am i cruel ?

scrumpyjackles

scrumpyjackles

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i dont use fly rugs or masks on my horse as i always think they must be so horrid to wear in this hot weather....am i cruel ? should i use them ? he seems ok with out any of them but i do worry that maybe everyone just thinks im mean ?
 
If your horses are fine without them why put them on ?
1 of mine wears full fly regalia as shes a cleg magnet, and gets bitten to bits. my other 2 dont as fly spray is enough for them to keep them comfortable at the moment
 
Why would you put something on your horse that he doesn't need? :confused: If he's fine without, what on earth is the point in swaddling him up because people think you're mean? Who the hell cares?
 
Unless I have horse is really bothered by flies (sweetitch or something similar) I never use rugs/ masks especially in the heat as it just get's so warm under them.
 
Not at all. I did buy my lad a fly rug but too be honest I hardly use it!! I too think unless they need it they are too hot in them.

Then if they get caught in the rain they end up being wet and cold. I know because my lad came in in a wet fly rug and was cold under it.

I do sometimes put it on if it is really muggy and no wind to blow flies around

He doesn't suffer reactions to fly bites so don't seem the need
 
i think it depends on the horse whether or not they "need" fly rugs / masks. i tried not to use a fly rug on my horse for as long as possible as i like to keep her naked as much as i can, but seeing the bites coming up and her standing at the gate from 11am persuaded me that i should at least try a fly rug - she dives into it and seems to really like wearing it, certainly looks happy enough grazing until i go to take it off in the evening. this is the same horse that lets you know when she is warm enough in the stable not to need a neck cover or a spring rug - she makes it very clear what she will and won't wear as the seasons change! so no, i don't think you're cruel unless your pony is covered in bites / has gunky eyes / sunburn etc etc. common sense should govern whether you do or don't rug.
 
I don't use them either. What's more, Henry actually attracts less flies WITHOUT any repellant on. Shoot me, lol! Have used masks in the past and they rub them off and destroy them, so use a fly fringe if I need to (when my old pony had conjunctivitis for example).

Completely agree re: rugs and hot weather. Both of mine are shedding summer coats right now and I think it would be cruel to trap that under any sort of rug.
 
If he has shade and or company he will be perfectly happy.
I feel sorry for horses turned out on their own in a paddock surrounded by electric fencing with no shelter,I would think they would prefer to have a rug and mask on.
But I still would feel sorry for them.
I am sure your horse would let you know if he wasnt happy,most of them do.:D
 
I dont think its cruel not to use fly protection In the form of masks etc, I think its down to personal choice and the horse. I put a mask on my girl as i cant bear to see 20 million flies getting into her eyes its my biggest pet peeve ever! and its nice to see her out grazing without shaking her head every second to get them off her face and ears. I dont worry about her head being too hot as got a zillion holes in it and blocks 80% of uv rays for her sunburn too, I have the Equilibrium one was £32 very well spent to see her not being harrassed I dont rug her though and cant really speak for the other masks on the market as havnt tried them x
 
No your not, our ISH never has a fly rug or mask, and is fine, however our WB i think is made from velvet hes a nightmare hes always in a fly rug and wears a mask with 80% uv protection in it as hes had uvetis in the past. As long as your horse isn’t distressed by the flies i don’t think your being cruel
 
scrumpyjackles said:
i dont use fly rugs or masks on my horse as i always think they must be so horrid to wear in this hot weather....am i cruel ? should i use them ? he seems ok with out any of them but i do worry that maybe everyone just thinks im mean ?
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I don't think you are cruel, but I do think you are wrong about the rugs being horrible to wear in this hot weather. If you take one of my mares as an example, she absolutely hates rugs of any kind and it is a real struggle to get one on her. She will try to bite you, block you, swish her tail, the lot. So when she does that I don't put one on her. But without fail, in this hot weather she comes up to me in the field when I bring in the fly rugs and stands like an angel whilst I put it on her. I put the rugs on all of the horses loose in the field and none of them try to move away. When the rugs are on they are far more contented. The kicking, biting and swishing at the flies stops and they stand and go to sleep or graze happily.

I also believe they are cooler with them on as the shiny white colour of the rugs reflects the sun's rays.
 
One of our horses in particular gets plagued by flies around his eyes, the others dont. So he has a fly mask on to keep him comfortable but the others have no need of one. All horses are different, it is whatever is best for your horse that matters. Don't take notice of what other horsey people say OP, you know your horse better than anyone else!
 
I put a fly mask on my horse, not only for the flies but also the glare from the sun. Don't like the thought of flies eating his poo, then licking his eyes, Yuk! But that's my choice, you are not cruel at all.
 
