Fenwick vs Catago FIR Tech masks

[TheChestnutThing]

Ok, so I've always been a no way does gimmick work person and then I tried a Fenwick mask on my hugely anxious horse who sits and chews his mouth in his stable like a foal, freaks out with other horses in the school, freaks out if the arena fencing changes colour and almost always stops at the first fence in training if not a cross pole...well...I've borrowed a Fenwick one from a friend as a last ditch attempt at his show anxiety (imo only used at home so far) and I've got a very calm horse for the first time since I got him 18 months ago.

The fenwick ones are hugely expensive, the catago being 1/3 of the price. Has anyone tried both or has a catago and can tell me if they work just as well?

 

[asmp]

I would love to try one of these on one of ours who can get very anxious but my daughter said she wouldn’t ride in it due to its looks.

There is a large Fenwick black one without ears on a local FB site going for £50

 

[Bananyman]

Now that a few months have past, do you still notice a consistent improvement with the mask? I see a lot of positive reviews online but I would like to hear if this effect is sustained and clear over longer periods compared to when ridden without

 

[Mynstrel]

We see a definite and sustained difference in our Welsh x TB when he wears a hood, if he doesn't have it on or hasn't had it on for long when he's worked (for best effect it goes on a couple of hours before) he's like a different horse, much more uptight and jumpy. We have the LT hood, is it the hood itself or the fabric it's made from that helps? Don't know but whatever it is it helps him.

 

[Bananyman]

We see a definite and sustained difference in our Welsh x TB when he wears a hood, if he doesn't have it on or hasn't had it on for long when he's worked (for best effect it goes on a couple of hours before) he's like a different horse, much more uptight and jumpy. We have the LT hood, is it the hood itself or the fabric it's made from that helps? Don't know but whatever it is it helps him.

Interesting, thanks for your feedback. I also wonder is it just calming for them to have the slight pressure on their face? I don't really buy all this ion light stuff they claim

 

[SantaVera]

I've seen some on eBay,might be able to pick up a cheap second hand one there

 

[TheChestnutThing]

Now that a few months have past, do you still notice a consistent improvement with the mask? I see a lot of positive reviews online but I would like to hear if this effect is sustained and clear over longer periods compared to when ridden without

I do yes! If i don't have it on him when competing and hacking I definitely notice. I lost mine (put it on the roof of the car and then drove off), so haven't had it for a week and DEFINATELY noticed as I almost died hacking on Friday. Needless to say, a new one arrived in the post just in time for our show this evening. I ordered the Catago as MUCH MUCH cheaper and exactly the same thing as the Fenwick (which I had before).

 

[TheChestnutThing]

I also have the stable boot version for my other horse who stocks up and from day 1, he hasn't had one morning of swelling legs.

 

[Bananyman]

Amazing, good to know, I will consider it further..

 

[MuffettMischief]

We use a fenwick one for travelling our TB. He’s ok if he has company but gets incredibly stressed and kicks the living daylights out of the lorry when he’s on his own. I do 100% notice a difference between mask/no mask when travelling solo. I don’t use it for riding but has definitely helped for our issue with travelling. We have one with ears so wether it’s the noise cancelling aspect of it or the actual mask it self I’m not sure!

 

[Mynstrel]

We use a fenwick one for travelling our TB. He’s ok if he has company but gets incredibly stressed and kicks the living daylights out of the lorry when he’s on his own. I do 100% notice a difference between mask/no mask when travelling solo. I don’t use it for riding but has definitely helped for our issue with travelling. We have one with ears so wether it’s the noise cancelling aspect of it or the actual mask it self I’m not sure!

That's how we ended up trying one, we knew somebody with a horse that nearly kicked it's way out of a box and was badly hurt and using a mask got her in back a box and travelling well again and figured if it could help something like that it was worth a try for what we wanted (stresshead Welsh x)

 

[MuffettMischief]

That's how we ended up trying one, we knew somebody with a horse that nearly kicked it's way out of a box and was badly hurt and using a mask got her in back a box and travelling well again and figured if it could help something like that it was worth a try for what we wanted (stresshead Welsh x)

we were recommended it by a few people so got one on trial. We are hunting every weekend so could test it out pretty quickly!