What's best to feed for flies?

Firewell

Firewell

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Cider Vinegar or garlic granuals.

We have evil evil flies in the summertime at our yard, mutant horse flies and the drive my poor thin skinned chestnut stir crazy.

I thought I would start to feed a supplement now to try and make him less tasty to the little blighters!

Is apple cider vinegar best or garlic or both?

Also the apple cider vinegar helps weight loss in humans it won't make my tb drop off will it?

Another question is cider vinegar the same as apple cider vinegar.. I'm assuming it is? Reason I ask is the supermarket sells glass bottles of cider vinegar which works out 50% cheaper then buying horse brand apple cider vinegar. The stuff from the supermarket has pictures of apples all over the label and it says it's unpasturised on the back so I think it is the same stuff?

Thanks!
 
I feed cider vinegar for flies and joints - certanly no sign of weight loss on my two - and they live on scroff!

Never tried garlic, but mine are the ony ones on the yard who don't suffer from the flies in the summer (believe me, living in the middle of Spain's veg growing area, our flies are incredible!!!!)
 
garlic isn't good fed long term, can cause immune probs so I wouldn't feed that. Haven't found any magic feed, though they both do get extra bewers yeast i through spring and summer - incase it works!! They have fly sheets and masks on, nothing else keeps them free from flys and nice and relaxed when turned out.
 
Ive fed mine garlic for the last 7years and no sign of any immune problems!! Keeps the flies off him lovely in the summer, although he does stink! Global herbs do a supplement called flyfree, its really smelly but works wonders lots of people at the yard use it, and swear by it!
 
Yeast is another good one to keep flies off - over the past couple of years there has been much written about the overuse of garlic and it's effect on the immune system.

This mix works really well

Fly Repellant Mix
15ml Citronella
2 Tbs Meths
1 Tbs Dishwashing Liquid
4 Tbs Vinegar
250ml strong Black tea
Add to 2 ltrs Water
Store in a Spray bottle
 
I've got a skinny, thin skinned chestnut pony and a hairy native pony. The chestnut came with insturctions about garlic in his diet, fly masks (which he removes), fly sheets and so on, - we were told never to let him out without them, and it was true the flies really did bother him. On a whim as I couldn't keep a fly mask on, I bought a tub of GH FlyFree and was impressed to note that the flies landed - and took off again, they really didn't like the smell, so much so that he spent all last summer happily without any masks or fly sheets, and I bought a 5kg tub for this year. I do have to wipe a little fly repellant round his under carriage every other day or so when the flies are very bad as extra protection, but other than that he's fine.

Unfortunately the hairy one has too much hair, the flies land, can't smell the Fly Free and still bite him, it's definitely not as effective on him.
 
The Global herbs stuff is good, I have used Skratch which contains similar ingredients to FlyFree and it is very effective. Also use Brewers Yeast and it does make a big difference to my itchy lot. I don't use garlic as one has sweetitch and two are the types who just might develop it.I have never been convinced it really helps anyway!
 
I tried the global herbs fly free and found it very difficult to get my pony to eat it, he never managed to eat the required dose
 
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