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Another very successful marketing ploy!
For horses which suffer from sweet-itch full fly rugs are a godsend but for most horses, they are simply something else for owners to spend their money on, after being 'guilt-tripped' by the manufacturers. And as for fly-fringes, I wonder how many people remember to use them with field-safe headcollars. Even those who do are risking accidents and IMO horses can manage to injure themselves quite easily enough without us giving them extra help.
We are using 'Spot-on' fly-repellant this year, which is working a treat. Horses which attract flies round their eyes often benefit from vaseline smeared at the eye-corners.
 
It's also a very good idea to grow your horses mane and tail long for the summer mths, our boy is all short and tidy for plaits during the winter, but now he looks like a wild mustang :-)
 
No rugs, masks or repellent for my horse.
She did have a sore eye a couple of summers ago and she wore a mask then, apart from that, she is as naked as the day she was born :).
 
Don't think you are cruel :) It is the choice of each owner and also the requirements of the horse. Pharaoh had to wear a mask anyway and I bought a rug for him but he had such a thick mane it was more uncomfortable for him to have one on. Misty, having the colour skin he has, needs a mask because he get's burnt and the sun cream just isn't lasting long enough but being a mini it's not so easy finding one!
 
I don't use them as a rule, I make sure I use a good fly spray, thankfully the flys are not too bad down at our yard.

The negatives to either of my two wearing them tend to out number the positives but like people say it's down to the individual horse as to why they need to wear one or not.
 
My horse was naked except for a fly fringe for first 9 years of owning him. This and last year he's had a worse reaction to flybites (or maybe we've got a new type of fly round here in the fens? or maybe it's the dry weather? or maybe his immune system changing as he's older?) and so now wears a full facemask and uv fly rug for most of the summer. He hasn't sweated underneath it so far and it does minimise the fly bites and resultant swellings. He seems comfy wearing it and stands loose while I put it on him.

my youngster doesn't seem to attract flybites at all and just wears a face mask. being a youngster, he loses it every once in a while and I find him shaking his head to rid the flies and he'll trot over to me to have his face mask refitted once I've found it.

each to their own according to their environment and needs.
 
My boy's got sweet itch, so common "wisdom" would no doubt be to swathe him with everything possible, including a fly mask. However, this year I've tried not to do that whenever possible, as I felt he was getting awfully hot under it, which would inevitably make him itchy, and then he'd start rubbing himself and we'd be back to square one.

So I've left his fly/ears mask off whenever possible, and keep an eye on him - which is easy to do for me as I keep him at home and can look down into the paddock anytime to see what's going on.

I've used Killitch on him, simply because he's got sweet itch anyway and I've always got it to hand ........ and so far (touch wood) he's been fine, no rubbing, or getting stressed, or anything, so I agree with OP and others that you've got to do what's best for your own horse and sometimes just wing it and see how things go.

He's got a pink nose, and gets very sunburnt unless I put sudocrem or something on it; and last year bought this fly mask with a bit that covers the muzzle. He just hated it with a vengeance, rolled and tried to get it off - mainly because it was making him sneeze and blow, perhaps it was irritating his nostrils area, I don't know, but it certainly wasn't something I could leave on him. Poor lad.
 
Personally I think all horses should be turned out with masks on at this time of year unless there is a very good reason not to. I have had one horse that would not wear them but then she had to put up with sore, bleeding ears all summer despite my best efforts with fly repellant.

My current horse wears a rug as he has no tail to keep the flies off (long story!) but I usually prefer to see them naked unless they have a strong reaction to fly bites.
 
No not cruel at all, until I got Connie i never used anything on my horses as they didnt need them, however whenever Connie gets bitten she ends up with yellow weepy lumps all over her, so she has a fly rug on.

I cannot stand masks at all, devils work in my opinion will never use one, so many times I have seen horses with terrible weepy eyes under a mask, worse than what flies cause, plus i regularly see them with flies caught inside the mask!
 
wellsat said:
Personally I think all horses should be turned out with masks on at this time of year unless there is a very good reason not to. I have had one horse that would not wear them but then she had to put up with sore, bleeding ears all summer despite my best efforts with fly repellant.

My current horse wears a rug as he has no tail to keep the flies off (long story!) but I usually prefer to see them naked unless they have a strong reaction to fly bites.
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Why would i put masks on my horses when they have no need for them ?
Thats good enough reason for me :D
 
I wouldn't say they are the devils work;) My horse had Uevitis and had to wear a guardian mask, otherwise he would have to be confined to a blacked out stable. Mine was a life saver, don't know what I would have done without it.
 
I think its very much personal preference unless needed for a medical reason or to stop a bad reaction to flies. I personally always use fly masks or fly fringes, only because I don't like to see flies all round my babies eyes. I'm not a huge fan of fly rugs, have known flies to get under the rug & not be able to get out, by the time its been noticed the horse is turning itself inside out because its being bitten left right & centre. Having said that a friend of mine is currently using one as her horse had a bad reaction to a bite & he seems very happy in his.
 
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