Shires Fine Mesh Fly Mask - Full Face w/ Ears is rated
4.8 out of
5 by
19.
Rated 5 out of
5
by
hannahjack from
Finally, a mask that stays on.
I purchased this mask because my Paint gelding was recently diagnosed with skin cancer on his eyelid and I needed high UV protection to prevent it from getting worse. In the past 14 years I have never found a fly mask that he will keep on for longer than a few hours. He has been wearing his Shires mask 24 hours a day for over two months now and has only ever taken it off twice. The mask is made well and the blue color is beautiful. I love the addition of the long nose piece to protect his pink nose. I am so happy with this mask, especially for the great price at SmartPak!
Date published: 2020-07-07
Rated 5 out of
5
by
Cassie from
Very pleased with this mask!
I can't tell you how many fly masks i've tried and have been utterly disappointed in; well not this one. This mask is wonderful for many reasons. It is vibrant in color, it has wonderful padding in sensitive areas; and best of all -- it stays OFF my horse's eyes and the mesh is SO clear and easy for the horses to see through. Will absolutely buy again. Mine look new after a full season of use.
Date published: 2019-09-17
Rated 5 out of
5
by
AppyandMe from
Best mask EVER!
I bought this about a month ago. My Appy has a large jaw, hard to fit. I needed a mask to cover his nose (got sunburn with blisters) and ears (had warts in his ears from flies), and one that would stay on!! This has double Velcro straps that kept it on for days, a nice stretchy, fleecy edge to the poll area, fleece over the seam that runs over the nose to prevent rubbing. I was putting a halter over my Cashel to keep it in place. This one, without. It also has the UV protection for his eyes, so that it wards off the uveitis know to Appaloosa and fair-skinned horses. Much more comfortable, easy to wash up, and my horse stays happy. Highly recommended, especially at the very reasonable price! Protect your horse, priceless in my mind.
Date published: 2019-08-13
Rated 5 out of
5
by
Nmschoonover from
Wonderful fly mask
I bought this for a silly off the track thoroughbred. So far it's held up to other horses playing with her and it doesn't bother her sensitive self and skin.
Date published: 2019-08-09
Rated 2 out of
5
by
Lauren from
The zipper broke in 4 days
I was looking for a fly mask with UV protection for my guy's pink nose. This fit the bill! First, these run large. My 17.2hh horse wears oversize in halters, bridles, and every other fly mask I've ever purchased. Still, I always measure. Smartpak didn't have a size chart on this fly mask, but I found it at Shire's and also noticed the other Shire's fly masks at Smartpak seem to have the chart. My horse measured Full/Horse. I was skeptical and ordered expecting to return - been there, done that. Nope. It fit perfectly. I'd recommend anyone shopping, go and find the size chart and measure first.
I like the fit, it provided good clearance over the eyes and the nose attachment extended down past my horse's muzzle. Unfortunately the nose attachment is held on by a zipper, with no back up Velcro or anything. It looked flimsy, but I gave it the benefit of the doubt. Surely everyone puts super duty zippers on horse clothing? Nope. My horse, who's never broken or lost a fly mask in his life, broke the zipper on this thing in less than 4 nights of turn out.
Prior to it breaking, I was noticing another issue. The nose piece wraps around the muzzle and covers the nostrils. Condensation and nasal secretion gunk built up in the mesh and it attracted dirt, drying to a thin but impervious layer of grime, right over my horse's nostrils. The material isn't easy to scrub clean (unlike the material covering the eyes), so it took some work to remove the caked on mix, but I really didn't want to leave it for my horse to inhale through.
The part of the fly mask that isn't the nose attachment is much easier to spray clean, it dries fast, and it's still intact and looking good. I'm going to try to put in some heavy duty Velcro to reattach the nose portion, plus trim it back and restitch the border to get the mesh clear of my horse's nostrils. I really just need a strip of it to keep his nose from burning and it's already technically destroyed, so what's the worst that can happen?
Unfortunately, I can't recommend this. I assume anyone buying it is buying it for the nose piece and it's attachments are flimsy enough that I'm shocked this lasts on any horse.
Date published: 2019-08-08
Rated 5 out of
5
by
Overprotective horse mom from
Amazing
I'll have to order a size down because the full is just a bit to big for my boy. I'm ordering the cob and giving the full to the boarder for her larger horse. Even with it being so big he keeps it on! Love it!
Date published: 2019-06-12
Rated 5 out of
5
by
chickahorse from
A life-saver!
My two geldings are notorious for losing their masks in the pasture. I constantly have to hunt for masks or end up buying new ones each summer.
Enter these masks! They've kept them on consistently for the past few weeks, and I'm a happy mama! They seem comfortable in them, even with that 95°+ heat wave we had in Georgia last week. Plus, they look very snazzy, and everyone compliments the boyz on how nice they look.
Thank you for the great product!
Date published: 2019-06-08
Rated 5 out of
5
by
Kempgirl2 from
AWESOME MASK
I bought this fly mask a week ago and I just love it. The material is soft but durable, the ears are very breathable and have room for my horse who has bigger ears, the thick piece of fleece on this inside to keep mask from rubbing or getting to close to my horses eyes. I love the long extended nose as my horse who has a pink nose will have amazing protection from the sun. The zipper of nose is amazing. Its easy to zip on and off and the zipper stays in place when the full mask is worn. It doesn't unzip regardless of what the horse is doing. This mask is my new go to after my cashel mask rubbed my horse. I love this mask and I highly recommend it.
Date published: 2019-06-03