Cashel Quiet Ride Horse Fly Mask with Long Nose and Ears, Black, Horse

I have a small headed, 15hh QH and a 15.1hh Old Stock Morgan. I had previously bought the full horse size of these masks and really liked them. I am still using them into this 3rd summer. This time, I bought the cob/Arab size for both my girls. The throat strap just fits around my Morgans neck with an inch or two to attach. But, I like fit of the nose mesh better than with the full size mask. Although the full horse size fit my QH, the mesh extended beyond the tip of her nose and dragged on the ground during grazing. It held up well, even though it was too long. No rips, fraying or tears. I found the cob/Arab size nose extends to just above the nostrils, which provides good muzzle protection against flies and gnats but doesnt cover the nostrils. I like that these have ears to keep those gnats and no-seeums out of the ears, as well. I use these masks for pasture use because my girls are not hard on them and dont pull on each others masks. These are also great for trail rides. I rub a little SWAT fly repellent on the mask to keep flies off the masks, themselves. I do this before I put the masks on my horses heads to prevent any clumping of the repellent and risk it melting into their eyes. These are also great to use when trailering, just as a precaution. As for comfort, neither of my girls ever try to get the mask off. They actually come to me when they see I have them in my hand. The only suggestion I have it that I would like to see the eye area more generous so that the mask stands away from the eye a little more. But, it doesnt seem to bother my girls the way it is so it just may be my own personal preference rather than theirs.

OMG! 4 hoofs UP !! When riding, most of our horses just give a shake of the head when flies bother them. But our big ol Quarter horse has a habit of throwing his head up. This pulls on the reins adding to his frustration and further annoying the rider. Everyone has to pull their weight here, so ordered this flymask to see if this would reduce the fly annoyance for him. Wow! Took him out to ride fence for a couple hours and he did not throw his head once and I could see a few flies around the mask, but they didnt bother him at all. Im sure the long nose feature of this mask is a real benefit too.

I bought the horse size and its about an inch longer than my horses face. It definitely is light weight and sheer, almost too sheer. The day after I bought it, it was ripped all along the nose stitching so she definitely got it caught on something. Plus: it was able to rip instead of her getting hung up. Con: I dont really see anything in my stable that she could get caught on so it ripped a little too easy??? I called it a fluke and went to buy another one and the price went up $5!

This is the second purchase of this fly mask. The first one lasted over two years of regular riding. I use when bugs are out (in Florida its about April through October or November). This is hands down the best mask for riding. Lightweight, doesnt hinder my horses vision, and keeps the bugs out of face and eyes.

I really do love this riding fly mask. We went from head thrashing nonsense down the trail to smooth sailing. I recommend the black since that is what the flies like to land on and I would rather them land on a fly mask and not bother my horse than elsewhere on his body where he may still be irritated.

I usually buy my horse gear at SmartPak but I purchased via amazon so I could get it in two days with prime. I purchased this mask for the mare I ride and normally I use a bonnet for deer flys and she is happy, but lately there has been the little black no see ums type bugs that make my mare shake her head. The shaking is annoying during trails rides so I got this mask with a long nose to hopefully prevent that and it worked during my last trail ride. I actually rode in the mask the day before to make sure it did not annoy her and she suprisingly did not mind (in the past fringed bonnets have annoyed her). She is very sensitive and particular and the material is light enough, yet sturdy enough to not flap around. I figured I would use it for turn out if it did not work out (and I used that idea to justify a purchase) and the package said not suitable for turnout, but I realized that is because there is only one velcro strap to put this on over the bridle, so if you are debating using this for turnout instead of its intended purpose I believe that is why it is marketed not for turn out, in addition to being lighter and easier to see out of. The mask worked well and seemed to keep the bugs away and not interfere with my overly sensitive mare.