Is anyone else's horse this bad with horseflies

[Hullabaloo]

Mine seems to think his world is ending, even if he gets one on him. We went out for a short hack and on one of the tracks the flies were pretty bad - I wouldn't have gone that way if I'd known but I was committed by the time I realised.
As soon as he gets one he stops dead, starts twitching and kicking out and refused to move until I find it and kill it for him. He's worse when they land anywhere on his head or if there are a few of them on him when he gets beside himself.
I know they're horrible, but it just seems like a bit of an overreaction to me - is anyone else's horse this bad!

On the bright side, there are now several dozen less horse flies in the world after my efforts at squashing them, and in an attempt to avoid them on the way home I ended up in a stubble field and had a lovely canter across it.

 

[katie_southwest]

Yes my old pony used to buck and try and run off with me if she got one, just like she would in her field I suppose. One thing I wont miss in the winter is flies!

 

[Natassia]

My horse is like this as well, he doesn't stop and kick out but he doesn't walk properly and is constantly distracted by them until I find it and get it off him. Schooling or lungeing outside is a nightmare because he just doesn't concentrate properly, I guess he's just more sensitive than some other horses.

 

[Hullabaloo]

Glad its not just mine. To be fair to him he is quite thin skinned and comes up in lumps so he must feel them.

 

[amabelscott]

mine is too and i have basically given up hacking him apart from at 7.30 in the morning! whenever he gets one he has a major implosion and cant decide whether to bolt, throw himself on the ground, or turn himself inside out

 

[amandaco2]

my ish will leap about if i dont crush it quickly!lol
shes awful in the field too-she has to wear a rambo hoody or she goes insane if any insects get on her.lol

 

[calon]

my mare is the same and throws screaming habdabs when she gets them on her ,but she is alergic to them and comes up in huge pussy lumps when bitten so i cant blame her poor thing

 

[jhoward]

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my mare is the same and throws screaming habdabs when she gets them on her ,but she is alergic to them and comes up in huge pussy lumps when bitten so i cant blame her poor thing

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did you know you can vacinate against them?? feel free to pm, ive just had a horse blood tested, horses flies hes allergic to (amongst rather a lot of other things) any way, i vacine can be made up against them.