Are fly repellant tags and collars safe to use in a herd?

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ben456

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I'm going on holiday soon so looking for something for my mare to keep the flys away as I won't be there to apply fly spray. She is in a herd of about 20 in a large pasture. If the tag or collar came off would it be dangerous to the other horses as it may not be found for a few days?
 
Can't whoever is looking after her put some fly spray on? I wouldn't leave my horse in a headcollar in the field.
 
The tags don't present a danger to livestock and are not usually consumed if they become detached. Personally I would use a tag not a collar as a collar can be caught up before it breaks - but they are not terribly effective in my experience. And any horse needs to be checked at least daily anyway.
 
Yeah it doesn't require a headcollar. I'd never leave a headcollar on when unsupervised. She will be checked once a day but I can't really expect the person to go looking around 35+ acres when she would usually only have to grab her horse from the gate lol. I think I will go for a tag anyway as I can put one in the mane and one in her tail.
 
I used one recently. I was a little worried it would get caught on something as my mare loves to rub against things. However, it was fine. It has poppers to secure it, and although strong enough to prevent it from falling off every time a horse rubs, they would release with any force such as getting hooked on something. My mare managed to keep it on for two weeks before I found it lying next to a hedge in one piece but the poppers opened and a couple of them missing. I wouldn't worry about horses eating it. I have hung it around the gate post and they have shown no interest in it. Whilst it was on her, it kept the flies away from her mainly. It had zero effect on horseflies though.
 
ben456 said:
Yeah it doesn't require a headcollar. I'd never leave a headcollar on when unsupervised. She will be checked once a day but I can't really expect the person to go looking around 35+ acres when she would usually only have to grab her horse from the gate lol. I think I will go for a tag anyway as I can put one in the mane and one in her tail.
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So she isn't going to be checked properly each day?

If you aren't getting close enough to adjust a fly rug or spray on fly spray you aren't checking the horse sufficiently to meet its welfare needs.
 
No. What I meant was that she will be checked properly everyday but, I couldn't expect someone to walk around looking for a small object (collar or tag) if it came off somewhere. There isn't a problem with them having to go and walk to my mare.
 
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