Math question came up as I was on a fly mask hunt in my pasture

One horse lost his fly mask in a 20 acre unmowed hilly pasture. Grass is belly high. Today I was looking for it and a second one that was also missing. As I rode, I wondered because two horses lost their fly masks in the same pasture on the same day, am I TWICE as likely to find one; or do the odds stay the same since both fly masks could be in exactly the same place…FYI I did find the one fly mask. And a mad Turkey hen sitting on a nest. I will continue the search tomorrow. I ride the horse who lost his to search, only seems fair. What are my odds?

7 Likes

Zero to a million?
Better odds you’ll find another nesting bird before Mask #2 returns from the 4th dimension.

I applaud your Sense of Justice, riding the Loser.
But, can you hear him chuckling?

I had to adjust Bugs’ muzzle’s throatlatch so he couldn’t rub it off.
Bonus for using brightly colored duct tape to secure the adjustment, so it shows up if/when he does.
Any place you could mark a flymask this way?
Of course, my pastures are a LOT smaller & grazed waaaay down.

12 Likes

As a math teacher, I feel qualified to answer this. The chances of finding either one would be the same. A needle in a haystack. The chances of finding BOTH, however, are somewhat worse than being struck by lightning on a sunny day. Riding Loser, while definitely vindication, does nothing to influence the likelihood of finding mask #2. I agree with @2DogsFarm that Mask #2 is in another dimension.

32 Likes

I would get a call or find out my horse had escaped her grazing muzzle and fly mask. So the ride or walk commenced, especially ride before the grass had been mowed. Always found it, doing a grid and being up the horse one had a better view. I think i would hear her muttering under her breath when we found it!!! We did finally come up with a solution that it did not come off. Later in the summer or fall, when the BO would arrive home, the girls would meet her at the fence for removal of the masks and they would a very short time for a free eat!!!
Hope you find your masks!!!

Just pull out a mower. You’ll find lots of stuff. Bell boots, fly masks, muzzles etc but they may not survive lol

19 Likes

I CALCULATE you are 4 times likelier to find a tick on you than find the second flymask. Belly high grass is tick paradise so stay on the horse! Take a stick that you can grab the flymask if you find it and stay out of the grass. That is my math lesson for the day. Every day I walk into the pasture to check my cucumbers on the wrong side of the deer fence - I find a tick on me. I am 100 percent on that probability. And all my shoo fly wraps are hot pink.

7 Likes

Always carry a grabber stick when mowing, you will need it for all that was lost that may now we found, preferably before mowing over them. :stuck_out_tongue_winking_eye:

4 Likes

The probability of finding the lost mask increases exponentially following the purchase of a replacement mask.

44 Likes

Oh chances that it’s in a non-state until you brush hog it into shreds is 100%. Schroedinger’s Fly Mask.

26 Likes

:rofl: :rofl: :rofl:

Fly masks actually enter a time and space vortex and travel to different universes and dimensions. Bell boots, too. By the time you’ve found whatever your horse lost in the pasture, you could have also found the God particle.

11 Likes

The field is sprayed for weeds in the spring, then left unmowed. The hills are too steep to mow safely, and the 3 acre wooded corner has trees too close together. It does have beautiful lush grass. I keep the fence rows mowed where I can and enjoy riding my “trails”. Fly mask hunts are a pleasant diversion–will start a grid pattern today.

2 Likes

I wonder if anyone as thought of attaching a small metal piece to the mask and then you could use a metal detector to find it. Unless, of course it has travelled to another dimension or been caught up in space/time vortex.

3 Likes

Is that the same dimension lost gloves and socks go to?

5 Likes

Try attaching a Tile to it? It makes a noise when you’re within 200’ of it using an app. https://www.bestbuy.com/site/tile-mate-2020-1-pack-white-gray/6370635.p?skuId=6370635&ref=NS&loc=101

I lost a lot of bell boots before I switched to neon colors which conveniently are usually on sale :wink:

3 Likes

Yes. And lost shoes.

1 Like

just need to check the coyote den for the lost items… the masks are usually under the aluminum cans they have brought home

You will never find the other fly mask, but the universe will try to compensate you for the inconvenience in the spirit of an even exchange. For example, in a 75-minute perusal of the field in bitter cold temperatures while looking for the first shoe my horse had lost in 10 years, I found: five bell boots (all different shapes and sizes,) a halter, half of a diaper and duct tape foot bootie, two blanket surcingles, several roofing shingles, a potato chip bag, a lacrosse ball, part of a lead rope, and someone else’s horse shoe.

16 Likes

Goodness! Search 20 acres with a metal detector? The tile idea has merit. I used those on key when kids lived at home. My 20 acre field is surrounded by my neighbors 3000 acres on three sides, and my two 10 acre pastures in the front that are mowed as they are visible from the house and relatively flat. While I do find interesting things in the unmowed field now and the, these items are "natural " (parts of fox/coyote kill, Turkey hens on nests of eggs, deer antlers) with one exception :golf balls! I have found quite a few–two or three a year. Odd because all my surrounding neighbors are Amish. Best guess is big birds pick them up from the 15 mile away golf course and drop them here. I will keep looking for the fly mask today.

3 Likes

Don’t forget pulled shoes!

2 Likes