What About Using Fly Masks?

Mon, 15 Aug 2011 00:16:23 +0100

I have an opinion about everything, and with horses, don’t you think you should too?

Well for a long time the fly mask thing has been bugging me.

When fly masks first came out (years ago) I never thought it was a good idea.

How could anybody think that putting that kind of a thing on a horse would help the horse?

How can this help a horse that lives in the field?

I’m sorry; I know a lot of horsemen use them out in the field to keep flies off the horse’s eyes

Did anyone ever think what happens when a fly or usually flies, gets stuck inside the mask?

I have seen this before. It’s nasty, even cruel. The worst thing is when knats are stuck inside the mask

The horse can no longer shake his head and get the flies off with his foretop.

Incidentally, that’s why horses have that hair between their ears on their

head.

Don’t get the wrong idea; I have used fly masks on horses at the racetrack.

Some horses even use them to race.

When using it for training, it is not being left on all the time.

In the barn or in the field it’s on all the time.

The reason a horse may train or race with a fly mask could be a few reasons.

In these situations the fly mask has proved to be a good training tool.

1. The horse is better with limited vision

2. The horse doesn’t like the dirt of the track hitting the face or eyes

3. I once had a colt that didn’t like the horse training in front of him. With the mask on he trained well.

Therefore it is a good idea for training and racing.

I have seen it help in many cases.

When riding, it’s probably better to have a fly mask that covers the horse’s ears. It just makes sense that it would help for the horse

Many horses shake their head due to flies on their ears. A mask with ears would help with less head shaking.

On a trail ride, it would help to provide a more enjoyable ride for both rider and horse.

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What About Using Fly Masks?