Fly rugs, fashion or necessity?

dwi

dwi

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Daisy is now the only horse on our yard that doesn't own a fly rug. Now before all the sweet itch sufferers shout at me I know they can be a life saver for some horses but do all horses really need them? My feeling is that D probably likes spending a few months of the year with the sun on her back.

Thoughts welcome
 
I thinks it 50/50
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Some people feel fly/insect bites far more then others,some seem to get eaten alive while others are left alone,just the same with horses.
If yours is sensitive(or just plain attractive) to flies it makes sense to pop a fly rug on,but plenty of people use them "to be kind" which is shooting themself in the foot-fly rugs cost a fair bit and it's money stright down the drain if your horse wouldnt really have any benifit from it.
 
I know just what you mean! lol!!
Melly does have a fly rug, but only wears it when it is really hot...as she is black and the rug is the Amigo red and metalic one it reflects the heat and keeps her more comfortable.
I wouldnt put one on a pont who didnt need full fly or sun protection tho. Id never go without a mask tho...you see some neds with a rambo hoody fly rug, but no mask on - why??!! x
 
I don't know- at my 'old' yard (have 2 horsies but keep them both in different places
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) not a single person has a fly rug, and only one has a fly mask.. but at 'new' yard (where posh new eventy horse lives
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) it seems that as soon as the NZ rugs come off, the fly rugs come on!
(am def not doubting those whos horses need them, just mine seem happy without!)
I don't own any kind of fly protection other than fly spray and garlic.
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Will be watching this thread because I have been debating today on getting a fly rug.

There seem to be millions of horseflies around at the moment and don't seem to be put off by flyspray
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I bought one for Don (and stupidly forgot to take it with me today) I bought it partly to use over the quilted rug I made him (which keeps slipping back) and partly to keep the flies off him, he was covered in them today!
 
i use one on prince because he comes up in lumps when bitten, but it slips back and gets tight round his chest so he hasnt worn it very much, he wears it when he has been washed for a show to and if hes been plaited. i like him to be without a rug when he can though as hes been in one all winter must be nice to have a break from one!
 
I do think to a degree its fashion, my yard is a bit of a blast from the past. 40+ horses and 3 with fly rugs, 2 with severe sweet itch. One livery who i would say bought it for fashion!
 
I think in some cases they are a necessity, in some they are just a choice and something which we have a lot of these days.
No, not all horses need them but they are not likely to do any harm and in most cases will make a horse more comfortable rather than less...

I do prefer mine rugless all year round tbh but realise that sometimes needs must
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I don't know whether or not they do much against the flies, but it's pretty handy for reflecting UV rays. I prefer my bay to have a black mane, rather than red.
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My grey wears one as he gets eaten alive and comes up in lumps and bumps all over, my dun however does not wear one and does not seem bothered by flies. They both wear fly masks. I admit I was quite anti until borrowed one and realised how much happier and relaxed Joe was in the field when wearing it! He now has a lovely Mark Todd one which fits like a 2nd skin. He still gets garlic and lots of fly spray.
 
I have one bay horse who wears it because he is sensitive to fly bites, he will come up in lumps. However, it is also used to help prevent his coat from bleaching!

I think it is much more common to see a horse in a fly rug nowadays, but it does not mean that they all need one, so I agree that in some cases its fashion, and in others necessity
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Mostly for fashion I would say. If a horse has a particular problem with flys or has sweet itch then fair enough. I am fed up of seeing horses out in fields on warm sunny days with rugs on. No matter how much manufacturers say fabric reflects the heat they are still an extra layer. My 23yr old has been out since April without a rug as it got too warm and looks fab. I am lucky that she doesn't react too much to fly bites. The best piece of advice re rugging was from a lady who said 'Horses tolerate being a bit on the cool side better than being too warm'. Good advice I thought when deciding whether to rug up or not.
 
I would not put one on because he spends enough time in the winter in a rug and I like him to get fresh air and sun on his back asap. He is also lucky enough to have a mobile stable in his field and he runs in there when the horse flies get too much for him. I think he would be too hot and itchy with a fly rug on to be honest/.
 
