# How to keep a fly mask on your horse?



## PaintLover17 (Jan 3, 2011)

Staples. Just kidding! =P
I have a horse with a white face and blue eyes so I know how important a fly mask is in the summer. Cashel has worked the best for me. It lasts longer than other brands I've tried but I still have to buy a new one just about every year. If your horse destroys even the toughest fly mask you can find just but the cheapest one possible (as long as it still fits and has UV protection) so your bank account doesn't take too much of a hit.
_Posted via Mobile Device_


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## waresbear (Jun 18, 2011)

I was hoping to find an answer here how to manage to keep a horse from removing not only his, but his pasturemate's flymask and making them disappear.


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## Thunderspark (Oct 17, 2012)

my four horses and one boarded wear fly masks spring/summer/fall, My mare's has a hole where the forelock can come out, it covers her ears and at the most she's had one ear out LOL looks like she has 3 ears!!! Another one has a big forelock too but his doesn't have a hole in it so I just brush his bangs down the middle and to the sides.......the only ones I have problems with are the two younger ones, one will be 5 and one will be 4 this year so hopefully they have outgrown ripping each others off LOL


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## kiwi79 (Nov 11, 2011)

I second the post on Cashel sun masks, my boy has a white face and blue eyes too and it has made such a difference for his poor face this year. He has worn it almost every day this summer and it should hopefully last till the end of summer but I will need to buy a new one next year. It has started fraying along one of the seams but he hasnt ever gotten it off even with lots of rubbing on his front legs and fences and rolling. I would say it may be his paddock mates playing with it unless he is extremely determined to get it off as my horse grazes with a mini so she cant reach it. 
I have the full length shield with ears, I think they block around 70-80% of UV rays so I still put a little sunscreen on his hairless patches and around his nostrils which still seem to catch a bit of sun. His face has never looked so good, no mucky build up of sunscreen or angry red/flaky skin.


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## walkinthewalk (Jul 23, 2008)

waresbear said:


> I was hoping to find an answer here how to manage to keep a horse from removing not only his, but his pasturemate's flymask and making them disappear.


There are those criminal element herd mates that are very clever at removing someone else's fly mask.

I prefer Farnum Super Mask because they have double closures and I tighten them "three fingers tight" between the eyeball and the ear.

I have tried Cashel with the long nose and also with ears. My horse that needed that mask never tried to get his Farnum Mask off but, everyday around mid-afternoon, I would watch him roll and he would rub his head along the ground until he managed to get the Cashel off:shock:

He wanted nothing to do with the extended nose piece, nor the ear covers. Soon as I put his plain old Farnum back on him, he left the mask alone.

If he starts rubbing his head, it's because he has an itch somewhere and that itch is generally a tick:-x

If your horse's ears are also white (some Paints and Spotted's have a Medicine Hat), you might want to buy the ears separate from the face mask and see if that at least helps keep the face mask on.

Also buy a brand of face mask that has the double closure, so his herd mate can't pull it off


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## Haileyyy (Mar 10, 2012)

waresbear said:


> I was hoping to find an answer here how to manage to keep a horse from removing not only his, but his pasturemate's flymask and making them disappear.


I have the same problem with my mom's gelding. He will take off any flymask. He also leads the other horses around by their halters if they are wearing one!

Last spring horse.com was running a sale on flymasks and we ended up buying 6, I think for $15 or $20. I haven't found a sure fire solution to keeping them on but during the summer I would wake up, sunblock and fly mask. Then I would check them again in the afternoon when I would ride and again when the sun began to set and I would take them off for the night. I would cycle them out to wash them and repair the minor tears because we had 4 horses and 7 flymasks. 

I did find that the masks with ears and double Velcro latches stayed on longer. If you don't want him to rub out his forelock maybe you could get a mask that would keep it covered? Or braid it and use one without ears? I have never had to worry about that, all of our horses have thin, wimpy forelocks haha.


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## Tiamo (Oct 16, 2012)

I have to keep a mask on my boy year rough as he has a small tumar in his eye. I've had to resort to have his halter(break away) left on as his pasture buddys were taking it off daily


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## toosexy4myspotz (Oct 7, 2007)

I use a cashel that has a hole for the forelock, a long nose, and covered ears on all my guys. I would croak if I put a fly mask on and it rubbed my forelocks off. (Im extremely picky about manes and tails due to owning a rat tail app). The cashels are more expensive but so far nobody has been able to remove them. My app will not leave a halter on or fly mask for anything but after we bought these he seemed to quit trying.


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## waresbear (Jun 18, 2011)

Tried all those brands, all lost in the bush somewhere!


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## ButtInTheDirt (Jan 16, 2011)

Make sure to get ones that sandwich the Velcro, as those are a bit harder to tear off and you could probably keep a break away halter on over the top. I would suggest taking the mask and halter off at night, if you leave it on too long it will make rub marks on his face. I have a Paint mare who has a wide white blaze and has sensitive skin on her face, and she will get rub marks easily if I don't skip the mask for a while and opt for lots of sunscreen and fly spray. I can't recommend brands, as I just get whatever I can find that works, and buy a new one when it is beat up enough where it is rendered useless. Anyway, good luck!


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