[a] Alternatives to fly spray?

Hey guys :)

I'm in need of a bit of help with suggestions again xD My loan pony has sweetitch so I have to use fly protection as much as I can with her (she already has a fly rug). However, she's not a huge fan of sprays so I struggle to use fly spray. Is there anything else worth giving a try?

Thank you :)

p.s / how amazing is her zebra fly rug? xD

Last edited on 2016-04-26 at 06:35:23 by autumn.

The only thing I can think of is the Fly Predator stuff but I have no clue how that works. You may just have to spend a few days with her with a spray bottle with water in it to desensitize her. I know from experience that it can be difficult but it is worth it. At work there is a 4H horse that was terrified of sprays so much that he would try to kick or run away from you. But with a ton for work he is getting better. One thing that works around my girls eyes is the Avon Skin So Soft Deodorant. Maybe you could use the sprays that last a week on her if she really hates it. Also never spray there face only spray it into your hand and then wipe your hand around her face :)

Your pony is pretty adorable by the way :)

Thank you :) We have tried to desensitise her with sprays before but she is 24 in two weeks and showing no signs of getting used to it and it stresses her out loads (she has also escaped on multiple occasions because we tie her to string and she breaks it when she's scared) :/ :P
I will research the Avon product you mentioned as well as the Fly Predator stuff. :] Thank you once again!

Many people add small amounts (1T.) of garlic powder to their horse's feed in order to repel flies. For some, it works. For others, it doesn't. It probably depends a lot on the horse as well as the source of garlic - apparently HerbNHorse is a good source for garlic powder that tends to do the trick.

A lot of people cite the fact that garlic and onions can cause anemia in horses based on studies, BUT they fail to bring up the fact that there have been no studies done on the effects of a small amount of garlic per day. The only study was done by feeding a horse THREE POUNDS (1.4kg) of garlic per day.

Last edited on 2016-04-26 at 08:19:20 by ｖｏｓ ♚

The Appaloosa I help with occasionally has small amounts of garlic in her food. It works a treat with the flies when we have no spray left. :)

We have used garlic for her sweetitch before (it's called Stinky Stuff and I'm pretty sure it was garlic scented but it was a while ago so I can't remember exactly) and it worked with healing her sweet itch but the flies still bugged her a lot.
It's quite pricey so we can't afford to keep using it as we go through it quite quickly. xD However, I will try to add garlic to her feed - thank you for that suggestion as I had never thought of that! :P

She may start to smell like garlic, which may be a downside if you don't like that XD
That's usually why flies stay away, the smell gets excreted through the skin (sweat, oils, etc.) and they hate it.

Sulphur blocks can help. Just make sure it's marketed for horses.

I use feed through bug check in conjunction with spot on treatments - no need for fly sprays

I spray the fly spray onto a sponge, then wipe it on my pony! :)

there's a product you can get at the feed store (at least here you can get it) called Equispot and I assure you it works wonders. It also repels other insects and even ticks. It lasts up to 2 weeks. It's not terribly expensive, and we use it at work often.

The Herbal Horse sells an all natural fly rub. I really love their products and though I haven't used that one in particular, will highly recommend.

Ooh I've never heard of most of these methods/products! Thank you so much guys :D

I will be trying some of them out, and I've also discovered citronella gel and roll on sticks as well as the citronella tags. Has anybody ever used these products?