Overnight fly protection

Sunjunkieme

Sunjunkieme

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My Connie suffers with bouts of conjunctivitis. It is caused by flies and when it happens his eyes swell and weep so much that they close, poor boy.

I routinely bathe his eyes with cold tea in the summer & use Phaser fly spray on his body. He’s out at night, in a herd with plenty of space and trees for shelter.

i really don’t like turning horses out at night in a mask. When they were launched back in the day, the advice was always to take them off at night as they impair night vision and he really isn’t that keen on wearing one anyway.

I always turned my old boy out in a leather headcollar and a flyfringe - I’m after recommendations for fly fringes. Thoughts?
 
I would have thought a good fly mask would give better protection to his eyes, I leave masks on at night if there are midges/mossies around haven't ever had a problem .
 
Mine and every horse on my yard always where's them at night in the summer! I put a headcollar over mine (field safe) to keep it on
 
You can turn them out at night in modern ones absolutely fine. Go for a fine mesh one if you're worried, as they offer very good visibility, good enough to ride in for example!
 
There are some with very fine mesh that I don't think have much of an impact on vision at all. My two have both worn them over night and survived - my Arab like your horse had a summer where she kept getting conjunctivitis and there were so many flies around even in the evening that she just had to stay in a mask. And my Welsh is a toad to catch so he is often in his mask 24/7 because I can't expect my poor YO to round him up in the morning to try and put it on, she'd need a massive pay rise to do that! I just check it visually everyday and take it off every few days (or whenever I can catch him) to make sure it's not rubbing him. He spent six weeks in it one summer when I was away, and my YO just caught him once a week to take it off and check underneath it.

I think I'd worry that a fly fringe might have the potential to irritate very sensitive eyes. I know in theory they shouldn't, but unlike fly masks they aren't designed to stand well away from the eyes so I'd be a bit wary with one I know to be sensitive.

Also, I note you said your horse doesn't like wearing a mask. Is it one with a nose net or without? Because my Arab utterly loathes ones that cover her nose, to the extent that she becomes difficult to catch and runs away if she sees you approaching (and she is always good to catch). But without a nose net, she is absolutely fine and doesn't mind having her mask on at all.
 
I'd agree with the others that mine wear them at night without any issues. I've had some horses not keen on fly masks who are happy with the Rambo 'beekeeper' style ones. For a horse with sensitive eyes it would have the benefit of keeping the mask well clear from them too.
 
I tried a fringe a couple of years ago on my oldie. The spotty one decided it was great fun to pull off all the tassels. I’m still finding them in the field now!
 
Mine also wear fly masks at night. I am careful to pick the ones with black mesh - as I think white mesh is blinding (if you don't believe me try black and white mesh on a bright day yourself).
 
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My Appy can't see in the dark at all and she manages just fine - they learn their environment more than we give them credit for.

All mine are turned out in fly masks at the moment day and night. They fall off easily enough if they get caught
 
The agree rambo bee keeper ones are great. Also horses mainly use their whiskers, smell and hearing to navigate at night. So long as you don't block any of those things they should be fine.
 
agree with fly masks mine wear the lycra ones no problem. i also give them a teaspoon eye bright in their feeds helps with conjunctivitus also the pollen and dust, magical stuff clear noses everything, get it on amazon from just ingredients
 
Could get one of those tassly fly masks for overnigt if you're concerned about a mesh one?

Also using a cotton pad with citronella fly spray around his eyes might help flies avoid his eyes more without the spray getting in there.
 
Getbackboys said:
agree with fly masks mine wear the lycra ones no problem. i also give them a teaspoon eye bright in their feeds helps with conjunctivitus also the pollen and dust, magical stuff clear noses everything, get it on amazon from just ingredients
Click to expand...

can you share a link? This doesn’t come up in search on Amazon? Or on Just ingredients?
https://justingredients.co.uk
 
Justin Ingredients have possibly stopped selling it but if you click on that link it opens up to the eyebright and i made a pretend purchase and it accepted it so not sure why saying discontinued. But other suppliers on Amazon sell it - sorry for delay I hadnt logged in since posting - here is the link to Amazon https://www.amazon.co.uk/Organic-Eyebright-Euphrasia-officinalis-Dried/dp/B07GQG6X3Z/ref=sr_1_8?keywords=eyebright+herb&qid=1650299583&sprefix=EYEBRIGHT,aps,135&sr=8-8&th=1

Organic Eyebright (Euphrasia officinalis) Dried Herb (100g)
 
Thanks all. I’ll stick with the fringe, he seems happier with that than a mask and I’m sceptical despite all your comments.

I don’t feed anything herbal as a supplement. Ned is very sensitive and I’ve seen real positive changes in his behaviour by stripping out all supplements and working with EquiFeast to tailor his nutrition.

The change is extraordinary, I’m a bit evangelical about it!
 
it is not a supplement and you get instant results with it so only need to add to the feed when neccessary like you would on a course of bute, it is very good and not grown in the UK hence price being quite high, it does give instant relief to itchy eyes, humans can also take it you can find eyebright eye drops for humans, dogs, cats etc.
 
Getbackboys said:
it is not a supplement and you get instant results with it so only need to add to the feed when neccessary like you would on a course of bute, it is very good and not grown in the UK hence price being quite high, it does give instant relief to itchy eyes, humans can also take it you can find eyebright eye drops for humans, dogs, cats etc.
Click to expand...
I’ll keep that in mind. Thanks.
 
I did do a mask wearing test at night (yeah, fun times). Fine black mesh was fine. White mesh of any sort, not fine. If it's raining or due to rain she doesn't wear it overnight, either. I have tried fly fringes, but without exception they all end up being worn as beards after the first head scratch on legs/floor/shelter/trough...

My mare used to have the Snuggy Hoods hood with fringe and she went through a fence in blind panic when it was pushed round (again probably by itching as it was very snug!). She's never done that with a mask on.
 
Masks at night are perfectly OK and black mesh is better. I would be wary of using a fly fringe on a horse with conjunctivitis as the tassels could cause more irritation
 
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