Help! Horse flies

[Caitlinr27]

Hello everyone,
I am desperate for some advice re horse flies.
We have moved to Scottish Borders and are finding the horse flies a lot more of an issue this year as opposed to any other year.
we have tried all the regular fly sprays and my big horses do wear fly masks during the day time but I am unable to put rugs on my two big girls because one has a three month foal at foot. They do come in when weather is hot but I am wondering if anyone has a foal safe, home recipe they could share that helps deter horse flies? I have previously used deosect which I believe is one of the stronger solutions on the market but my oldest mare previously had very bad reactions to it and came out in hives so I am reluctant to try this again. If anybody knows of any other products for horse flies and that are ok for foal, we can try those also. I hate watching them be made so miserable by the flies and they just are wanting to come in all the time to get some relief. My mare who doesn’t have a foal has ulcer friendly routine and also cribs when I’m a stable so I would not want to stable them all day every day and I don’t think our foal would appreciate that also as she’s full of energy right now. Could someone please share there tips for keeping horse flies at bay.
thank you ?

 

[Red-1]

We have the Hot Horse fly spray. The horse flies still land but don't seem to bite. They do land less too.

I also use the expensive stuff in the silver bottle, Tri Tek, that is used as fly spray in USA but as stable spray here. I believe it kills them if they hang round the horse too long.

Mostly I use fly rugs though!

 

[Gloi]

https://www.electric-fence.co.uk/voss-farming-tabanus-trap-horsefly-trap.html

Try some horse fly traps.

 

[Bob notacob]

It has just recently occurred to me why Bob has such an impressive collection of spiders in his Box. He is their "felonious Gru" and they are his minions. Instant death to flies stupid enough to come into his box. The good ladies about the yard complain about spiders , Bob says send them here!. I found a couple of serious contenders hiding under his hay when I brought the barrow over. Good luck to you guys , more webs . Bob says is that what they mean by the world wide web ,cos he is bang on side with it.

 

[Highmileagecob]

Unfortunately, covering the horse is the most effective barrier. Mine has a fly mask and a lightweight fly rug without a belly cover. It's the best compromise between no rug and dripping in sweat. Interestingly, the grey Connemara in the herd does not get bothered by horse flies at all, but the darker colours are fair game.

 

[Caitlinr27]

Hi everyone, thank you for all of your suggestions, we will look into all of them. The idea of a fly trap seems intriguing, I have not seen this in a field environment before so will enjoy reading into this. ?

 

[Errin Paddywack]

I have never used this stuff but it has some good reviews.
https://www.hedgewitchessentials.co.uk/onlineshop/icaridin-insect-repellent.html

 

[Ambers Echo]

Amber has a rug on. It does not stop Felix feeding. I'd be more worried about putting spray on her than rugging her with a foal at foot.

 

[Apizz2019]

I recently purchased a bottle of Ecovet from America.
It's been a game changer, after trying absolutely every lotion and potion there is.
The only watch out is its potent and must be applied outside. Wear gloves etc.
I did a patch test first as the poison control stuff on the bottle made me a little concerned but I'll definetly be using this from now on.

 

[PurBee]

I have never used this stuff but it has some good reviews.
https://www.hedgewitchessentials.co.uk/onlineshop/icaridin-insect-repellent.html

Id recommend this stuff too having researched it. Its vastly less toxic than other fly deterring chemicals. My mare is sensitive to chemicals and gets hives so the milder the chemicals the better, and this stuff is worth trying. Someone in scotland wrote a testimonial raving about it deterring midges, Horse flies and everything else, that they buy it in bulk, as they hack on the forest trails a lot and really need serious protection.

Horse flies are attracted to dark colour more than light colours. My dapple grey is used as a horse fly shield by my black mare, as they rarely bother him, but eat her alive.
Zebra stripes confuse horse flies vision making it hard for them to land, hence why theres lots of zebra print fly sheets for sale.
I mixed flour with water and painted white stripes on my black mare - while they lasted it worked very well! She rolled later on in the field and the dried flour flaked off. I was shocked how brilliantly it worked, as she was being hounded by horse flies before and i watched them hover near but not land. she stood out in the sun than hide in the stable! All dark horses suffer more with horse flies. I am out in the fields with a light top on and dont get as many bites as wearing dark tops.

Here’s my zeborse ??

 

[cauda equina]

Genius camo PurBee!
Another vote for icaridin, I use it on my thin skinned horse with no problems

 

[PurBee]

Genius camo PurBee!
Another vote for icaridin, I use it on my thin skinned horse with no problems

I managed to find long-lasting non-toxic kids face paint to try next!
I worry about using fly rugs because all my fields have a dense tree copse area they use for shade, and various bushes they walk over to belly scratch, so i know the likelihood of them catching a thin fly rug and ripping it on a branch is very high, and i’d be constantly worrying they’re out there caught-up on a branch - so paint camo was the next best thing i could think of!

Glad you find icaridin good for sensitive skin - i cant source it in large 1ltr bottles in ireland so having to import from uk.

 

[Barton Bounty]

So I used hot horse fly spray I used the extra strength one, I covered me and BB in it, I found they still flew about him but didnt bit, they managed to bite me on possibly the only bit of skin I didnt cover with it ?
I do what the owner recommends and get it deep into the skin and that is your base for a couple of days, then I give him a top spray of it around his tinkly bits etc and neck and chest.
once his fly rug is back on I spray the fly rug with a homemade concoction, a lot of citronella in it.
The reviews on hot horse neddycare are good but the bottle will definitely not last 6 weeks.
i bought the refill super saver extra, it was £68 and that diluted makes 4 x 1000 ml bottles. But the bottle will probably only last 10 days or so.
It smells really nice too.

 

[Bananyman]

Leovet power phaser in the gel form is the best I've found so far