FLIES- leaving the horse to it?

Patterdale said:
I don't.

And I hate hate hate HATE those fly masks. I think it must really irritate the horse to not be able to see properly, and I've also seen flies get under them. I'd NEVER use one.
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It irritates my girl way more to have multiple (like 20+) biting gnats making the inside of her ears drip blood!

I would much prefer for her to be out naked in the summer however she gets very itchy and upset by flies so is rugged most of the time. I don't use sprays unless riding as they don't last very long and if she's rugged then no need. I do put gloopy stuff on her udders usually as she gets badly bitten there and it can't be covered.

She simply can't go outside in the summer without her ears covered somehow. In the field she has a well fitting mask (you can actually see pretty well, I tried it myself first) and then she has one of those crochets ones for riding. When I first got her, fetching in from the field or riding down the lane was accompanied by fairly dramatic head shaking / tossing frantically because of the gnats biting inside her ears so she now has them covered. She has huge ears with very little hair inside them in the summer.
 
mynutmeg said:
It irritates my girl way more to have multiple (like 20+) biting gnats making the inside of her ears drip blood!

I would much prefer for her to be out naked in the summer however she gets very itchy and upset by flies so is rugged most of the time. I don't use sprays unless riding as they don't last very long and if she's rugged then no need. I do put gloopy stuff on her udders usually as she gets badly bitten there and it can't be covered.

She simply can't go outside in the summer without her ears covered somehow. In the field she has a well fitting mask (you can actually see pretty well, I tried it myself first) and then she has one of those crochets ones for riding. When I first got her, fetching in from the field or riding down the lane was accompanied by fairly dramatic head shaking / tossing frantically because of the gnats biting inside her ears so she now has them covered. She has huge ears with very little hair inside them in the summer.
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When I was young we used to put elderflower(?) branches/leaves under the headpiece which we picked when riding out.

It probably didn't do any good other than making it impossible for the flies to land, but we swore blind by it's anti fly propeties.:D
 
I wouldn't if they weren't bothered with them! My last horse rubbed bites so bad he got an eye infection, so fly mask for him, and my current horse gets bitten to death around her teats :-( poor love and that's after like one day of flies! Neither are too bad around the face, so I'm thinking just coopers fly repellent and cream that undercarriage!
 
I use a fly mask on my boy purely cos he has a sarcoid in one ear. want to keep it covered so it doesn't risk getting infected or irritated.
 
I do use a fly mask on my lad as I hate seeing him constantly flicking his head around with flies all round his head. I do not bother with fly sprays as do not feel they help and he has access to his field stable at all times and usually goes in there for periods of time of his own choosing. I prefer him to be out with the 'sun' on his back wherever possible and he gets too hot in any sort of fly sheet.
 
I have never had much luck with masks as one evil genius delights in removing his friends and his own clothes rugs fly masks whatever he stopped my attempts to control fattys wieght by using a muzzle by repeatly taking that off I just gave up in the end .
 
We put flymasks on everything, we are right between some woods and a river... i.e fly central. They are all very happy with them on rather than leaving their ears to be bitten until they bleed. Maybe we are just very very lucky but we have never had an accident / injury caused by flymasks and we have 20+ horses wearing them all summer.

Only our SI horses wear rugs, proper SI rugs rather than fly rugs though. SI rugs stay on in the stable too, they are only off for work / bathing / checking over then straight back on. If they don't get nibbled they don't itch!
 
If flies are an issue I have found fly sprays no use and RVC horse vet recommended Deosect (cattle product you dilute many times before use) as big chap had blackfly allergy. Do a patch test first tho to ensure no reaction. Only needs to be applied once a week or even less often, and far more effective, you just sponge it on all over.

Little tin is expensive but lasts for years.

NB it is important to spell right as there is a similar spelled product, you want Deosect not Dysect
 
I wouldn't even consider turning out without fly masks when they are all around the eyes and the poor horses are constantly shaking their heads. My mare has a very bad reaction to them in one eye and it puffs up so much you can hardly see her eyeball - a mask completely removes the issue. They also get covered from head to toe in fly spray (not convinced it does anything though) and I will be buying new fly rugs soon so they don't come in covered in inflamed bite-marks. I bring them inside for a few hours to get out of the flies too when they are bad-

I Hate flies...:o
 
I put a flymask on my boy, purely for the nose net as he's allergic to tree pollen and comes in snotty and coughing without it! He's actually really rubbish at being a horse and gets bumps and reactions to so many things! Horse fly bites cause lumps on his neck so I cover him in the Lincoln fly spray as seems to work! He also has the roll on one for his ears as he hates fly masks with ears... I don't rug though, I don't like rugs in the summer and if I could go au naturale I would. Personally I think it depends on the horse. Troll pony just gets a squirt of fly spray and has a long enough forelock to get on with it...
 
littlemisslauren said:
We put flymasks on everything, we are right between some woods and a river... i.e fly central. They are all very happy with them on rather than leaving their ears to be bitten until they bleed. Maybe we are just very very lucky but we have never had an accident / injury caused by flymasks and we have 20+ horses wearing them all summer.

