1. Ditto
@loosie to not use allergy eye drops unless the vet deems it necessary.
I will only wash eyes out if there’s something foreign (a piece of shaving for example) in there. I have always used people eye wash. I buy Bausch & Lomb eye wash.
During shedding season, I will sometimes see a piece of forelock hair or a long eye hair (from above the eye) has managed to get into the eye socket. That can also cause excess eye matter. If that happens, very gently pull that hair out so as not to scratch the eye.
I clean the corners of the eyes every day by spraying a bit of Vetericyn on a paper towel. I would not put regular Vetericyn in the eye, but they do make an eye wash.
2. Don’t be surprised if your horses pull the masks with ears off. None of my horses liked the ear covers and would rub until they got the mask off. They have never tried to take off a regular, earless, mask.
Whatever fly mask you buy should offer some UV protection. I have been buying Farnum fly masks for as long as I can remember - 25 years or more. I don’t like the way other brands fit and some of them don’t offer good padding around the edges.
Farnum masks allegedly offer 60% UV protection and I run them thru the washer, for four minutes on gentle, after every wearing. They hold up very well. Each horse has 4 masks so I don’t have to run the washer every day.
2.1. Don’t forget to lightly brush the ears out with a soft palm sized brush. The ear hair is shedding, and those miserable knats and midge flies do get in there.
3-4 times weekly, I will use that paper towel with Vetericyn on it, to also wipe out the ears. Not only does it clean the ears, it gets the horse used to having its ears handled if, perish the thought, the vet has to look in there. The horse in my avatar will put his head down and stretch his neck out for me to clean inside his ears; that is his favorite part of the grooming ritual
I also clean nostrils and butts nearly every day. No orifice goes untouched in my barn, lol. When I say “I handle my horses”, I handle my horses
