Who has put the fly masks on then?

Please educate me as to why your horses have lost the innate knowledge of how to use their tail / legs etc to deal with flies without having to be dressed up in these hats. Horses have been around for zillions of years and have not evolved into creatures with long manes and tails for nothing. Why do you treat them like poodles?
 
goldanas49 said:
Please educate me as to why your horses have lost the innate knowledge of how to use their tail / legs etc to deal with flies without having to be dressed up in these hats. Horses have been around for zillions of years and have not evolved into creatures with long manes and tails for nothing. Why do you treat them like poodles?
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ummmm.... my horse is hogged.....
 
mainpower said:
ummmm.... my horse is hogged.....
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Well I guess human vanity and the desire for the aesthetic over animal wellbeing has won in this case. I appreciate that you think you care for your animal by putting a mask on it to prevent it being bitten by flies , which it would have been able to deal with, had you not cut off its mane, and ultimately it's your choice of equitation.
 
So the horse coming up in itching bites comes under animal wellbeing then rather than prevention?

I'm sorry, but that is a load of bollo*cks. If you want them to be 'natural' then turn them away, don't handle them, don't vaccinate them, etc. Horses came into domestication and have the relevent extra's now that help not hinder them in this life.
 
goldanas49 said:
Please educate me as to why your horses have lost the innate knowledge of how to use their tail / legs etc to deal with flies without having to be dressed up in these hats. Horses have been around for zillions of years and have not evolved into creatures with long manes and tails for nothing. Why do you treat them like poodles?
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Some are clearly fly magnets, just as I am too. Of our 2 ponies one is a fly magnet and they cluster round him, the other doesn't seem to attract them in anywhere near the same quantity, and he is fortunate to have a much thicker and longer tail and so is better equiped naturally to deal with them too. Surely it's in their interests to keep the flies off by masks and fly rugs? I certainly wear long sleeves and plaster myself in fly repellent for my own comfort, so why shouldn't I do the same for the pony?
 
Sadly, 2 days after the snow went, the masks were on. all of the ones you describe,having to ride in sunglasses too.Routine differs, horses out much earlier to try and avoid.
Roll on summer!!!
JC
 
Binky01 said:
So the horse coming up in itching bites comes under animal wellbeing then rather than prevention?

I'm sorry, but that is a load of bollo*cks. If you want them to be 'natural' then turn them away, don't handle them, don't vaccinate them, etc. Horses came into domestication and have the relevent extra's now that help not hinder them in this life.
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Binky, I do not think that a hogged mane can be classed as an extra that , "helps rather than hinders" , indeed I think it exacerbates a problem, (flies) , which all horses came into life with the tools to deal with. I guess I would be happier if horses were alowed to be ridden in a more natural state. Having said that I am clearly not against domestication, but believe that the trend to cut off or trim anything that's not pinned down on a horse has gone to an extreme which is detrimental to the horse.
Horses like rolling in dust to keep flies off and have an itch, but I guess having a dusty horse is a no no.
 
I think its amazing how some people feel the need to critisise others on how they keep their horses rather than comment on the actual post topic!

There is a saying "if you cant say anything nice then dont say anything at all"

If people choose to clip/hog/trim then so be it. Its not cruelty!! Infact, I know of horses with long manes who sweat rather a lot under their manes in the summer and would possibly be grateful for a hogged mane!

Fly masks help prevent sunburn, allergies and repel heat. If we can make the horse comfortable in such weather then why would we choose not to????
 
As far hogging, it's hardly a 'trend'. You do what you do that's type to that breed, especially as far as showing goes. Not all horses are leisure horses to pet and keep in a happy little field pretending to be 'natural ponies'. Some have a job and like any job, there's rules.So, sobeit if they have to be hogged. They get the extra protection to mimic their mane so what's the big deal.


You'll find their manes and tails only do so much to keep flies off my dear. And there is no more 'natural state' to ride them in. Us being on their backs = not natural. Full stop. No trying to beat around the bush and kid your self otherwise. Horses are not living in the wild anymore and people need to stop treating them like they are. We've changed their lifestyle to what they were originally millions of years ago, similar to dogs, cats, etc. I'll be damned if any of my horses or any I know would even dream of living 'wild and natural' now. Be muddy, left untidy and out 24/7 [or 'natural'] or live what is now a normal life being stabled [extra calories and warmth], having rugs [ie, to keep warm], being clipped [to help condition], extra feed [help condition].....I know all of ours prefer being these 'dressed up poodles' as you described.

Prime example is our 'natural' youngster we got. No cereal feed, no rugs, living out 24/7, allowed to be muddy, unshod etc. Apparantly 'horsey haven' for him??
Load of Cop.
He had the most god awful skin on earth, no amount of dust or mud [which was a considerable amount], full untouched mane/tail, had any effect from providing a barrier from fly bites. He had spots all over which were bites and rubbing him solid to itch itch itch.
But of course. Being au natural, no fly sheet or other should have been added as you said. He's a horse, he can cope! Itching like mad is something he'd only do in the wild correct? Which fine yes. They can't DEAL with it in the wild. They have no vets or help other. They just have to deal with it. Of course, they also don't have to have tack put on over the top of this either.
Tack on itching bites. Niiiiice. Lovely for the horse.
And is feet? Yes lovely and solid. But on manmade grounds and flint....still footy! Completely different ground to the wild and most horses in said wild will still have cracked and chipped feet you'll find.
And he had the most god awful stroppy depressed attitude.

6months on and an 'un-natural' life later full with rugs, stables, cereal feed, fly rugs and shoes later, he is a completely different horse. He is the loveliest horses now, shiny coat, fab hooves, nicest temperament and just the complete opposite to the dejected horse we picked up 6 months ago. He quite likes being a 'pampered poodle' and would never turn him out away again to live 'natural'. Him and me would rather kill ourselves than do that if I'm perfectly bluntly honest.

Needless to say I'm not a natural horsemanship fan if you didn't guess. Callme crazy but common sense and tailering needs to suit each horse is more my preferred method.
 
If I can help my horses by making life easier by uses whatever means I can to keep the flies away then that is my choice, my horses do have natural manes and tails because I choose to keep them this way but would not dream of telling people who hog trim etc this was wrong.
Flies can do alot of damage bringing lots of problems to horses that have sensitive skins, my cob mare has a large third eyelid and if I did not have a mask on when the flies are bad flies and the sun is very bright it would cause her lasting damage.
And lets face it if someone came up with a fly repellent that lasted more than a few hours they would be rich over night, masks and sheets give horses lasting relief from flies. If you choose to not to use them that is your choice this was a post on wether you are using masks etc not wether they were right or wrong.
Maybe if you want to moan about people turning horses into poodles you should open a new thread on this exact topic and moan away to yourself.
 
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