Fight the Filthy Fly
Trekehner tails are swishing and swatting. Hanoverian heads are tossing. Morgan manes are flying. Haflinger hooves are stomping. Appaloosas are apprehensive. Ponies are perturbed. Thoroughbreds are thoroughly annoyed.
It must be fly season.
June is Fight the Filthy Fly Month, especially at the stables. In fact, on June 21st, many celebrate St. Leufredus' Day. (For those who keep track, St. Leufredus is the patron saint against flies.)
Have you stocked up on fly spray yet?
Fly spray prices range (from $5 to $30 or more for a single spray bottle), and product quality varies considerably. Truly, you get what you pay for.
Ask any horseman for a recommendation, and you will likely hear a different product cited. Some equestrians even mix their own fly sprays, while others swear by apple cider vinegar or citronella oil. We have used Avon's Skin-so-Soft with some effectiveness. (Certainly, it makes the horses' skin silky smooth and soft.)
Still, none of the products seem to be completely fly-proof, particularly as horses begin to sweat during a workout. Coverage is key.
A seasoned horsewoman shared her savvy fly protection secret with us. Here’s how we cover our horses with fly protection without wasting expensive sprays in the barn aisles.
We washed out a large plastic cold cream tub (with a twist-on lid). Inside the tub, we placed an old washcloth. Then we filled the tub with fly spray.
After we groom and tack our horses, we are ready to apply the fly spray.
Instead of misting our horses from the spray bottle, we simply wring out the washcloth and wipe the product directly onto our horses’ coats and legs. The fly protection is applied exactly where we want it to go, rather than into our horses’ faces, onto our leather saddles or tack or simply into the barn air.
Even the $5 Bronco works well, if you use it this way. It’s easy and virtually spookproof too!
Of course, if your horse enjoys daily turnout with a quiet herd, you might add a fly mask (or even a fly sheet) as well.
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