Fly rugs and masks at night?

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M1lbie

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Do you leave fly masks and fly rugs on at night on your horses that live out 24/7? The flies are bad at the moment and I go back at dusk to remove masks and rugs and replace in the morning. I am wondering if it is better to leave both on overnight but wonder how well they can see with a mask on at night and whether it is not good to leave fly rugs on all the time or am I being over cautious?
 
I wouldn't.
I know of a horse which had to be put down after getting caught up in a fly rug and damaging his back.
As for masks, they do reduce visibilty and you can never guarantee 100pc they wont move. Mine get removed late evening and then fly spray body and fly cream face, ears and rear tummy. Wiping off face before bridle goes on.
 
I leave their fly rugs on all the time apart from when they are in. Only one wears a mask and I do take it off at dusk as I worry about it being on all night but plenty of people do leave them on.
 
Our ponies with sweet itch had their rugs and masks on at least from march to october every year without any trouble.
 
I don't, but neither have SI, and I am pretty high up on a hill, so flies are not too bad anyway. I am also in the very enviable position of having them on my own land, so come late dusk / early dark, I go out and take masks off, douse them with spray and leave them for the night. I then get up and redose with spray, add masks and rugs ready for the day time. I think they like a chance to roll naked, and have grooming etc without rugs, but I do appreciate that not all set ups work like that, and when they were on livery, and I couldn't pander to their every need every minute visit regularly through the day, it was different.
 
Fly rug on day & night - the midges are desperate at dusk especially ?
When I went to catch in Madam this eve her rug was covered in flying ants ?
 
Both mine have masks on 24/7, one has a couple of days without if its wet or windy & not much about fly wise but the other gets a puffy right eye if the flies get on in so he has to have it on permanently as much as I hate doing it to him.
 
Mine lives in a fly sheet and mask. Without the mask he gets insanely runny and gunky eyes. He generally leaves his mask on and I do remove it daily when I bring him in and clean it if need be.

He gets a few hours with his mask off while he is in is stable/small paddock eating before he goes back in the field again in the evening.

He's on full livery, but I don't expect them to walk out to the field every morning and put his fly sheet and mask back on, or remove it late in the evenings. Even if he were at home, I'm not sure I would either.

Many horses live in their fly apparel. Especially sheets. If you're worried about them getting hung up or injured, I guess they don't wear turnout rugs either? Idk, anything can happen with horses, but a fly sheet in 24/7 isn't high in my list of concerns.
 
I have had horses out 24/7 in fly rugs during summer for decades and only had one instance when a horse got the rug off and shredded it. I have not heard of horses getting injured by fly rugs because I guess they tear off if push comes to shove. Having said that I now feel I have probably jinxed myself!
 
Masks on 24:7 right now. They come off easily enough if they itch on trees.

My sensitive boy has his fly rug on overnight too although I had to take it off last night because he was dripping under it in the humidity. I don't know why they would get caught up any more than a waterproof rug?
 
Masks on at night unless it's going to rain. I'd rather not have them on overnight but their ears would be full of blood from midges and I'm not going up to the yard at the crack of dawn or at night.
 
Mine has both on in the day, and even has a fly rug on at night despite being in the stable! Whenever I have tried to leave it off, she hs been bitten all up her neck!
 
Mine keeps his on 24/7 except when I bring him in for his dinner, where I take both off to give him a once over and a quick brush. I tend to leave the mask off if its raining or forecast to rain too.
 
Mine keep them on 24/7 unless it's windy or wet - then they like to get nice and muddy :)

Most the biting insects come out at dusk!
 
Mine are in during the day but on days when the flies are bad I admit I do leave their masks on and last night my chestnut mare needed a fly rug for the first time ever as the flies here are terrible this year and she was being driven mad
 
My 2 that are out 24/7 only wear masks but they keep them on all the time unless it’s windy/wet. It’s terrible for flies where we are and they are miserable without them. I did try the youngster without when she first arrived but she was much happier wearing the mask. Only one of mine wears a rug as he’s just so sensitive to the flys and sun, but if he stayed out overnight he’d definitely need the rug on
 
Masks are on 24/7 unless it's really overcast. They're for sun protection mainly as they have pink noses, but the field is very safe and they've been in there 12 years.
 
Mine is allergic to fly spray and sensitive to fly bites so she wears her mask and rug overnight unless it is cold/wet enough for a LW turnout.

I am less concerned about horses getting caught up in a fly rug than a normal turnout as they rip much more easily so there is less likely to be a serious injury.

I don't buy the stretchy masks with eye holes as I worry about them moving. Mine are either all mesh or have a big mesh panel and a velcro fastener so again if there was a problem they would easily come off.
 
Mine is down to just a mask now as couldn't get a rug that was a good enough fit and thought the rubbing / pulling was probably more irritating than the fly's but she has her mask on 24/7.
 
Fly rug is always on, even in the stable. It comes off once a day so I can check him over, apply sweetitch creams, fly spray etc. He has mask and fly wraps on in the field overnight. If he wants it off he’s quite capable of getting off himself! This is the only way of making sure he isn’t bitten and itchy constantly...
 
Mine lives in her SI rug, won’t wear a mask though so I have to smother her in biteback cream twice a day on her face and forelock.
 
I do my itchy one. He does come in for a bit during the day though to get time out of his mask (rug stays on)
Anything else I do like to try and give naked time but are midges etc not more active at dawn and dusk? I turn out at 5 so flies are still bad
 
if I turn out when the flies are still bad then masks go on and stay on overnight.
Current paddocks have no shade so I try to leave them in as late as I can though on hot/bad fly days.
 
I am less concerned about horses getting caught up in a fly rug than a normal turnout as they rip much more easily so there is less likely to be a serious injury.
/QUOTE]
That is the point, the body of the rug can rip quite easily but the binding and fastenings does not. That is how they get caught up and have accidents.
 
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