Only our SI horses wear rugs, proper SI rugs rather than fly rugs though. SI rugs stay on in the stable too, they are only off for work / bathing / checking over then straight back on. If they don't get nibbled they don't itch!
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Exactly!!!

I also have never had an issue with fly masks - they are only held on with velcro so if they did get caught the velcro gives or it pulls over their ears.
 
Well-meaning owner put a tail bandage on for a 3 day trip from Spain to the UK. Shipper got delayed, so horse had a tail bandage on for 5 days, resulting in necrosis and the loss of all but 2 vertebrae. He is a very brave horse and doesn't complain, but I keep him doused in spray and he wears a Rambo sweetitch hoodie in the summer months. I have some that don't mind, so they are out nekkid; those that do mind wear rugs and spray as needed.
 
What kind of flies are you talking about? We have 2 types here only horse flies (biting both horse and human) evil feckers, and bots. They both won't come into the barn and so she comes in herself when they are bad. We never get those nasty ones that seem to swarm around a horses face (are they houseflies - the maggots eat horse poo). The horse flies here are very bad, my hubby was painting the barn roof and they bit him to distraction (I told him not to wear a t-shirt :rolleyes:) he ended up on antibiotics with a very badly swollen arm. Have to be very careful in July.
 
In days of yore, we used to wipe oil of citronella on the ponies to go to shows or pony club, either that or sprayed 'Extra Tail' - which wasnt cheap but I loved that smell :cool: (anyone who says there were no sprays is very ancient :p as Extra tail was around over 40 odd years ago)

These days mine have access to a field shelter & will have a squirt of fly spray under & over when checked over 1st thing in the morning.

On very rare exceptionally hot days, I might bring them in during the heat as the yard is cool as under trees but obviously not possible if am at work - hence the 3 field shelters in paddocks for them :)
 
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We certainly have more than 2 types of fly here! Midges and horseflies are the worst, but deerflies and blackfly (the ones that go inside the ears) are nearly as bad. Black horses seem to atract them, and I have little mare that will gallop until she is white with sweat (which of course attracts more flies) so she comes in when it is sunny - which admittedly hasn't been often in recent years!
 
Cortez said:
Well-meaning owner put a tail bandage on for a 3 day trip from Spain to the UK. Shipper got delayed, so horse had a tail bandage on for 5 days, resulting in necrosis and the loss of all but 2 vertebrae. He is a very brave horse and doesn't complain, but I keep him doused in spray and he wears a Rambo sweetitch hoodie in the summer months. I have some that don't mind, so they are out nekkid; those that do mind wear rugs and spray as needed.
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poor thing, even the 3 day trip would have resulted in issues!
 
What is your land like Cortez? Are you near forest and running water? We have flooding in winter but it's limestome and open fields and dry in Summer. Flies don't bother us too much but there are also dairy cattle and sheep in surrounding fields and that might take the heat off us. I think you have to do what you have to do to protect your horses and if flies were a nuisance I'd have no problem taking all possible precautions.
 
doriangrey said:
What is your land like Cortez? Are you near forest and running water? We have flooding in winter but it's limestome and open fields and dry in Summer. Flies don't bother us too much but there are also dairy cattle and sheep in surrounding fields and that might take the heat off us. I think you have to do what you have to do to protect your horses and if flies were a nuisance I'd have no problem taking all possible precautions.
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We are next to a small river, no forest but some trees: it's not too bad compared to some, but we have midges (and I have some mild SI horses to care for). It's not the end of the world, just a management issue really, and i think if there is a way to make life easier for the horses, why not make a little effort to help them out? I don't get obsessional about it, and being bitten by flies is part of being a horse.
 
I leave them to it unless they have sweet itch - I think the fly rug/mask/spray market is more for the benefit of the owners feeling ;)
 
We usually end up with eye infections if we don't use masks. one pony is very allergic to stings to the point that its a vet emergency and my horse gets bitten and tender all over, causing the odd collagen lump. They have plenty of shade so it's not that that's the issue.
 
My last yard got a lot of horseflies, but he wasn't bothered by them, so I didn't use a fly rug - can't quite get my head around an extra rug when it's hot unless they have sweet itch etc.

I use a mask when it's hot as my boy gets quite runny eyes and I don't want to risk eye infections. He also has a pink muzzle so has a full length fly mask or a grazing muzzle to protect his nose :rolleyes: I give him a quick spritz of fly spray morning and evening, and whenever I ride, but it doesn't seem to last all that long...
 
Cortez said:
Well-meaning owner put a tail bandage on for a 3 day trip from Spain to the UK. Shipper got delayed, so horse had a tail bandage on for 5 days, resulting in necrosis and the loss of all but 2 vertebrae.
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I have read of tail bandages when travelling causing dock necrosis a few times now. I must say I would much rather have a rubbed or pooey tail than no tail and I bet the horse would too. There must be pain that is involved as the tissues are dying. :( It really isn't good enough. :mad:
 
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