Flies and riding...what do you do??

SatansLittleHelper

SatansLittleHelper

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One of my friends is selling her Cob and we were going to do videos today so I said I'd ride for her. Well, we couldn't get the mare off the yard (she lives out with mine), she was hysterical. She can be a nappy little shit anyway but you can normally push her through but today the flies were driving her (and me) absolutely demented. She was jogging, spinning etc, even tried to put in a little buck 🙄🙄. She was plastered in fly spray, for all the good it did and it's really windy. I had no choice but to give in and fetch her back and turn her back out. To be fair shes not been ridden for about 11 weeks either which didn't help matters of course.
How does everyone else deal with the flies..?? I couldn't believe the impact they had today.
 
Power Phaser and Summer Fly Cream seems to be the only thing that works for me. I'm lucky we have none really where mine lives but we were competing on Monday and it was awful. I've got more than 30 bites all over me. Bobbie seemed fine slathered in PP and SFC though.
 
Both of my cobs take barely any notice of the flies, but my friends warmbloods go berserk. She rides in a fly mask and rideable fly rug apparently it works.

Sounds like she was playing on it a bit to get out of work?
 
The flies have been bad this year and the repellents I usually find fairly effective have been pretty much useless. Power Phaser is the only one where I haven’t still seen flies landing on him after applying it. If she’s a nappy mare anyway I would get her out early in the morning while it’s still quite cool before the flies are out in force. Good luck! I bet you’re glad you volunteered your services 🤦‍♀️
 
Mine is allergic to horse flies, midges and mozzies which is as fun as you imagine! I ride him in a fly mask, and next summer am going to get him a ride on fly rug. I’ve bought a bottle of Tri Tec fly spray, which so far is working very well! No flies landing on him, and it doesn’t smell awful. It’s permethrin based so does pack a bit of a punch but my very sensitive and allergic pony hasn’t reacted to it at all.
 
Oh I absolutely know the little madam was being a sod as well lol. But the flies were the icing on the cake as it were. She's become a tad herd bound, definitely the start of the tantrum for sure 🙈🙈🙈 But she was whipping her head around and biting at herself constantly which is why I wonder about the flies as she's gone longer without being ridden (shes been a VERY occasional happy hacker for the last 10 months) and not behaved like this. I figure if we can put the fly issue to bed then she won't have that as an excuse 🤔🤔
 
Gloi said:
I'm convinced that horses who are togged up in fly rugs in the field (not counting sweet itch ones) react worse to flies when being ridden with the rugs off than ones that are used to going out bare and putting up with the flies in the field all day.
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So am I and it is one reason mine rarely have fly rugs on now as they were far better to ride if they were less sensitive to every fly landing on them, I have plenty of shade in the fields which they use and it also helps reduce the time spent eating.
 
Mr B reacted badly to fly bites and if I turned him out without a fly rug, he'd rub himself raw if he got bitten. I bought a ride on fly rug as he'd get very upset by horse flies, it worked pretty well. It's too big for Rose and she's a lot more tolerant of the flies so if anyone wants one for a 16.2 pm me.
 
Ear bonnet and ride on fly rug and just keep moving. I live on the edge of a forest with a lot of deer in it, so unfortunately flies are just a feature of my life. I don't hack in the forest when it's a bad time of day/weather for flies, but a ride on fly rug means hacking on the road is fine whenever. In the school they just have an ear bonnet on. The flies can be quite intense up there, but we just keep moving - the horses stamp and bite a bit when stood still, but while we're working they don't mither.

Sounds like she was just getting her noodle in a knot and isn't engaged enough in the concept of 'work time' to ignore the flies and get on with it.
 
DabDab said:
Sounds like she was just getting her noodle in a knot and isn't engaged enough in the concept of 'work time' to ignore the flies and get on with it.
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^^ this
I think they have to learn to prioritise work when they'd rather pay attention to something else.

