Clegs ( horse flies )

Lady Jane

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I take anthihistamine every day but double the dose if I get a bite.Cover my arms when riding when they are bad and use various types of repellant - none of which I am convinced work! Look forward to other suggestions
 

Red-1

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If I get bitten, I use the little zapper, like a tiny taser. It stings while you zap, but in a nice way. It seems to kill the poison, dry it up or whatever.
 

Peregrine Falcon

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I killed my first one today. I hate them with a passion. Bad news is that these evils winged insects can smell your blood up to a 1km away. You must be particularly tasty. I take to spraying myself with the horses fly spray when we go out riding. Ready supply of anti histamine tablets and cream are essential summer purchases.
 

moscow_mule

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So if
I killed my first one today. I hate them with a passion. Bad news is that these evils winged insects can smell your blood up to a 1km away. You must be particularly tasty. I take to spraying myself with the horses fly spray when we go out riding. Ready supply of anti histamine tablets and cream are essential summer purchases.
I don't know whether
I’ve got four of the damn bites on my legs currently, they’re everywhere here.
outchy :eek:
 

rabatsa

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Long sleeves and light colour. Clegs hunt by detecting heat and dark is warmer.

I put up two horsefly traps this summer and they were catching them 10 days before the first one was seen on an equine.
 

Red-1

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If zebra stripe fly repellent rugs work.... why can we not have fly(cleg) repellent clothing? Just asking :confused:

I have been looking on eBay, loads of long sleeved tunics/shirts!

Have a look at these photos from my I bought a Cob thread, got us both decked out in stripes. On me it is just a striped skirt tho.
 

Red-1

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Here is a photo. I do have the striped backside too, but we were on the road that day so had a day-go backside and striped front!

The weather cooled down today, I dug some more of the zebra pantomime horse outfit out of storage. Aaaaaand...
Tonight, we had a fabulous ride out! The stripes really do keep the flies away. Bliss! Photos courtesy of a kind neighbour.

Rigsby has been on some rather expensive gut medicine, £200 so far
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but it has worked! He was up for a lovely ride out tonight. No plodding for Riggers, he was a cob on a mission! We were out for an hour and a half, our longest ride yet, and he came back striding out just the same as when he was fresh.

Happy days!

I am so glad I cancelled everything a few weeks ago. I knew he was not enjoying himself, and was puzzled as he wasn't lame. Sore guts, explains it all. He must be relieved that I listened, and I am glad that I asked Fiona to come and take a look. She is a one off. Amazing. No conventional signs of ulcers, on a teenage horse with many issues, and she was adamant that it wasn't feet or lameness, also that Rigsby wasn't ready to retire quite yet. I think she has X ray eyes!

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TheHairyOne

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Ambling away on a long rein out hacking yesteday, chatting away and then I am in a bush! Poor horse had one on his face and was trying to brush it off. Bush failed, but I managed to kill that one.

I however did get got, on the knee as is often the case and its SO itchy and huge. :( Hate them, really hate them. But never knew them as clegs, so learnt something today.7
 

Midlifecrisis

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Out in force from today..thank goodness I’d got both ponies fly rugs ready. Unfortunately I was in black clothing and although I’d sprayed Jungle formula spray on me the b*****s were landing on me.
 

TotalMadgeness

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I ride with whips that have a 'ponytail' attached (forget the proper name!) so I can flick cleggs off me and the horse. Horses wear light green ride on fly rugs with a frond and a fly fringe on their browbands. Plus Tritec14 is applied everywhere known to man. I wear bright / light colours too. On a bad day I have been known to wear a midgie net over my hat. God knows what the neighbours think!
 

Fluffypiglet

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Are ride on fly sheets suitable for all work? Took horse to a canter track with a friend and we had to stop as everyone was being eaten alive by the barstewards. My horse was trying to remove them in fast canter, it was not fun....
 
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