Woof Wear Ride On Fly Mask Black M Horse Fly Protection Mask

Woof Wear Ride On Fly Mask – Black, Medium

Most fly masks are turnout masks and cannot be ridden in. This one is cut to be worn while you ride, either over or under the bridle, which makes it the answer for a horse that cannot be hacked out in summer without shaking its head all the way. It is also sun protection: the vision mesh blocks up to 60% of UVA and UVB, and a horse with a bald face or pink skin around the eyes burns there first.

The body is no-rub 3D spacer fabric — soft, stretchy and breathable rather than a stiff mesh — with a contoured nose seal that keeps flies from crawling up underneath. Woof Wear make it in Small, Medium and Large; Medium is the average riding horse fitting.

Performance & Benefits

• Designed to be ridden in, over or under the bridle — not simply a turnout mask.
• Vision mesh blocking up to 60% of UVA and UVB, which is why it matters on a pink-skinned or bald face.
• No-rub 3D spacer fabric that stretches and breathes rather than sitting rigid on the face.
• Contoured nose seal, so flies cannot work up underneath the bottom edge.
• Clear vision mesh, so the horse can see where it is going while shaded.
• Machine washable at 30°C.

Suitable For

• Average riding horses — Woof Wear's Medium fitting, between the Small and the Large.
• Hacking, schooling and competing where flies make a horse unrideable.
• Horses with pink skin, bald faces or pale eyelids that burn in summer sun.
• Horses that are head-shy about flies and become unsafe in company.
• Not a turnout mask. For all-day turnout, the Woof Wear UV Fly Mask with Ears or without Ears is the right product, and takes an add-on UV Nose Protector.
• Not a substitute for shade or for a nose protector on a badly sunburnt muzzle.

How to Use

• Decide whether it goes over or under the bridle before you start; under the bridle keeps it more stable, over the bridle is quicker to remove mid-ride.
• Set the mask so the mesh sits clear of the eyelashes and the eye itself, with no fabric touching the eyeball.
• Check the nose seal is flat against the face all the way round, without pulling the mask up into the eye.
• Close all straps before washing. Machine wash at a maximum of 30°C on a gentle spin with non-biological detergent.
• Do not tumble dry and do not leave in strong sunlight.

Specification

• No-rub 3D spacer fabric body with fine UV vision mesh and a contoured nose seal.
• Blocks up to 60% of UVA and UVB rays, as stated by Woof Wear.
• Size Medium, one of three: Small, Medium, Large.
• Black. Woof Wear list this mask in Turquoise on their own site.
• Woof Wear reference 1012825.
• Woof Wear quote no test standard for this mask and publish their fly mask sizing as a chart image with no head measurements, so no measurements or standard are stated here. Their UV Nose Protector is separately tested to BS EN 13758-1: 2002.

Care & Caution

• Fit is an eye safety matter. Mesh or fabric touching the eye or the lashes will cause corneal damage, so check the clearance every time you put it on and take it off if the mask has shifted during work.
• Take it off and look at the face after each ride — the bridge of the nose, the cheekbones and the poll are where masks rub.
• Do not ride in it if the mesh is torn, distorted or clouded; a mask that obscures vision is worse than no mask.
• It blocks up to 60% of UV, not all of it. A horse already sunburnt or with a photosensitivity problem needs shade and veterinary advice, not just a mask.