Hello,

I just want to say thank you for such a great (American made) product. I bought your Guardian Mask for my horse Bullseye around Aug/Sept 2011. My dad bought 4 horses at auction in May 2011 and the horses spent their first 2 months on my Grandma's property. Bullseye (approx 7 years old at the time) didn't have any issues, that I noticed, at my Grandma's house during this time. After the horses arrived at their permanent home with me in July 2011 I noticed his eyelids were swelling every day. The swelling would go down over night and by the next afternoon his eyelids looked horrible. Being a new horse owner I didn't know what was going on so I called the vet and he ended up being treated for a corneal ulcer. When his eyelids would swell he would rub them on the fence for relief and ended up scratching both eyes. I was told to keep a fly mask on him because it must be the flies bothering him. I tried several different brands of fly masks and it still wasn't helping. He would rub his eyes on the fence even with the mask on. I called the vet and asked some horse friends for advice. I was told to try different types of fly spray or repellants around the face, and was sold some type of cream to put around his eyes every day. Nothing worked. I told people it wasn't a fly/bug issue and that something else was going on - I just didn't know what the problem was. But what would I know? I was a first time horse owner and this was clearly an issue of flies irritating his eyes.

During this time I observed Bullseye on several occasions with a jerking head movement. Not a shake the flies off his face movement, but an almost violent jerking back of his head. It wasn't constant but it was enough that I noticed it on several occasions. I also noticed that he would often be in a shady area while the others were grazing. He would later re-join the herd and by the end of the day his eyes just looked horrible. He seemed miserable and I felt awful because I didn't know what to do. Obviously the fly mask was not working. I started doing my own research and came across several sites about photic headshaking. I mentioned this to people but was told this probably wasn't his problem. I finally found your website and it had so much information; I read every page on your site. I called your company and the man that answered was very nice and answered all my questions. I placed an order that day for the mask and he told me he would send it out ASAP. Bullseye wore the mask as soon as it arrived until winter. During winter he was fine unless it was an unseasonably warm winter day, or the sun was very bright. He started wearing the mask again in March 2012. One Saturday he did not want to cooperate and would not be caught to put his Guardian Mask on. He paid the price - by the end of the day his eyelids were so swollen you could barely see his eyes. The only time he has a problem is when his buddy rips the mask off when they are playing & he spends the rest of the day without his 'sunglasses'. Other than that he leaves it on all day every day and it does the trick. I don't have to use any fly creams or sprays on his face - the Guardian Mask is what he needed and it protects his eyes. He is sensitive to the sun - that is the problem. A regular fly mask doesn't do anything to block the sun from his eyes. I often wonder if his headshaking is the reason he was sold at auction - maybe his owners didn't know what to do with him. I don't know what I would have done without your product. It has made his quality of life so much better and that is what matters. I am thrilled that I found your website and purchased a Guardian Mask. I wish that the people I talked to had not been so quick to shoot down the idea of the Guardian Mask, or that I didn't know anything because I haven't been around horses all my life. I tell people about it all the time whenever they see him and laugh at his "bug eye" mask. It is a great product, well made and has given him a better quality of life. It is a miracle mask for him.

Thanks,

Christy Long