I did not know that!
Got a question about the animals? We’ve got answers.
The critters at Critter Creek are not the kind that you see every day. But we are here for them every day, seeing to their care and keeping them healthy. Some of what we have to do to care for the animals might seem confusing, or raise a question.
That’s a good thing! Curiosity is always welcome!
Instructing, informing, and educating people about the animals and their care is a big part of what we do. So PLEASE ask away! We will do our best to answer any questions you might have.
What’s with the masks?
A lot of visitors ask us “why do the horses have a cover over their eyes?”
Don’t worry, they can still see perfectly well. The horses are wearing a “fly mask” (or, in Snickers’ case, an “eye shield”). As you might guess, it helps keep pesky flies away from their eyes, ears, and noses.
But here in south Florida, it serves another important purpose as well: It helps prevent sunburn. The greatest risk is to horses that have white hair, or a white blaze across the face. They will have lighter, pink skin around the eyes and nostrils which is much more susceptible to being burnt in the hot Florida sun
Some masks also offer protection for horses with glaucoma, eye cancer, cataracts, or other eye issues, such as uveitis, an inflammation of the eye’s middle layer. For example, Snickers wears an eye shield since he is blind, and only has one eye. When he’s out with his herd buddies, he tends to bump into things, and the shield protects him from damaging his eye.
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- Dinkey the mini donkey in her fly mask
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- Snickers and Rita wearing their face gear and grazing
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- Joy, Star, and Bella posing in their masks with staff
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- Snickers wears his eye shields for protection
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- The horses aren’t the only ones wearing masks!
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- Firecracker thinks he looks pretty cool grazing in his fly mask
Do the horses wear muzzles to keep from biting?
Horses can bite, but that’s not why we sometimes put muzzles on them. We’re actually trying to help control their weight!
Our mini horses have nothing to do all day but graze on our luscious green pastures. And they sure don’t bother watching their figures. The grazing muzzle limits how much they can eat by making them take smaller bites. But they can still breathe and drink freely, and keeping a healthy weight helps the ones with COPD (Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease) breathe more easily.
But that doesn’t mean they like it! The muzzle is fastened with breakaway Velcro so they won’t get stuck if it catches on something. But being as smart as they are, they quickly learn how to get the muzzle off.
The ones that use the muzzle the most are Lena, Sprinkles, Nickoma, Cinnamon and sometimes Rita.
