Last week, Lynette mentioned in a comment on this post that she’d like to look out through a fly mask to see what it’s like. She also asked if I’ve tried.
I don’t remember seeing fly masks on horses before moving to New Mexico. I’ll admit again that when I moved here, I was thoroughly confused about why people would put blindfolds on their horses to prevent them from seeing where they were going. After all, I figured if I couldn’t see the faces of horses who were wearing masks, they surely couldn’t see me.
That, Lynette, is why last summer, I had to look out through a fly mask to see what it’s like. After all, I had to balance the potential of blindfolding the Boyz versus protecting their eyes from biting flies before I put fly masks on them.
Turns out, fly masks aren’t blindfolds like I thought they were. Silly me.
If you haven’t had the opportunity to see what it looks like to peer out through a fly mask, this might help.
Here’s me looking at Ellsworth.
And here’s Ellsworth (and Nigel) through the “lens” of a fly mask.
Because fly masks are a tightly woven netting (keeps the flies out while allowing air to flow), wearing one is kind of like putting on a pair of sunglasses. Not bad at all.
Here’s Abigail the goat.
And here’s what Abigail looks like looking through a fly mask.
The cottonwoods out back.
And the cottonwoods through a fly mask. You can see in this picture that the fly mask was farther away from the camera lens than in the first two pictures (the farther away the mask, the more you can distinguish the netting).
The Boyz.
And the Boyz through a fly mask.
Thank goodness they can see. ♥
Morning Bray Farm 