UV/Fly sheets - Yes or no?

[eponacelt]

I have a lovely black turbo-Friesian (half-Arabian, half-Friesian) and am contemplating for the first time getting her a fly sheet with UV protection to keep her from fading this year. I don’t usually use fly sheets on my horses, as they don’t seem to be terribly bothered, but am considering it more for the UV protection.

Thoughts on whether this is a worthy endeavor? And if so, recommendation on which ones work well?

[TheDBYC]

Turbo Friesian? I love it! They didn’t make flysheets big enough to fit my shires. We did a lot of night turn out & UV guard grooming spray. Old timers claim feeding sunflower seeds with black shells helps, too. I never tried that. Had visions of my crew choking on the shells or something.

Couldn’t hurt to try a UV flysheet. Only downside I see is if you have one of those horses that rip their clothing to shreds on a regular basis. Flysheets tend to be delicate.

[eightpondfarm]

i’ve heard that the minerals: copper and also zinc play a part in keeping horses from sun-bleaching too much. Don’t know if it’s true or not. I feed my herds a loose mineral (free-choice in pans) as well as redblocks.
edit: here’s an article. https://thehorse.com/16846/coppers-impact-on-equine-coat-color/

[Texarkana]

I want to love fly sheets but I find my horses just get too hot in them in the sun.

[lenapesadie]

I like my Kensington fly sheet. It definitely reduced bleaching.

[Feathered_Feet]

I agree - even with night turnout I feel bad putting on extra layers here in the mid-atlantic. With more mild temps, maybe, but for a normal horse without skin allergies or major bug sensitivities I would skip it (besides, then you have one less thing to launder and repair!)

OP, if you’re worried about bleaching, the iron:copper:zinc ratios are probably more important than sun exposure. Make sure you’re not overloading iron (usually easiest to up the copper and zinc) and you will likely see a lot less bleaching. I don’t remember the exact ratios but there are several threads on it.