Nose Net

In case you're new here, you should probably know that Izzy, my big brown horse, is not the easiest horse to ride or own. That boy has more issues than my last ten horses combined. I think he has some special need for each month of the year. He doesn't like cloudy days, he doesn't like the wind (who does?), he doesn't like to be ridden late in the day, and the list goes on.

Unlike normal horses, he goes all drama llama as soon as whatever it is that offends him even peeks around the corner. Sheesh. One of his annual "things" is an itchy nose. The first warm day that we have, usually in February, Izzy gets this allergy-like thing going on with his nose. Sometimes he'll sneeze and sneeze for several days. It always comes with a high degree of itchiness, and sometimes, it's best not to even ride. My vet swears that horses don't get the hay fever type of allergies that people get, but the way Izzy reacts to the first warm day of the year leaves me with questions.

Nose net to the rescue.

Last week, the weather flipped a switch. We went from near freezing mornings to high 70s. Like clockwork, Izzy's nose began to itch terribly. He rubbed his nose on my helmet while walking. He rubbed his nose on the gate, he rubbed his nose on his leg, he rubbed all over the mounting block trying to get relief. Besides being itchy, he also reacts very strongly to the wee little gnats that have just hatched. So between an itchy nose and gnats pinging him in the eyeballs, he wasn't too happy last week.

By Thursday, I gave up and just attached the nose net I bought years ago. I haven't needed it in several years, but this spring, everything is driving him crazy. It doesn't stop the itchiness and the head flinging, but it cuts it down sufficiently so that we can still work. I am just about ready to order a thin enough flymask that I can use for riding, but I am certain that by the time it gets here, the itchiness will have passed, and I won't need it.

​The only time of year Izzy seems to like is July when it's 110 degrees.