Flies....Has anyone tried.....

[jules9203]

http://www.equine-innovations.co.uk...der-for-Mid-June-receive-10-FREE-inserts.html

Has anyone tried these? If so did they help with keeping flies away?

 

[wkiwi]

Haven't tried them. Thought they looked interesting, but when i queried as to whether they had any real evidence that they worked all they came back with was that it was a combination of ingredients that had been used in lots of other countries and that the different ingredients had been shown to work and that they had tested it on their own horses.
I asked if they would guarantee it against biting flies (which is what i wanted it for) and if so whether it still worked when the horse was sweaty (being ridden) --- they stopped responding to me, which to me says a lot !!!
Some companies just get hold of any product that they can market for a quick buck - one company had obviously just googled some herbs and mixed them together then claimed it was effective for various conditions because those herbs had been used for centuries - God only knows if they had them in the right amounts or if they cancelled each other out, because that company didn't. Often the actual combination used in a product has never been tested on horses - I once had an argument with a sales rep at a vet conference because he could only find evidence of research on humans, not on animals, and he wouldn't accept that some products are not safe to swap over (even cats and dogs can't always share each others drugs) Mind you, people were buying his product anyway (!!!!!!!!).
Maybe this one works for other flies or maybe it doesn't but they don't seem to have any research evidence. I don't like to use products on my horses without some sort of real evidence (not 'oh, lots of people have used it and say it works') and ideally with side effects registered somewhere.will often query the evidence behind the claims made in an ad - the genuine companies respond either with actual research data, or at least with the limits of what has been tested.
In this case, I would probably have tried it myself if they had said that it had worked on biting flies for their own horses (as ingredients seem harmless enough), but a non-response turns into a non-buy for me. Will be interested to know if anyone else has had success with biting flies and on sweaty horses with this product?

 

[ycbm]

once had an argument with a sales rep at a vet conference because he could only find evidence of research on humans, not on animals, and he wouldn't accept that some products are not safe to swap over (even cats and dogs can't always share each others drugs)

Hadn't he heard that you can give ivermectin wormer to all dogs except collies, which die if they eat a tiny amount? Idiot!

 

[wkiwi]

Hadn't he heard that you can give ivermectin wormer to all dogs except collies, which die if they eat a tiny amount? Idiot!

Lots of sales reps aren't employed for their actual knowledge, only for their sales pushing ability (i have been a sales rep as one of my many career choices so seen "behind the scenes" - some eye-opening selling techniques were pushed, but then even quite rational people seem to believe what is said in adverts so not surprising it wasn't the industry for me).