Blue Eyes...

[MiniArabLuvs]

I have a four month old colt with steel blue eyes, with the new snow fall then sunshine he blinks a lot and I have not had a cremelo or blue eyed horse before. What can i put on him to help with the brightness of the snow? I was thinking a fly mask would help to dim the brightness.... Any suggestions? He stays in his stall a lot instead of going outside lately (has free choice) I don't blame the poor guy

 

[lkblazin]

Fly mask should help. They have some that are the dark mesh. They work better. Think of it like your in a dark room and then the lights go on. He probably prefers the dark stall because the snow is reflecting. Hope this helped

 

[amysue]

My blue eyed stallion has this same problem. I find that a flymask helps a great deal. When shoping for one, read the specs on the material as many of them state that they offer uv protection. That's the kind you want. Gorgeous colt by the way.

 

[bevann]

Fly mask would probably work.They do make sun goggles for dogs with eye issues.Not sure if he would keep them on but it might be worth a try.I have seen them in pet shops or on line.

 

[Danielleee]

Ive never heard of blue eyes causing this problem. Hes probably just got sensitive eyes and the blue eyes are just a coincidence however the fly mask should help. If he starts tearing a lot or something I'd get a vet out to take a look to make sure its not a super serious problem!

 

[lkblazin]

Yup same thing with some people. Part of the sensitivity has to do with the way light reflects through the cones. I asked my eye guy, but he was a confusing with really strange words.

 

[MiniArabLuvs]

I ordered a fly mask with UV protection. Thank you Amysue he is a wonderful colt. I do not know about horses but i do know that huskies with blue eyes tend to have reflection issues with blue eyes and snow.

Thank you everyone for your suggestions, i cant wait for the mask to get here for him.

 

[Zipper]

Will he have to wear eye protection all his life I have never heard of a blue eyed horse having to have protection for seeing or is it just cause he is a baby and not used to it?

 

[Relic]

One of the stallions here had one bright blue eye and the other brown...l found with the blue eye it wasn't anything to do with the color but the fact he had pink all around that eye..we decided to drawn black lines top and bottom with a black marker that the guys who play sports wear and that really helped a lot...there's 2 types and we used the non run non greasy type and it stayed on almost a week during winter before having to reapply summer he'd sweat more and rub against stuff so applied it more often. Pen says non toxic..never did any damage and we applied it just under and over the pink of that eye looked funny like someone gave him a black eye on that side lol.

 

[Reignmaker Miniatures]

Interesting topic. I have a bald faced horse with blue eyes and one has white all the way around it and pink skin. I also live in a heavy snow area where we often have sunny days in winter after a snowfall (makes me squint from the glare). My guy is7 (or 8?) and I have owned him since he was a weanling, I have never seen him appear to be bothered by the glare any more than the others. Can't say whats normal for other blue eyed horses tho, he is my only experience with blue eyes. I like the idea of the grease paint to darken around the eye lacking pigmented skin on horses who are bothered.

 

[orin]

I have 2 stallion with blue eyes and never had a problem although I've know quite a few cremellos to squint in the sun/bright sunlight?

 

[MiniArabLuvs]

The fly mask has been helping him and i dont need to put it on when we have cloudy days, so i have a feeling its the glare from the sun reflecting off the snow. He did not squint during the summer months, i'm curious to see when our snow disappears now and if he does not need it any more.

The black line above and below his eye sounds interesting I'll have to try it some time on him

 

[MiniArabLuvs]

The vet checked him out and he is healthy, she said due to the brightness of the sun and snow they have no dark skin pigment to reflect the brightness so the blink more. Thank you....

 

[lkblazin]

Thank you for the update, good to know he is less blinky