Please, I’ve been to Walmart and seen more than I ever needed to see.

But I remember, as a kid, the Coppertone ads with the little girl and the puppy who was pulling her panties down.  Wow, that was some burn.  I think they still use that picture to this day.  She’s got to be well into her 60’s by now.  That thought just flashed thru my mind, not a pretty sight.  Gravity and all.  Let’s move on.

I don’t ever remember using suntan lotion when I was a kid.  As a matter of fact I’ve never used suntan lotion in my life.  My husband and I used to have a contest to see who could be the darkest by Labor Day.  We usually tied.  Now in Florida we are a bit more careful.  We wear hats.  They told us the Florida sun was different.  It sure is.  We’re closer to the equator and the sun is amazing.  Leave a plastic bucket out in the sun and when you come back to get it after a couple of months, it totally disintegrates.  The life span on a lot of things is a lot shorter down here.  Car tires, batteries, anything plastic, and of course wood (it warps from the sun, dampness, and heat.  And of course termites).

Okay, what’s my point you may ask.  Well we’re back to sunburn.  If you live in Florida you get skin cancer, age spots, wrinkles, but you get that up north too, just a lot slower.  But what about our horses?  They get sunburn too.  Especially the ones with pink skin.

Many people worry about their horses bleaching out from the summer sun.  Many put them in the barn or put fly sheets on them.  There are some horses on my street who look like they’re a walking moth in a cocoon.  That’s all well and good, but sunburn is something you really need to watch out for.

They now have suntan lotion for horses, or I guess really just a protection of some sorts.  One of my boarders had some.  I’m sure it’s pricey.  I sat there thinking about it as she was spraying it on.  Lifeguards popped into my mind.  They always had white stuff on their noses.  Zinc Oxide!  I yelled.  Desitin.  That’s Zinc Oxide.  Why not use that.  So she went out and bought a big jar of Desitin.  However, she rarely comes up and puts it on.  So I just put on her nose covering fly mask.  It’s seen better days and the horse now has sunburn on the end of her nose.  So we apply Aloe to the sunburn, cover what we can, and go from there.

You really don’t want your horse’s nose, or their pink skin body parts to look like a tomato that was grilled, so cover them up, one way or the other.  It’s easier to prevent the burn as opposed to trying to heal it.  Think how uncomfortable you’d feel if you looked like that.

So have an “Itsy-Bitsy, Tiny, Weeny, Yellow Polka Dot Bikini” Summer.  Please don’t forget your four legged friends and a cover-up or Coppertone for horses.  Sun hats and sun glasses are optional.  The drink with the little umbrella is for you.

Enjoy!