Opinions on Equine Fly masks - what kind do you use?

Question

I dont know what it is about our horses but to this day I can not find a fly mask that will hold up for atleast one season. I have tried Brookside, Justin, Wrangler/Professional Choice,Farnham, and I am just looking for opinions on what others use, exspecially for those "rough on stuff" horses. Thanks!!

Answer 1

I used to use the fly mask; however, I find my horse is not comfortable wearing it.  I live in Texas and the summers are quite hot.  Even tho the fly mask has a mesh front, it does not stop the horse's face from becoming very hot and sweaty.  Instead, I roll on a fly repellent.  My horse seems happier  :-)

Answer 2

If you have noticed, most fly mask are priced low enough, because there are so many ways a horse can get them off. Try a sweat resistant spray such as Endure, it is labeled to have a two week resisdual effect, however from my experience it only lasts about 48 hours at best.

Answer 3

I have one of these

http://www.peterboroughtack.com/newprodu...

they hold up very well although they can get really pricey

good luck and happy hunting

Answer 4

Personally I like the Cashel Crusader Cool Mask Long w/Ears. They work great, don't easily come off and seem to last pretty well. I also really like the Cashel Quite Ride for use while riding.

About the toughest I've used are the Farnam Masks. Have a couple of those that have lasted through a couple seasons now.

Alot depends on your horse. Some are just harder on them than others. If your horse dislikes wearing one it will most likely find a way to get it off usually tearing it in the process; have a couple like that here.

For those I use the Endure Roll On. It works great and is the only kind I've ever used that actually comes close to living up to it's advertising as being long lasting. Also has conditioners and sunscreen so it's great to protect those pink noses that tend to sunburn.

Answer 5

fly mask II, it has the double latch and that is the only thing that my horses can make it go thro a season, but i do know that somethimes they don't always hold up as well as we like, but thats all i know. sorry, prob not much help, good luck

Answer 6

I use the Cashel Crusader long nose with ears...they last the best of any I've tried...sometimes a whole season, although I sew up snags once in awhile.  They also protect light horses from sunburn which is crucial for my paint mare.  My horses actually wait to get them on in the morning, like standing there saying "duh! Did you forget about my mask?  They are out 24/7 with a run-in, so they could just head on out to pasture without them.

Answer 7

I also doubt you will find a fly mask that will last for year after year, by their very nature they tend to get alot of abuse!

I have used the Cashel long face mask with ears for my Paint horses with success, and I have one that has lasted two seasons.  I did have to use some thread and fix a few holes on the ears, but otherwise its okay.

But I recently bought a very similiar type of flymask for about half the cost of Cashel.  Cashel with the long nose and ears cost about $45-$50 here, which is a fair amount of money since I need two!  I tried some long masks with ears from "Greenhawk", which is a big mail order company here in Canada.  Their nose is slightly shorter, but otherwise they are almost identical and they fit really, really well (In fact, I'm sure they stay on better than the Cashel one I have)  And the cost, on sale, was only $17 each!  You can bet that I'm going to order a few more for next year as I've been happy with the two I have now!

I have alos used Farnam, and I'm not happy with the fit.  I've used some of the soft no-name brands and don't like them either, the soft netting rubs on their eye lashes and doesn't seem comfortable for long term use.

Maybe try searching Greenhawk on the internet.  You may have to pay a bit more than I do in shipping, but the savings will be enough to make them worthwhile.

Answer 8

My Arabian geldings are notorious for trashing their fly masks.  I usually buy Farnam's Supermask II and hope for the best.  I don't know of any brand of fly mask that can survive a horse for more than one season, although, I've patched mine with scraps of old T-shirts and gotten another season out of them.  Mostly, though, by the end of fly season, they're pretty much toast.   Good luck.

Answer 9

Find one that last longer than one season....good luck. We have 3 horses and we usually buy approx. 10 or a dozen each summer.

They all seem to last about as long as each other.

They play and roll and catch them on branches or simply tare them whilst they are having a head scratch.

I HIGHLY doubt you'll ever find one that is still usable after one summer, but feel free to keep trying!