fly masks

[mightyhijames]

i put fly masks on my horses in the a.m. and take them off after feeding in the p.m. does anyone out there leave them on during the night? pros, cons?

[LB]

I've always left mine on at night. Horses see much better in the dark than we do, and I'm pretty sure that all of them would rather wear fly masks than have flies all over their faces.

[Diane]

I have left mine on at night without problems on rare occasions but the normal routine is to take them off. I use the one with ears and muzzle protection so they get dirty fast and need cleaning. Skin breakdown is something this mare is prone to in summer so she gets watched and cared for pretty closely.

[ArchDandy]

I personally cant leave anything on my horse for a day. If I dont take it off, she takes it off. No ifs, ands, or butts. She broke both my ID collar, and my fly collar, both in half, I will not buy anything else for her.

[Tbird]

When I got my OTTB four years ago, I walked out to him in the pasture with a fly face thing and he took one look at it and broke several track records running away from me.
I wondered if he thought they were blinkers or something he disliked from his previous life. All efforts to get one on him have resulted in his refusal to even think about it and he's a very mellow guy about everything else.
So he puts up with the flies but it's his choice.

[Travis]

Flies are not active at night. So no need for fly masks at night.

[ratherrapid]

i am careful with fly masks and only use them during late summer face fly season. i think by and large that horses are able to protect themselves from non-face flies, and i suspect constant wear would strain vision. guess you could verify that by wearing one yourself 24-7. I'd be more inclined to use them earlier in stalls.

I'm also careful with the masks that cover the muzzle. I cut away enough in the muzzle area so any back drafting of exhaled air into the muzzle because it is blocked by the mask being too close to the muzzle is eliminated. this is really a very questionable design and probably has a similar effect to a human putting a net near one's nose.

[valjoe]

fly masks have killed way more horses than flyes, I wouldn't put one of those things on my horses, just wipe with fly spray around the eyes every morning.

[trackgal]

I alway's worry about a fly getting stuck IN the fly mask..now that would suck..

[wilf]

Fly masks kill horses, I will have to remember that one! Flies in eyes are a nuisance and fly masks are wonderful in Florida ,they give great comfort to my retired old warrior and I hope he dies wearing it.

[Laurierace]

That is what I was thinking. I would be impressed if that poster could find one instance ever where a horse was killed by a fly mask.

[madelyn]

I take the "detente" approach to flymasks. All broodmares that allow them to be put on, and still HAVE them on a couple of days later may wear them. We yank them off once or twice a month for washing. For the mares who try to kill us to avoid wearing flymasks, and those that find the nearest tree to scrape the thing off, well they just have to put up with flies on their faces. The few older mares I have that wear them hold their weight better than the one stubborn old broad who refuses to allow one to be put on. Part of my "new" resolution, also, is to have all foals broke to electric fence and flymasks.

I "refresh" the masks at wash time - I put new fleece on as soon as the old stuff gets thin because the fleece is what stops the flies from crawling up between the mask and the head.