The horse’s mouth blog: why am I wearing a mask?
By Trigger
No, I’m not about to rob a bank and I’m definitely not trying to disguise myself. I’m wearing a fly mask – and personally, I’m quite happy about it.
UPDATE: Now, some of you might have seen me on Facebook, still wearing my fetching mask, but this time the reason is a different one. Sometimes us horses wear masks to protect our eyes from injury and illness as well. I’ve had an ingrown eyelash which caused an abscess in my eye - let me tell you it wasn’t all that nice. Luckily Nat and the team are looking after me really well and the equine ophthalmologist has already been and treated me, now I just need to recover while I’m being fussed over majorly by all my favourite humans. All of this is quite expensive though, so the humans have started a fundraiser over on Facebook - turns out you can’t pay the vet in carrots and polos!
Read on below for why I normally wear a mask…
Summer is lovely for us horses. Long days in the fields, plenty of grass and sunshine on our backs. Unfortunately, warm weather also brings flies. Way too many flies for anyone’s liking.
Flies seem particularly interested in our faces, especially around our eyes, and constantly trying to shake or swish them away gets very annoying. This is where my rather fetching headgear comes in.
A fly mask is made from fine mesh that covers my eyes while still allowing me to see through it. It creates a barrier that helps keep those irritating little visitors away from my eyes and face. Some masks can also offer protection from bright sunlight, our herd mate Spotty wears one of those.
Personally, I don’t mind wearing mine at all. Once it’s on, I mostly forget it’s there and get on with the important business of being a horse.
Of course, not everyone in the herd agrees. Some of my friends would much rather take their chances with the flies than have anything attached to their heads. What one of us happily accepts, another may find uncomfortable or irritating.
Luckily, the humans at Park Lane know us all as individuals. They keep an eye on who benefits from wearing a mask, who is happy in one and who would really rather not, thank you very much.
As for me, I’ll be keeping mine on. It keeps the flies out of my eyes, makes summer days more comfortable and, if I’m being completely honest, I think I look rather mysterious in it.
Now, if only someone could invent a mask that stops humans taking embarrassing photos of us...
If you would like to follow on Trigger’s journey with the equine ophthalmologist, and how is he being cared for, head over to our Facebook page for updates and photos.