Anyone NOT use fly spray/rugs/masks?

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HaffiesRock

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Anyone out there who has a healthy horse with no fly related issues, not bother with fly protection?

I have 2 ponies, thankfully neither suffer with sweet itch or get bitten etc so I don't bother with fly spray, rugs or masks. Yes they have flies on them sometimes and are flicking their tails about while grazing, but they really don't see that bothered at all. I don't like the idea of fly masks or spraying on some chemicals/herbal stuff every day that I don't 100% believe works all that well anyway.

I get looked at funny at my yard as I don't spray, roll on, tie things in my ponies mane to prevent flies, or rug them head to toe with a mask to protect them.

I know it is each to their own , and for those with sweet itch or other health problems, I completely understand it.

So just wondered if anyone else leaves their animals to the mercy of the flies :D
 
Nothing here has any fly protection at the moment, a few are in during the day, the rest have company, trees and hedges to shelter under, the only horse that required a fly rug as he was very sensitive has just gone to a new home so the others are happy naked as they were designed to be.
 
Never owned a fly rug. I do have some fly spray, somewhere, but that was bought for a horse who would headshake if she was tense and thought there was a fly near her. We used it for dressage.

If my lot started looking uncomfy then I'd spray them. They don't, so I haven't.
 
None of mine wear fly rugs and I have used spray about 3 times in 7 years but they always have access to barns or shelter. Those that graze go out late at night in summer as well.

I once used summer cream on one mare and she came up in hives!
 
Mine's in duing the day so doesn't need anythiong but has to wear an equilibrium field mask if he goes out in the sunshine as suffers with a pollen allergy that leaves him coughing, wheezing and a thick green mucus. Vets advice is just keep him in in the day and ride in a pollen net!
 
I'd love to leave au naturale but mine comes out in the most horrendous lumps n bumps if I leave her without a rug. Hate them but its best for her. We seen to have a few weeks window where its warm enough for no rug but not hot enough for flies and during that time I LOVE to see her without a rug on!
 
i use fly spray a lot less now than i used to as apart from the one type i use to kill lice etc i really don't think that the other sprays are very effective. i have a fly rg left over from my old tb who was sensitive to bites but i never use it. I think we over protect these days and actually increase sensitivity. I don't remember needing fly products for the horses and ponies 20+ years ago, we used to ride across the quantocks with swarms of them following and the ponies were totally unfazed by them!
 
I use fly spray.

I did buy H a fly rug and mask. He unfortunately had other ideas about wearing them and thought they were going to eat him :s I donated the mask to a rescue centre and the rug to a second hand tack shop!
 
No I don't use anything on any of the horses here while they're just in their fields. I do use spray and veils with ear protection when we're riding in the forest however. Over here we have these really cool bugs that live in woods called Deer Flies and oh boy you do not want to be gorged by them. They have a huge attraction to the back of horses ears and will take huge chunks out of them, hence the fly veils are a must.
 
Don't use anything. She has a tail to swish and can shake her head. If we are going for a long hack in summer I put some roll on stuff round her eyes and ears which works for all of 3 seconds
 
I've never used a fly rug on any of mine and I truly believe fly spray is one of the biggest equestrian cons of the last 20 years lol.

I may be tempted into the fly mask if it gets REALLY dry but that's more for the dust rather than flies. I feed garlic and I've no idea if it deters the beasties but he never seems overly troubled by them.
 
Nothing at all. They chill in their field shelter or stand nose to tail. They hate the horse flies and so do I.
 
Mine seems to end up with his eyes / tear ducts covered with flies, no matter how clean I keep him, so he has a fly mask when needed. He gets really nasty, gunky eyes if not. I also do use fly spray but I only like the NAF Deet Power one in the black bottle, never found others any good. Also the area where he used to have a sarcoid (successfully treated, two separate vets happy with it) is now a little patch of scar tissue which gets inflamed if the flies get on it so I usually use summer fly cream on that.

I went to Mexico last month. On one night, I didn't put any insect repellent on my ankles. Next morning I had about 8 little mossie bites. After that, I made sure to cover myself (I use the Jungle Formula high DEET content stuff) in it and had no more bites. I also rode with factor 30 sun cream on yesterday, which has insect repellent in, and a NAF repellent band around my wrist. Horse covered in spray and despite him sweating buckets after working hard up the gallops, neither of us was bothered by flies. Same weather and conditions the day before and we were both plagued by them...
 
