They're back and it's only April.

C

CowCob

Well-Known Member
Joined
30 August 2014
Messages
58
Location
Doncaster, South Yorks
Visit site
Flys.
Before I stock up on it, which fly spray should I get? Or what is a good recipe? I bathed her in Barrier Super Plus last year and she still got lumpy. Moo Cob is quite severly sensitive to them poor girl. She's just been full clipped and pulled recently as well so shes no mane to flick them. Should I chuck some garlic in her feed? I'm considering starting her on a small spoonful but I'm quite nervy about giving her it.

Also- are ride on fly rugs worth it? Or is she going to look silly for no reason? She's ridden out in a full face mask due to head tossing (just hacking nothing too fast) so I may have to consider changing her name to Geoff Goldblum lol.

Any other suggestions would be really nice. I'm not too iffy about the cost as long as she'll be comfortable.
 
Garlic will worsen any reaction, so if she is prone to getting lumpy, I would avoid garlic entirely. Piriton can really help with reactions but discuss with your vet.

As for prevention, always better than a cure, a good quality fly rug (one that stops midges too) will be your horses best friend.

As for actual products, it's usually a case of trial and error but avon skin so soft spray is great for riding/temporary protection.
 
We are using neem oil at the moment and he is out naked with no rubbing, I have fly rug and mask on standby, but so far so good, my gosh it stinks though!
 
I have heard that feeding Brewers yeast is a good way to keep off the biting midge type flies. Have been feeding it for a week or so now, so can't really comment as to whether it works (apparently it takes two weeks to have any benefit??)but lots of people I know use the same thing. We are right next to the New Forest so quite a 'flyiey ' area.... We shall soon see! Others I know put marmite in food or on a slice of bread and feed it this way but the Brewers yeast I worked out was the cheaper option :-)
 
My poor mare got attacked badly the night before last. Huge golf balls and sacks of fluid around her groin. I put her fly rug on last night as an extra precaution, as I can't put benzyl benzoate or neem on her blood covered bits (for some reason this brand is not as soothing as it should be) and sudocrem soon wears off. Poor poppet. 😕 I'm covered in bites, too.
 
Ben2684 said:
I have heard that feeding Brewers yeast is a good way to keep off the biting midge type flies. Have been feeding it for a week or so now, so can't really comment as to whether it works (apparently it takes two weeks to have any benefit??)but lots of people I know use the same thing. We are right next to the New Forest so quite a 'flyiey ' area.... We shall soon see! Others I know put marmite in food or on a slice of bread and feed it this way but the Brewers yeast I worked out was the cheaper option :-)
Click to expand...


Eh i didnt know that, ive been feeding mine brewers yeast for over 6 months now ill let you know if it has any effects on the flies. He also gets garlic so hopefully no flies will be bothering him!!!

I use either naf fly gel the bright green one i think its citrenella but cant remeber off the top of my head and also i get that barrier super plus fly gel if the naf is out of stock. Also he has a citronella wash that you can add to water and leave the sudds in :)

Im more paranoid than ever about flies as merlyn has just had an operation to remove sarcoids and vet is convinced it was brought on by fly bites!!
 
The ONLY fly/midge deterrent I've found even remotely successful is the Power Phaser one. The rest are as useless as Gnats-P!ss IME. Or you can make up your own - there was a recipe on here a while back. Much cheaper, and just as effective.

The Flectron cow/ear tags are said to work: Alec Swan is the expert on these I believe?? Bear in mind that they have to actually TOUCH the horse and for the substance in it to fully permeate the coat so no use just hanging on a headcollar and hoping it will work coz it won't. The other thing to bear in mind is that these are not actually licensed for horses so if you walk into your agricultural merchants and ask for one for a "horse fly repelling tag" you won't be allowed to buy one! So you might have to (ahem) say you've got cows or whatever, the problem then being that they come in packs of about 25 so it might work out a bit pricey. Best thing is to find a friendly farmer who might let you have one for £££!

I've heard Deosect is good, its a pour-on thing I understand? Might just get some this year and try it out.

Bleddi flies. Bleddi midges too. My boy's got sweet itch so even though its just gorgeous outside, I shan't be able to relax properly from now till end of October! Its the price to pay for lovely weather.
 
Tritec- as it is actually an insecticide. - also stops the ticks.

Garlic isn't good for digestive systems so I would never feed it.

I've no idea how I would get a flectron tag to touch Frank's skin permanently without piercing his ear :p.
 
I like the products from BiteBack. http://www.bitebackproducts.co.uk
Until recently, the only thing I found consistently useful against midges is DEET, but I don't like how destructive it is (rubber, synthetic bridle...) Icaridin is a newer chemical that has been shown to be as effective as DEET, but without the plastic-dissolving side effects. The BiteBack sprays use it, and I've found it to work as well as Naf Off DEET.
But for a sensitive horse, I'd probably also go for a good fly rug for turnout. A barrier will always outperform a spray.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Top