KM Elite Fly Mask Detachable Nose With Ears (Medium)

KM Elite Fly Mask with Ears and Nose – Medium

A one-piece black mesh mask that carries over the eyes, up into ear coverings and down across the nose, with mesh rated at 50% UV protection. Medium is the fitting for a cob or a lighter horse — enough coverage to keep the sun off a pink muzzle without a mask so large it sags at the jaw.

It is built for turnout rather than for the occasional bad day, and the ear coverings can be cut off above the stitched seam if the horse objects to them, leaving a perfectly serviceable earless mask. The trade-off is that the cut cannot be reversed, so it is worth giving the eared version a fair trial first.

Performance & Benefits

• Mesh gives 50% UV protection, aimed at light-coloured horses that burn on the nose and around the eyes.
• Full coverage over the eyes, ears and nose in a single mask.
• Converts to an earless mask by cutting each ear covering above the stitched seam.
• Black mesh and black trim, which shows dust and hay chaff less than a pale mask.
• Built for daily turnout rather than for occasional use.

Suitable For

• Cobs and lighter horses with pink or light-coloured muzzles.
• Turnout through the fly season where there is no shade to stand in.
• Horses sore around the eyes from face flies.
• Owners who want one mask that can become earless if the horse objects.
• Not a pony fitting — KM Elite's Combat Fly Mask range runs down to Extra Small and covers smaller heads.

How to Use

• Settle both ears into the ear coverings before fastening, so neither is folded.
• Check the mesh clears the lashes on both sides before you turn out.
• To convert to an earless mask, cut each ear covering straight across above the stitched seam. This cannot be undone, so try the mask with ears first.
• Take the mask off daily, shake the grit out of the mesh and check both eyes.
• Rinse in cool water and air dry. KM Elite publish no washing instructions for this mask.

Specification

• Full mask covering eyes, ears and nose, convertible to earless.
• Mesh gives 50% UV protection.
• Black mesh with black trim. Some retail listings describe this mask as beige; KM Elite's current listing gives it as black, and that is the figure used here.
• SKU 1011572. Barcode 5060171232179.
• KM Elite's own listing for this mask runs in Large and XLarge, with the Combat Fly Mask range covering smaller fittings.
• KM Elite publish no mesh weight, fastening detail or washing instructions for this mask, so none are stated here.

Care & Caution

• Grit and grass seed caught inside the mesh rest against the cornea. Remove the mask and shake it out daily rather than leaving it on for days at a time.
• The mask covers the eyes it protects — look at both eyes every time it comes off, for discharge, swelling or squinting.
• Cutting the ear coverings is permanent. Once cut, the mask cannot be returned to the eared version.
• This is not a breakaway mask. Retire it once the mesh is torn, rather than leaving a loose panel to fold back against the eye.