In Spain we never used any of them although you had to be watchful of crab flies in the forests as they would literally take chunks out of you and the horse and draw blood but not in places a fly mask would have helped :(
 
Only my two with sweet itch.....they have rugs and repellent. I hate spraying chemicals on them but it's literally a life saver for them so no choice. My other two don't have anything :)
 
no nothing here although since I started feeding brewers yeast the don't attract many flies so if that counts then they are protected from flies
 
I think it depends where you live if you can get away with nothing at all. At my old yard i rarely used repellent or a fly sheet. My current place is on the edge of marshland and gets very bad. Midges and horse flies (not yet!) I once slapped my horses neck and killed 5 horseflies in one hand area- they get plastered with the horrible things and eaten alive so yes i now use sheets and spray and masks.
Id love to go back to never having to bother, so much nicer for the horses also.
 
My has ended up with weepy eyes before, so I put a mask on him when I remember and there's no wind.

He does have a fly rug that I bought when he was on box rest and got bites all over him due to cows and associated cow poo in next door field, but wouldn't use that routinely.
 
Don't use anything and I'm lucky I don't need to.
If I walk in her stable with any type of spray bottle she starts flinging herself about like it's the end of the world and that's before it's sprayed.
And rugs make her all itchy and scratchy so it's a relief in summer she doesn't need one.
People do look at me as if I'm the devil. But to be honest with most sprays how long do they really last on a horse that lives to roll?!?
I think sometimes we do these things to make us feel better.
Disclaimer :-) some horses however do need that extra protection. I'm just lucky mines not one of them.
 
I agree that it depends where you live. We're high up and on land that has a good breeze even on a hot day, so the flies aren't such a problem in the field.
Fly spray, garlic and marmite are pretty useless, fly masks can be the cause of eye injuries, so I don't use them unless needed for a medical condition. I have fly rugs but only use them on the horse who is clipped all year round just after a fresh clip.
Looking for grazing with trees and hedges, a good breeze and away from ponds or marsh or a much heap, is my best strategy for fly relief.
 
One of mine had a mild fly bite allergy I would call it and sometimes comes in with a bit of a rubbed mane or runny eyes. He gets a fly mask and fly spray and this seems to do the job. My other gets nothing. She has never suffered any kind of fly related bother and although I did attempt a fly mask she refuses to keep it on so I guess she feels like she doesn't need it !!
 
Mine has a fly mask and nothing else coz he gets really gunky eyes and had a corneal ulcer earlier this year. It is bliss after my ultra sensitive boy who came up in awful lumps. I hated him being rugged in winter coz he needed clipping and summer coz of his allergies , he never got to be a horse. My current boy is barely worked and more robust so gets to live a much more natural cheaper life !
 
We use one with tick repellent as there are a lot of deer round here. The only time I use a fly mask on my lad is to stop his pink nose burning. However his field mate who comes up in lumps from bites is wearing it at the mo!
 
All of mine have fly masks on, as they all get very bothered by flies and midges in their ears. They tend to also get weepy eyes if I don't put their masks on.
Only one has a fly rug - he gets very bothered and eventually eaten in patches by the flies. A tiny nick turns into a large sore covered in flies very quickly, with him. Interestingly, he's grey and my two black ones don't get bothered by the flies too much so I haven't rugged them yet.
I much prefer leaving rugs off, but masks are almost a necessity round here.
 
For a few summers I never had any problems so left them au naturel, with the occasional fly mask if they were getting a bit bothered in the field. But two summers ago the mini started rubbing himself raw and the welshie got lots of bald patches on his face. At first the vet thought it was an allergic reaction but we're certain now the mini has sweet itch. So the poor little mite has a fly rug on april to october - luckily he doesn't get bitten on his face so he only has to wear a muzzle for the laminitis. So much for an easy companion :rolleyes: This year we've already put a fly mask on the big welshie to see if this helps the fly situation. Last summer he ended up with sores all over his face so hopefully if he never gets bitten on his face in the first place we won't have a repeat of last summer.

We're not sure what changed for both horses unfortunately as we had 3 very easy summers. Hopefully this year they will be more comfortable.
 
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