A long time ago I did a write up on Caz’s pasture accident, but until I get around to posting it I’ll give you the gist. He was kicked in the eye resulting in a pocket that collected all kinds of yuck during the dry summer months. In an effort to cut down on eye infections, goo and more I bought him his own flymask.

I knew from the moment it arrived it was meant for him. There was literally a black & white paint on the cover of the wrapper. Pictured below and it looked like a long lost sibling of his.

However, before we get to that I wanna walk you though my process of choosing the mask I did for him and why. Kensington makes a handful of styles of flymask, from the normal earless, earless with fleece, with ears, with ears and fleece, ones with nose covers, fine mesh ones, UV protective ones, so many. I wanted to be sure he looked stylish and protected all around.

Caz was very fortunate to have black ears so he didn’t have to worry too seriously about melanomas or other skin cancers of the ears, but still I went with ears when choosing his mask. My thought was if he was covered from ear tip to jawbone he wouldn’t have anything sneaking into his eyes from any direction.

There is one thick velcro strap that was essentially indestructible, but very stretchy and sun bleached overtime. I wrote my name on it in silver sharpie so everyone knew it was Svec’s flymask. It’s still on there to this day.

It came in a wonderful purple blue plaid mesh with fluffy black fleece and lightweight mesh ears, Kensington calls this pattern Razzleberry. Priced at $35 plus shipping on Smartpak’s website you too can grab a set like mine. The other flymask next to Caz in the main photo is Kentucky Blue. It has the embroidery “Bones” on it, but it’s actually on the wrong horse. However, Tilly a sweet mare in someone else’s clothes also sports the same style as Caz.

I decided against the nose cover because I saw how yucky they got over time with all the constant grazing in pasture. However, if my own barn ever takes off (affectionately dubbed Metropolitan Stables) I think any pink nose should have one for sun protection. That being said that model runs at $49 plus shipping.

We were reposted by the company for wearing the mask at one point. And the mask did indeed protect him in all the ways I intended. The fleece stood up to the washer over the years, but the mesh was a little giving to pasture play and ultimately ripped which meant I got to take the mask home hoping to fix it. Unfortunately, I never did so now I have a wonderful item of Caz’s for a shadow box one day. It’s pictured as it’s been since I took it off him the last time or found it lying in a pasture. It’s a physical reminder to me of how much thought, effort and time I put into him. I’m so thankful for our time together, and I’ll miss him forever.