Inventive fly-repelling ideas?

T

TwoStroke

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Its that time of year again :D.

And I'm unfortunate enough to own one of life's tricky customers... he's very thin skinned and sensitive, so the flies really bother him. But every rug rubs him, to the point that it causes uneven muscle development, so he can't wear a fly rug.

He's also hysterical about being sprayed with anything - all of his other little phobias have been over come with a bit of patience, but this one he's really serious about.

He also won't keep a fly mask on.

So does anyone have any ideas for fly-repellant that's not rug or spray based? I've previously tried Fly-Free by Global Herbs, but it stank the place down and did naff all.

I can bathe him with anti-fly shampoo, but doing this regularly will strip the oils from his coat, and he lives out. I can also apply topically with a sponge, but he's a big horse, and I can't feasibly get every bit of him every day.

TIA
 
Can you wipe fly spray on with a cloth? Or Ive read feeding garlic or marmite can help! Untried by me though!
 
Mrs C said:
Can you wipe fly spray on with a cloth? Or Ive read feeding garlic or marmite can help! Untried by me though!
Click to expand...

Yeah, I thought of wiping it on, but he's huge and it'd use crazy amounts of fly spray and take forever as well. I haven't heard of feeding marmite, though - that's worth a try! Not so keen on garlic :o.
 
It is the yeast in Marmite that is supposed to help repel flies, so if already feeding yeast try giving a bit more.

What about one of the sweet itch products that are meant to last longer term or a gel which does seem to build up a bit over time.
 
I used to have a mare with sweet itch and so tried most things.

Marmite - on treats, not 100% if this worked or not but worth a shot
Garlic - Think this helped
Home made fly repellent - My mare also hated being sprayed and so you had to chase her round in circles to do it. So on bad days I would just sponge on around most important bits, it smells strong enough to repel flies from going anywhere near her. Plus as it was homemade it cost barely anything to make.
Cider Vinegar - In water or feed
Plants - You can plant cintronella plants around stables and we actually put some in the hedgerows. Definitely worked round the stables not sure about the field, probably not. Infact apparently most strongly scented plants will repel midgeys, theres loads of info online about which to use

I have also seen these, not used them myself but worth a shot
http://www.medicanimal.com/setSessi...k_googlebase&gclid=CLW94M_2g7cCFdHMtAodZSMACw
 
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NAF do the fly tags that you attach to their manes and i think ive seen a collar band thing you can put on them as well to help deter flies etc!

Coopers fly repllent im sure gives "14 day" protection but at least that you could do once a week!
 
Didn't realise you could get those bands/tags for horses - will definitely get some for him!

He does get brewer's yeast and yea-sacc, so I'll up the brewer's yeast.

Can't spray him as he get's way too stressed, but if Cooper's works for that long then I could sponge him once a week.
 
So citronella is out! It seems he's allergic to it :(. Poor pony. And I thought my TB was hard to manage...
 
It's the vitamin b12 in marmite that taints the blood so making it unappealing to biting nasties. Worked a treat for me when I lived in the tropics! The docs recommended it no end! You can get fly repellant gel which may be worth a shot? I had the deet gel for my boy for his face/ears and it worked well. Good luck...not a fun time of year for those susceptible to the nasty flies.
 
Tried the tags last year - they were a complete waste of money and had no effect at all that I could see.

I did the marmite experiment a few years ago too, and although I now know horse loves the taste of marmite (he will lick it off a spoon) it didn't seem to help with the flies.

I like the Power Phaser spray - and they do it in a gel, so you could try that :)
http://www.robinsonsequestrian.com/power-phaser-fly-repellent-gel-500ml.html
 
I tried those tags too - complete waste of time!
I haven't personally tried them, but heard good reports about cattle fly tags. Think you can only buy them in boxes of 50 or something but worth it in your situation?
 
Deosect is good and only needs to be applied every other week I think, it's working well so far on my sweet itch pony
 
Coopers fly repellant. It is designed to be applied with a cloth (that they provide) not a spray. I have gone through less than two bottles in two years (granted my pony is 14hh but even so.... It has marks on the bottle to show how much you are supposed to use with each application to get the right 'dose. It is pretty expensive, about £30/bottle from the tack shop, but I think I remember seeing it massively cheaper off amazon right after I bought it last time and being furious because I'd just opened my new bottle :(
 
I have a host of anti fly things going on:

Home made fly spray for general use, small pony doesn't like it but I chase her round with it as I am mean and it helps.

Coopers fly repellent for the worst areas especially smeared down the face, find it easier to put on my hands and rub on their faces (you do get gloves), they don't get so suspicious!

Baby oil rubbed on the legs as mine seem to get a lot between their forelegs and generally underneath (lighter coloured chestnut areas)

Sudocreme (asda version more spreadable) to cover my mare's teats and navel as she gets particularly bombarded under there, also baby oil and sometimes cream coating in between her legs, its a bit intimate but you can see the relief in minutes when she is not kicking her belly every five minutes and looking depressed!

Feeding micronised linseed which keeps their skin in good condition and adds an oily sheen to their coats to also repel flies

Just ordered some brewers yeast too

Small pony is more itch prone but mostly head and neck so will have a mask but I don't think either need a rug at this stage and I'd rather they didn't have to be covered.

Tried global herbs fly free, both hated it so can't give anywhere near the recommended dose (two scoops? try a teaspoonful!) So don't think it works at that level if at all! I did taste it....I shudder at the memory!
 
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