Coblover63
Well-Known Member
I'm one of the ones that's allergic to horseflies. Not hospitalisation but the big, red angry, hot, hard, itchy reactions. I take a daily antihistimine anyway, plus all the usual stuff that your read about (Afterbite, hairdryer, etc). I wear a baggy shirt and wide-leg linen trousers over my usual horsewear to handle my horses but inevitably from time to time they beat my precautions and have me. This is not a post asking for deterrents.... I've tried them all, believe me!
When the horseflies hatch at the end of May I get a black cloud over me until they disappear at the end of August. I mostly stop riding, give up on local shows and fun rides and I tend to just stay indoors when the sun comes out through horsefly season. This morning I lunged my mare at 7am but I'm loathe to hack out early on weekdays because we have to ride on narrow lanes to get off-road...and at that time of the day I would expect people to be driving faster, not expecting to bump into an early bird horse and rider! My yard buddies think I'm a bit of a freak because I'm so obsessed with preventing horsefly bites, because they don't understand the pain, misery and lack of sleep that they cause me. They laugh when they come back from fun rides, camps and clinics as one of my first questions is always "were there many horseflies?" Yesterday we had a lovely bit-fitting lady come to the yard but before of the heart and flies, I couldn't (wouldn't) partake in ridden testing. My friend rode in our outdoor school for nearly an hour, testing different combinations - and got bitten to pieces!! Spring and autumn I come alive again.
I just wondered if I'm alone in being so miserable during the summer and feeling like I'm missing out on so much?
When the horseflies hatch at the end of May I get a black cloud over me until they disappear at the end of August. I mostly stop riding, give up on local shows and fun rides and I tend to just stay indoors when the sun comes out through horsefly season. This morning I lunged my mare at 7am but I'm loathe to hack out early on weekdays because we have to ride on narrow lanes to get off-road...and at that time of the day I would expect people to be driving faster, not expecting to bump into an early bird horse and rider! My yard buddies think I'm a bit of a freak because I'm so obsessed with preventing horsefly bites, because they don't understand the pain, misery and lack of sleep that they cause me. They laugh when they come back from fun rides, camps and clinics as one of my first questions is always "were there many horseflies?" Yesterday we had a lovely bit-fitting lady come to the yard but before of the heart and flies, I couldn't (wouldn't) partake in ridden testing. My friend rode in our outdoor school for nearly an hour, testing different combinations - and got bitten to pieces!! Spring and autumn I come alive again.
I just wondered if I'm alone in being so miserable during the summer and feeling like I'm missing out on so much?