Horse totally overactive to flied when riding

[paddi22]

Just wondering if anyone had a similar issue. I've a 7 year old big strong powerful sport horse and he is impossible to ride once there is horseflies out. As soon as one lands on him he either bucks or feels like he is going to. And he's a big strong blood horse so the bucks are big, and you never know when they will come. When I lunge he is the same, he just seems very sensitive to them. There is no badness in him, as soon as that particular fly leaves his body he is gentlemanly again. My worry is that I ride alone a lot, and if I get unseated and injured no-one will find me for hours!

I have smothered him in fly stuff and it made no difference. On the lunge he is equally reactive. I'm half worried now are there some horses that you just work around the seasons they work best in because there's another productive I can do with him in horsefly season by the looks of it! I just never encountered it before that badly. I'd be happy enough to give him the bad fly months off and just work in other seasons. Just wondering if anyone had encountered anything similar.

 

[Sandstone1]

Try a ride on fly rug. Horse flies are evil.

 

[milliepops]

My TB was like this. Before he was retired I would only ride him in places where there were no horseflies when was peak season for them - so I did lots of indoor and breezy outdoor arena hire, and hacking was early morning before the flies woke up.

He's similarly ridiculous about non-biting flies, he gallops around his field looking very distressed if the buzzy flies are annoying him.

 

[paddi22]

ah cheers. I was wondering should I just be harder on him to work him through it as I know all the rest just do the odd head toss or tense movement. but this guy just absolutely hates them. and hes so young and only starting his education now that I don't want it to be miserable for him!

 

[Sandstone1]

The ride on fly rugs do help a lot. Horse flys are very nasty and painful if they bite. Its not surprising he hates them. They hurt.

 

[milliepops]

i tried suggesting he could "man up" a few times but he did seem very distressed so i decided it was probably as unpleasant for him as it was for me. my welsh has the hide of a rhino and will happily crack on if one of us can whisk the fly away when it bites. some of them just seem so much more sensitive.

 

[Flowerofthefen]

ah cheers. I was wondering should I just be harder on him to work him through it as I know all the rest just do the odd head toss or tense movement. but this guy just absolutely hates them. and hes so young and only starting his education now that I don't want it to be miserable for him!

Bless him. can you imagine being made to run round a school being bitten by flies but not allowed to stop and get them off or scratch!? Nightmare!! Agree the rugs are great for sensitive horses x

 

[paddi22]

thanks for the replies. I was just doubting myself and thinking this was a problem everyone just worked through as part of their youngster training and had had the fight to make them work through it and I was just lucky I'd just never encountered it before! he's a genuine horse so I don't mind just working around avoiding flies so he's not stressed by them.

 

[paddy555]

some put up with anything and some with nothing. I remember 30 years ago riding a grey arab. I can still remember the particular road that was filled with horse flies, killing them became a game and the horse just plodded on regardless. I got over 50 deaths just on that one ride. No mask, no ridden fly rug and horse was happy.

One of my current horses just 1 horse fly and world war 3 has broken out.. No way can he cope with one. He got a crab fly and it became a very dangerous situation. Only way was to move him next to another horse (haflinger) and persuade the crab fly to change horses. Thin TB skinned dun horse was happy again and the haflinger just added it to his collection.

That dun is now always ridden in a fly rug and cashel ridden fly mask.
My youngest horse was not over brilliant with flies. I rode him no fly rug, led him down the road home and he was quite affected by the flies. Put a ride on fly rug on, rode him back up the road and repeated leading him home. Flies were reduced by around 90% and horse didn't even notice them.

No way would I work any horse and expect him to get used to them as I have found they just don't. I agree with Fern and besides you don't get any sense out of them. They don't learn anything. For some ATM it is ridden fly rug or give up I think.

 

[tristar]

some horses are allergic to flies and will have extreme episodes almost going into shock, i`ve had two like this, fortunately was not riding at the time, seemed to happen mainly beween 12 pm and 7 - 8 pm, i thought they were dying on the floor brought into stable and ok after 30 minutes

theres so much flying about out there its untrue

 

[ycbm]

I have noticed that Joe has a pretty extreme reaction to horse flies so I am testing deltamethrin spot on fly repellent on him. This has been tested on horses and is available from farm supplies shops, though technically it's only licensed for use on cows and sheep. It prevents anything biting, even ticks (which is a huge bonus in deer country), for at least a month.,
.

