Besides fly spray for horses, fly mask is absolutely essential things that every horse owners will think of to control flies. Biting flies attack horse’s horse may cause painful, allergies or infections.
However, choosing the fly mask for horse is not the simple task. There are many types, styles and features of horse masks available. It can easily be confusing if you don’t know exactly what you are looking for. So how to choose the best fly mask for horses? Here are the critical points to check.
#1 Muzzle
The nose of the fly mash should sit about 1 to 2 fingers width below the cheekbone of horses. If it not, the cheekbone will make up the gap between the edge of the mask and the horse’s head and the flies can easily pass through. Beside the edge of the mask tough the cheekbone also can cause rubs.
Not only that, you should adjust the Velcro and ensure that there is a gap that you can slip a finger or 2 in between the mask and your horse. Any larger gap than this can make the mask easy to come off if your horse rubs his head. You also should not wear the mask too snug against the skin, the horses may get hard to move their head and feel uncomfortable.
#2 Throatlatch
If you do not want you horses feel uncomfortable when moving the head up, the throatlatch needs to fit similarly to the muzzle. Make sure that you can slip 2 fingers in between the throat and the mask. The Velcro that is fastened too tight also tends to lose its effectiveness after a short time of using. However, Too loose and the mask will easily slide over the ears.
#3 Ears
Next, the mask also should not too tight in the eyes. Since eyes area is the most sensitive part if horse’s face, the protector mask can cause irritations and eye abrasions if it get too closely and rubs on the eyes. Ensure that the eyes part of the mask is loose enough so that the fly mask does not touch your horse’s eyes or eyelashes.
If you use the mask that make of stuff wire and do not incudes fabric around the eye, carefully check the largest past of the mask is right on your horse’s eye. If the eyelashes is tough the fly mask, that means it is too closely to the eyes.