Never had any sort of rug on any of my previous horses in the summer (one was chestnut, the other a bright bay) they never suffered with getting too hot or flies particularly badly. New boy is coloured and only has a few little white bits and is very dark and suffers from heat, bleaching and flies! Tried a fly rug the first year i had him and was a nightmare, made him hotter and once got a fly underneath it and he went beserk round the field. A friend recommended a Kool Coat just to keep him cooler and so far am really impressed. Keeps him cooler, stops him getting bleached by the sun and keeps the flies away. If the temp gets really high like a few summers ago (up in the high 20s low 30s) then would prob still brings him in as think that he will get too hot but so far the Kool Coat has worked a treat up to I guess about 23 degrees........
 
None of mine have fly rugs. Garlic all year and fly spray is all I use. Luckily none of mine are covered in bites or are in bother with flies on their eyes and sensitive bits. I think my mare would want to wing me one if I chucked rugs on her through the summer too
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Can be usefull, my horses have free access to their stables, so go in there if the flies are bothering them.

The only thing im not keen on is fly rugs in really hot weather, the material they are made of makes them way to warm IMH.
 
Little Lad has one as he gets mild sweet itch. Little Cob has one as flies seem to like him. The Dizzy one scares flies away lol, and the sun bleaches her mane, suits her
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They all have fly masks, but only Dizzy's and LL's stay on! The others all get lost in the fields
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We've just bought one for the first time. Horrific year for midges and one of the ponies has had an allergic reaction from just too many bites and come up in lumps all over the place. He's getting a fly rug.
 
Amber is quite sensitive so comes up in lumps when attacked by flies so she does have a fly rug and mask. However she only normally has it on when the horseflies are really out in force (I too like her to have the sun on her back.
 
Necessity for mine. Bloody horse flies are the worst, we have so many this year they are just eating my poor boys alive, the big one gets so upset he works himself up it a right state and then sweats., which attract the flies even more.

It also saves on fly spray, which is a ridiculous price. I do still spray legs and face, but it lasts much longer than it would without a rug on.
 
my pony only wears a fly rug when all the flies are out, he gets bitten all arounfd his belly and i find if i just cver him in fly spray he just rolls it all off, he wears a fly mask too but i have to chase him round the field to get i on ut once its o he realises its acually quite good :P
 
If you spend a bit of money on a good fly rug, it keeps them comfortable and protected from flies, which I can only see as a good thing really.
 
some are necessity but i'm also sure a lot are fashion... i bought one - and a hood - for my mare who begun to show headshaking tendancies to see if it would help (fly induced)

it didn't - she just got hot and sweaty and bothered... she's fine with jsut fly spray and shelter :)
 
Jane_Lou said:
My grey wears one as he gets eaten alive and comes up in lumps and bumps all over, my dun however does not wear one and does not seem bothered by flies. They both wear fly masks. I admit I was quite anti until borrowed one and realised how much happier and relaxed Joe was in the field when wearing it! He now has a lovely Mark Todd one which fits like a 2nd skin. He still gets garlic and lots of fly spray.
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Ditto all this - my mare has very fine skin and gets bitten to pieces. Even last week, when she'd got a turnout rug on, the some horrid little flies bit her thighs and belly and she came up in lumps. She needs to be out as much as possible because of COPD, and last summer she was totally happy even in the horsefly season while the others that didn't have fly rugs on were swishing their tails like mad.
 
I'm looking at getting one but it's kinda not for either reason... I'm not sure what my boy is like in the summer about the flies, so I'd like to get one just in case, but I'm also hoping to show him a lot this summer and he's a coloured with about equal amounts of dark and white, so was thinking a fly rug would be a good barrier to the dirt in the lightest form... Don't know if that's illogical thinking though? :S
 
I think its down to time of year, the area and if your individual horse needs one, I don't use them unless I feel they are going to be more confortable with one on, or to protect injuries/sarcoids etc not just because the other liveries have them on so I must follow suit! :D

I have in the past used them to more as dust sheets and stop the sun bleaching the coat (when I used to show) so I didnt really used them for the intended purpose, but anything that makes they more comfortable in summer is going to benefit them, if it means the don't have to switch their tail quite as much.
 
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