 

[Equi]

I have noticed that Joe has a pretty extreme reaction to horse flies so I am testing deltamethrin spot on fly repellent on him. This has been tested on horses and is available from farm supplies shops, though technically it's only licensed for use on cows and sheep. It prevents anything biting, even ticks (which is a huge bonus in deer country), for at least a month.,
.

Do let us know. My boy is not bothered by them really but I want to help anyway and might use it on myself ?

 

[ycbm]

I did offer to do the OH, who is a magnet for flies, so much so that when I walk with him I am fly free. He refused, I don't know why ?

There are people on another thread saying they've been using Coopers (deltamethrin) for 20 years with no issues.
.

 

[Gloi]

I did offer to do the OH, who is a magnet for flies, so much so that when I walk with him I am fly free. He refused, I don't know why ?

There are people on another thread saying they've been using Coopers (deltamethrin) for 20 years with no issues.
.

How are you putting it on ? I did it (Spot on) as pour on down the spine and they are stiLL biting him, unfortunately.

 

[ycbm]

It says single spot behind the wither in this one I bought, so that's what I did. It's a big spot!
.

 

[Caol Ila]

Gypsum would go full rodeo at a single cleg. More than one and all bets were off. Asking her to 'man up' would have been a good way to get bucked off. She also went ballistic at the little black ones that buzz around their faces.

This get-up was the only way we could hack during the summer.

 

[oldie48]

Mr B couldn't cope with horse flies, he just became unrideable but I found a ride on rug really helped. I Paddi55 sends me a message I'll happily donate it as it's too big for Rose.

 

[Caol Ila]

If a 6'9 one (the rug in the above picture) would be of use to anyone, PM me. It's too big for Foinavon or Hermosa.

 

[McFluff]

I rode a mare (years ago) who just couldn’t cope with cleggs. It was genuine, as she was the kindest and safest mare when they weren’t around. Fly rugs and the such weren’t a thing then, so she only got ridden if it was really windy during the summer. It was dangerous to try and ride while they were out. The others all coped and enjoyed our games of ‘how many can I kill’.

 

[SEL]

I ended up round the Appy's neck a few years back when we went through a copse of trees and she got bitten. Our piebald hacking buddy wasn't touched. The Appy was covered in spots of blood so no wonder she started bucking.

She does get huge swellings too so I try to avoid riding when they're too bad

 

[Alibear]

Daisy, the mare in my profile picture, cannot cope with them when ridden, it's the only time she misbehaves. So we just avoid them. Ride on fly rugs don't cover the belly/underside enough to work for her either, plus the range is limited to start with to get them fitted around a western saddle. So it was up early, got to the forest which is somehow horsefly free, or use the indoor for the fly months of summer. Thankfully Amber is a little more tolerant so as long as only a few are around we can cope, for the big clouds is a definite trot on out of there moment.

 

[McGrools]

I have had a pretty dangerous ride this morning with the horse flies upsetting my mare. She was bronking a lot, nearly had me off on a few occasions. I think i will just avoid riding her whilst they are still about. She is not a happy bunny in mid summer. She gets very hot and bothered. She can be a winter pony xx

 

[PinkvSantaboots]

Just wondering if anyone had a similar issue. I've a 7 year old big strong powerful sport horse and he is impossible to ride once there is horseflies out. As soon as one lands on him he either bucks or feels like he is going to. And he's a big strong blood horse so the bucks are big, and you never know when they will come. When I lunge he is the same, he just seems very sensitive to them. There is no badness in him, as soon as that particular fly leaves his body he is gentlemanly again. My worry is that I ride alone a lot, and if I get unseated and injured no-one will find me for hours!

I have smothered him in fly stuff and it made no difference. On the lunge he is equally reactive. I'm half worried now are there some horses that you just work around the seasons they work best in because there's another productive I can do with him in horsefly season by the looks of it! I just never encountered it before that badly. I'd be happy enough to give him the bad fly months off and just work in other seasons. Just wondering if anyone had encountered anything similar.

My Arabi is the same he has such a fine coat he hates them he will buck and leap and try to run off, I ride him very early or very late and take a long whip to flick them off with when horse flies are around.

 

[Regandal]

Can anyone recommend a decent ride on fly rug?