Suggestions for fly protection for inside of ears!

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Crazydancer

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We have 5 horses living out. They are all suffering with midges in the ears, they have little crusty scabs and are so itchy. I have tried with fly masks on my horse, but its clear that he hates it, and gets it off at every opportunity. He has in the past had garlic in his feed which did help, but I know that's now frowned upon.....
So - does anyone have any good recommendations for a cream or something we can ideally rub in the ears once a day to help? I have used summer fly cream in the past but it just seemed to gunk the hair in clumps and the flies still got in....plus everything ended up yellow.
Thanks!
 
We use the Gold Label Flygon gel for our three, but I'm not sure whether it says that you can put it inside the ears or not - you'd need to check :) It does keep the flies away though!
 
Red Horse products do something for ears. I haven't tried it, but tend to like their products that I have tried.
 
I use EqWax for ears, the Neem one is good for midges. It doesn't stain or clump (if applied properly) and is in a soft wax base that you can sponge on.
 
I use Lincoln green oil - it helps heal the scabs and prevents further bites.

A common problem it would seem!
 
Not ideal but could you turn him out with his fly mask with a field-safe headcollar over it to ensure the mask doesn't come off?
 
The issue with the flay mask is more that they live out - and the times they need protection most is dawn and dusk, and I don't like the idea of them having the mask on a night but there's no way I'd be able to put on/take off at the times needed.... plus the horse has let me know in no uncertain terms he hates it!! Treating the inside of the ears seems the best idea..... :) Thanks guys, I will see what the local tack shop has on the shelf.
 
Nettex summer freedom is brilliant for just inside the ears. Repels midges and flies and only has to be reapplied every 3 or 4 days. Available from ebay.
 
I just use a small smear of benzyl benzoate on the top of the inside of the ear. It seems to make a huge difference to horses that the flies find particularly yummy..
 
Thanks! I used to use BB at a yard where he was eaten more badly and scratched a lot..... that may be worth looking at, as does the Nettex. Chatting at the feed shop yesterday we were saying that adding garlic to the feed used to be the 'thing' to do, but we are now told that's not good for the gut. Although I fed it for many summers and my horse is 26 nearly, so can't have been that bad!!!
 
We get those nasty ear-biting flies as well, every year. I use the sweet relief cream from bitebackproducts inside the ears, and also on the sheath. It contains BB, but is gentle enough not to harm the thin skin, and also goes on clear (no thick greasy gunk). One tub lasts me all summer (for one horse).
 
We have those in our fields so I'm checking his ears regularly to be sure. It seems they prefer the other horses at the moment, leaving him to the horseflies.
The yard owner recommended vicks vapour rub just at the edges. Haven't tried it (haven't needed to)
 
Managed to get some nettex stop itch salve in my ponies ears a few days ago and seems to help. He well let you put on a mask but quickly takes it off! But like yours gets a lot of midges in his ears. My other 2 happily live out with fly masks on nearly 24 hours a day, as long as they fit well they don’t rub
 
Charlie gets bitten badly in his ears if I don't protect them. I put a smidge of vaseline on cotton wool and rub it on. He doesn't mind and the critters can't get at him.
 
Biteback Products do a neem gel which I use on my pony's ears which seems to help. He's rubbed less since I've used this. Their customer service is very good and if you email them you get a very quick reply. The Netex Summer Relief cream is good but is quite greasy I found. I do think if you can apply something twice a day it has much more impact.
 
I use something like either Green Oils or Udder Balm, cheap and cheerful and does the trick. Basically its about making the surface inhospitable i.e. oily for midges.

Re. feeding Garlic. Not being critical of anyone else's regime here, but if you have a horse with Sweet Itch then Garlic is a definite no-no; you could try Brewers yeast instead.

Dang midges! Its been a really nasty year for the blighters, can't ever remember it being this bad for flying creatures in general TBH, tis obviously the wet winter and spring we had, gave perfect conditions for breeding. Had to put the Neds inside this morning as they were being surrounded by about twenty horseflies each; youngster was going ballistic, galloping round and getting herself in a muck-sweat to get away from them. My two poor old oldies who I don't want galloping around, were beginning to think they'd better shift themselves too, so I put everyone inside out of the way of it :( Dang weather!
 
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