People often indignantly ask “Why do you blindfold your horses?”

The facemasks the horses wear from late spring until the first frost keep flies out of their eyes.  Flies drink from the horses’ eyes and bite them – usually on their legs and bellies – to eat their blood.  They make the horses miserable, despite the spot-on fly repellants and fly sprays we use.  The masks are barriers that actually keep the flies away.

Fly masks are expensive, must fit each horse and should be put on each morning and removed each evening, so they are the mark of very well-cared-for horses.