How's your horse fly phobia compared to your horses?!

[Illusion100]

Mine is awful, I hate them and flail about like a moron if there are any flying around me.

My horse has more of a 'there sort of mildly irritating' view, which is great as he doesn't freak out when bitten. He also has no real issue or panic moment if I just walk up and slap him to kill a settled/feeding horse fly on him.

I don't have a problem with pain from their bite, I just have a major issue with being violated for my nutrients! (And, lets face it, who knows where they've been!)

They give me the heebie-jeebies that much I soak long sleeved tops with the hosepipe and then put them on to keep myself as protected as possible from them but also to help keep me cool.

I've found the Extra Tail seems to put them off considerably but they really are determined little sods, maybe that's what's scares me the most about them!

How do all of you and your horses feel about them?!

 

[Mrs G]

We both HATE them, horse violently so; boy can throw some shapes! It doesn't matter if they are biting flies or not - he doesn't want to find out! I am not quite so reactive to the actual bite at the time but a couple of hours later I look like I've got some form of the plague; huge, red, throbbing lumps, and the itching, omg, if I'm not careful I will scratch until I bleed; I know I shouldn't but it feels sooo good at the time!

 

[stormclouds]

Horse - doesn't care. Me - I will throw some pretty impressive shapes to get away! We were xc schooling at the weekend, both of us covered head to toe in them. I was ready to leave as was getting so annoyed, while horse was more irritated that there was nose-length grass below him that he wasn't allowed to eat.

He doesn't seem to attract half as many as the bays/browns on the yard, so at least there's one thing to be grateful for about having a grey?!

 

[Illusion100]

We both HATE them, horse violently so; boy can throw some shapes! It doesn't matter if they are biting flies or not - he doesn't want to find out! I am not quite so reactive to the actual bite at the time but a couple of hours later I look like I've got some form of the plague; huge, red, throbbing lumps, and the itching, omg, if I'm not careful I will scratch until I bleed; I know I shouldn't but it feels sooo good at the time!

Your horse and I are of one mind!

Oh don't, no stories of the awful red, itchy lumps! Do horse flies have a purpose or do they simply exist to be ******?!

 

[AandK]

Mine is awful, I hate them and flail about like a moron if there are any flying around me.

My horse has more of a 'there sort of mildly irritating' view, which is great as he doesn't freak out when bitten. He also has no real issue or panic moment if I just walk up and slap him to kill a settled/feeding horse fly on him.

I don't have a problem with pain from their bite, I just have a major issue with being violated for my nutrients! (And, lets face it, who knows where they've been!)

Same here, both on my count and my horses count! They aren't too bad where I am, although there are some venues near by where they are so much worse (I swear they are getting bigger this year!!) I just put lashings of Power Phaser on my boy, and me as well if they are really bad!

 

[AandK]

He doesn't seem to attract half as many as the bays/browns on the yard, so at least there's one thing to be grateful for about having a grey?!

Not sure about that, my boy is grey and he attracts more than my bay mare does. But then he is a much hotter horse, body temp wise, than the mare, which would make sense as the horseflies are attracted to heat.

 

[Illusion100]

Horse - doesn't care. Me - I will throw some pretty impressive shapes to get away! We were xc schooling at the weekend, both of us covered head to toe in them. I was ready to leave as was getting so annoyed, while horse was more irritated that there was nose-length grass below him that he wasn't allowed to eat.

He doesn't seem to attract half as many as the bays/browns on the yard, so at least there's one thing to be grateful for about having a grey?!

Mines a bay and the horse flies LOVE him, I've slapped up to 8 feeding flies off him in a single occasion! Maybe they prefer browns/bays because they are more camouflaged on them?

You're a lot braver than me, I would probably have flung myself off horse and ran to hide in trailer.

On some days, there have been that many on him, horse ends up a bit 'drunk' from blood loss, too the point I nearly had him tested for anaemia!

I'm off to fetch him in shortly then spent today hiding in the house away from the heat and flies!

 

[Illusion100]

Same here, both on my count and my horses count! They aren't too bad where I am, although there are some venues near by where they are so much worse (I swear they are getting bigger this year!!) I just put lashings of Power Phaser on my boy, and me as well if they are really bad!

Haha, yes! They are definitely mutating into a monster species! And I also use my horses fly repellents on myself before I'll even go near a horse when the horse flies are out......the thought of them feeding off me makes me queasy!

 

[wyrdsister]

Horse flies annoy me, but far less than they seem to bother my young mare, who will stop dead, stamp wildly & bite at them, tail going like a windmill. On the other hand, I've been known to do a Frankie Dettori dismount to escape a wasp. Baby mare has a very amused 'wasp, mum?' ear cock when I start flailing & swearing!

The older mare just wears a long suffering expression & sidles over to use me as a fly swat. She's also immune to my wasp hysterics ;-)

 

[Illusion100]

Horse flies annoy me, but far less than they seem to bother my young mare, who will stop dead, stamp wildly & bite at them, tail going like a windmill. On the other hand, I've been known to do a Frankie Dettori dismount to escape a wasp. Baby mare has a very amused 'wasp, mum?' ear cock when I start flailing & swearing!

The older mare just wears a long suffering expression & sidles over to use me as a fly swat. She's also immune to my wasp hysterics ;-)

Haha! I hate wasps too......all they do is each fermented fruit, get drunk and sting things!

My wasp flail is basically the same as my horsefly flail, which is running away!

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