My TB is just restarting his ridden life and is a complete princess about horseflies, it's like the world comes crashing down around him if he gets bitten. He is very thin skinned, and extremely green. So at the moment I pander to him and don't really try to do anything too challenging when they are bad. Fortunately in my area we seem to be at the back end of the horsefly season. I reckon by next year he will understand to just swish them away and get on with his work ;)
 
some horses are very allergic to certain flies, and have had bad experiences before and can be protecting themselves, to the point of hysteria, i`ve seen horses collapse from fly bites
 
Gloi said:
I'm convinced that horses who are togged up in fly rugs in the field (not counting sweet itch ones) react worse to flies when being ridden with the rugs off than ones that are used to going out bare and putting up with the flies in the field all day.
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Not always the case. Mine bothers not a jot with flies in the field, just when ridden... horses 🤷‍♀️
 
Thanks everyone for the replies.
She was such a dickhead that even trying to lead her off the yard on foot became an epic performance. I strongly suspect she was using the flies as an excuse, as said above, so some Power Phaser and a kick up the arse will be administered tomorrow morning lol 😂😂
 
Gloi said:
I'm convinced that horses who are togged up in fly rugs in the field (not counting sweet itch ones) react worse to flies when being ridden with the rugs off than ones that are used to going out bare and putting up with the flies in the field all day.
Click to expand...

This has not been my experience. Mine is togged up in a full fly rug and face mask in the field, and even has a fly sheet on in the stable. I do usually ride out in a ride on fly rug too (the flies have fangs here) but if I don't she is fine.

We did a dressage last weekend and at one point she had 6 horse flies feeding off her simultaneously, and got on with her work. After the test she had blood between her back legs and on her neck. The worst thing she did was shake her head a bit with the one on her jowel.

I do like to make her as comfortable as possible for as much of the time as possible, but take no cr@p when it is work time and she has to concentrate.
 
I agree that horses should know that work means work and that should override other distractions. This horse lacks obedience and that is a training issue. I'm also not a fan of dolling them up in fly rugs etc unless there is a really good reason like sweet itch. A horse which is used to tolerating flies in the field etc will inevitably be less bothered by them when ridden I would have expected. I don't use fly rugs for this reason. I use a mask in the field where they don't have a mate to stand nose to tail with to protect eyes from infection but otherwise my horses are expected to use the fly whisk nature supplied them with. Rug manufacturers are great at marketing unnecessary clothing for horses. Fly rugs and lightweight turnouts are generally superflous expenses IMHO.
 
Sorry totally unrelated but just read the "she's kept with mine." bit and had to go back to read old posts as completely missed that you had found one (sort of!) Fantastic news SLH and he looks absolutely lovely.
 
Red-1 said:
This has not been my experience. Mine is togged up in a full fly rug and face mask in the field, and even has a fly sheet on in the stable. I do usually ride out in a ride on fly rug too (the flies have fangs here) but if I don't she is fine.

We did a dressage last weekend and at one point she had 6 horse flies feeding off her simultaneously, and got on with her work. After the test she had blood between her back legs and on her neck. The worst thing she did was shake her head a bit with the one on her jowel.

I do like to make her as comfortable as possible for as much of the time as possible, but take no cr@p when it is work time and she has to concentrate.
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Likewise. I don't like poo picking my fields at certain times of day in the summer because of the flies, so I don't see why I should inflict that living experience on my horses when they are supposed to be relaxing and don't have work to distract them. The one of mine that doesn't generally have a fly rug on in the field is invariably the one found galloping round and round on a hot summer's morning desperate to come in away from them.
 
I just use fly spray and try to plan riding for early morning or late evening to avoid the heat and flies. They are in fly rugs and masks when turned out.

The only time I’ve really had problems riding are due to deer keds (louse flies) which send my old guy bananas to the point I have to dismount and even then he’ll be bucking on the end of the reins as I lead him. Only happens a couple of times a year usually in the Autumn.
 
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