Fly Mask with Special Eye Protection?

[giddybiddy]

My horse has been having a lot of problems with his eye recently, so we've kept him in a fly mask 24/7 to help protect it. But since it's bothering him, he's been banging it against the wall, rubbing it against things, and just making it worse.

I remember when a pony at my old barn had eye surgery, he got a special mask that had a plastic kind of...dome over said eye. It was hard plastic, and worked great. I think this would work perfectly for my horse, but I don't know where to get one. I could make it, but I'm not the craftiest person, and it could possibly end badly!

Any suggestions are GREATLY appreciated!

[draftgirl01]

You might be thinking of the Guardian Mask. http://www.horsemask.com/Main.html

These are the most popular masks for eye issues.

[giddybiddy]

You might be thinking of the Guardian Mask. http://www.horsemask.com/Main.html

These are the most popular masks for eye issues.

Hmm...this isn't what I was thinking of, but it looks great! Thank for the link. I'll measure my horse when I go out today!

[EventFan]

The Guardian Mask is Great! My horse has one for an older eye injury too.

You may be thinking of the hood with eye cup they give you when your horse has an eye injury; it kind of looks like a Snoopy Flying Ace thing (sorry if you aren't familiar with Snoopy comics but he is my favorite and a perfect description lol!)

[aiken4horses]

What about a hood with a blinker? I borrowed one from a friend that works at the track.
Try looking at some track supply or tack stores.

[Huntertwo]

Was he diagnosed as to why he is having issues? Just wondering what his exact diagnoses is as you might need to medicate along with a special mask.

My mare has a cataract and Uveitis in her right eye and I like Horsey Shades the best. www.horseyshades.com (http://www.horseyshades.com)

I tried the Guardian Mask and she just *squished* the eye cups and I could never get them straightened out again.

[sublimequine]

Was he diagnosed as to why he is having issues? Just wondering what his exact diagnoses is as you might need to medicate along with a special mask.

My mare has a cataract and Uveitis in her right eye and I like Horsey Shades the best. www.horseyshades.com (http://www.horseyshades.com)

I tried the Guardian Mask and she just *squished* the eye cups and I could never get them straightened out again.

Not trying to be snarky here, just confused.. how is that mask different than just a plain old Supermask by Farnam? The price tag is a lot higher!

[ThoroughbredFancy]

Fly masks with no ears have always perplexed me.

[cloudyandcallie]

Try www.bigdweb.com (http://www.bigdweb.com) and go to the racing hoods section.
There you can buy a hood with the metal mesh over the eyes, and you can buy blinkers of all types to go over the mesh. You just lace them in and take them off.
Or you can take an old fly mask and cut out mesh and put it over the metal mesh.
Racing hoods.

[Huntertwo]

Not trying to be snarky here, just confused.. how is that mask different than just a plain old Supermask by Farnam? The price tag is a lot higher!

These masks provide 90 percent UV protection for the eye, especially important if you are dealing with Uveitis. :(

I'm not sure what percentage of protection the Farnum masks provide. It just says protects from bright light on their site.

[giddybiddy]

Was he diagnosed as to why he is having issues? Just wondering what his exact diagnoses is as you might need to medicate along with a special mask.

My mare has a cataract and Uveitis in her right eye and I like Horsey Shades the best. www.horseyshades.com (http://www.horseyshades.com)

I tried the Guardian Mask and she just *squished* the eye cups and I could never get them straightened out again.

Oh yes...I'm not EXACTLY sure what it is, saying as it was all in vet-lingo, but what my trainer told me is that it was basically like herpes of the eye. He's getting some sort of eye drops 4-5 times a day (don't know what it is...), and an antibiotic optical cream 3 times a day (that's really thick and gloopy and sticks to his eye-- it's great!)

He's all set in the medical department (at least for now...) and has a diagnosis and everything. I was just looking for some extra protection, saying as he's banging around a lot (and has ripped one mask and his new one is on it's last leg...)

And I was thinking of the one described as the racing mask, thanks for specifying guys!

[TikiSoo]

I bought a racing blinker mask when my pony had her eye removed due to uveitis. There's a photo of it 4 pictures down. I liked it because it fit tightly, was less likely to be caught on anything and you could change the position of the cups.
http://home.earthlink.net/~streamliner/_wsn/page4.html

After the eye was removed, I'd just sew old t-shirt fabric onto a regular fly mask to cushion her eye area.

If you have trouble finding blinker masks, call Jack's 800-2-TACKUP. I think it was around $30.

[Buffyblue]

I used a blinker hood with an eye cup on the side where it was needed. The cup was see-through and I had them put in several holes near the edge for ventilation in summer months. It worked great. I had mine done at Thyben's near Belmont - don't know if that store is still there though . . . Good luck.