really well and seems to be ok if applied every second day. It’s way less messy than any suncream I’ve tried and he much prefers it to a fly mask or nose shade
Try zinc oxide cream for horses at 20%.
That is what we used on a black TB mare with a wide blaze, that sunburned terribly and it worked just fine.
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The diaper rash cream is 40% zinc oxide. It also has some aloe in it to try to help with the current burn
Desitin generally has 13%, 20% is recommended for sun block.
That is what our vet told us.
Good to know that you were using a different kind with a higher %.
Maybe it is washing off in the lip area?
I always used Water Babies sunscreen on my light gray horse. He had an invisible blaze and a pink nose, and would burn there if I didn’t keep him gooped up in the summer.
Rebecca
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Yeah I checked and it’s not desitin, but a grocery store brand with 40% and added aloe.
Probably could be washing off. I tried a sunscreen but he HATED the way it tasted and giraffe-ed to get away from me.
Phytoestrogens can increase photosensitivity. If nothing management-wise has changed, but he’s getting burned more than usual despite preventative measures, you might look to see if there’s been a major uptick in his phytoestrogen consumption. So many common horse feedstuffs contain them: soy, clover, alfalfa, flax, etc. Clover is a particularly big offender for some horses because it can also cause liver problems that manifest as photosensitivity.
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I agree with Texarkana. Has he started any medication since last year? Some can increase photosensitivity similarly to the plants Texarkana mentioned. Another thing it might be is contact dermatitis or something he’s touching that is increasing his photosensitivity.
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I haven’t found an extra long nose face mask, so can’t help on that front. After trying all the sunscreen (Desitin incl) I found stick sunscreen was the least offensive to the Queen. It seems to last a full day with a mask. Brand is Bare and I get it at Target.
No medications, no supplements. He gets Purina Enrich and salt and has been on that for 2+ years.
The pasture doesn’t have any clover either. There are some bushes he sometimes looks at but only because he eats the blackberries out of them.
Cashel makes a fly mask with a very long nose piece. And if that does not give enough protection, maybe you can sew a piece of fabric over the nose part to give more sun coverage.
My guy needs a lot of eye protection, and I sew a sort of extra visor at the top of his masks. I use a thick needle and dental floss.
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I use regular, waterproof sunscreen on my mare. I forget what brand but I accidentally picked up some with a tropical scent so now she’s fancy. She gives me more trouble if her nose is burned at all, but if it isn’t I can put sunscreen on without issue. I am only out there in the evenings so that’s when she gets it on but it seems to work. If she does get burned it is because I forgot or was away and I just apply sunscreen and it goes away after a few days.
We did have a horse with a LOT of white around the nose that got burned really badly and then he HATED anything put on his nose because it hurt so much so that was a struggle but we eventually got it under control with just using sunscreen.
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I have a couple that burn easy and others that have no problems at all. I have been using the Equishield sun cream for burns/protection. It has worked GREAT for my one problem pony that refuses to keep a mask on.
My other problem mare has been in this fly mask this year and its kept bad burns away so far. https://smile.amazon.com/gp/product/B075MVVHXV/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o08_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1
I use the Equine Sun Visor fly mask (long nose with ears) for my horses. It has 90% UV block or something outrageous like that and it works for me. Pricy, but better than a burnt horse! They are really durable, too, so the cost is meh compared to not replacing them very often.
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Wow, this actually looks like it covers the lips! Now to convince myself to buy an 80$ fly mask
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Yes, I use 50 SPF kid-safe aersol spray-on sunscreen. I also have an Equivisor and it worked well, but it gets much more dirty and hard to clean than regular flymasks, so I mostly use the sunscreen and a regular uv protectant flymask for the rest of his face (blaze faced Appy, thanfully mostly dark skin around his eyes).
I use sunscreen made for babies, it’s 50 SPF and gentle on the skin and no bad taste. Many of my PREs have had pink on their noses, and several will. not. tolerate. fly masks. 
Like someone mentioned, try the 50 spf Tropical brand of sunscreen (can’t remember what it is). My friend uses waterproof suntan lotion on her horse with a blaze (he burns so easily), and my horse (who is dark brown/black) loves to lick my coconut-flavored sunscreen off my arms. Maybe you can find a “good tasting” sunscreen for him! My other friend uses the cashel on her palomino with a wide blaze. It’s worth it if it fits your horse.
Another vote for waterproof sunscreen for children. It lasts up to 90 minutes in water and really how long do horses keep their noses in water and doesn’t really smell like anything. Desitin does taste nasty - you don’t want to know how I know. urgh
