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Monty Roberts is a renowned horse trainer known as the man who listens to horses and the original horse whisperer. Monty's horse training instructions are accepted worldwide.
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Monty’s principles really amount to common sense and immense patience. He believes that children and horses have the same behavioral patterns. They are both naturally “flight” animals. "If you frighten them and resort to confrontation, you’ll lose their trust." ~ Monty
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Horse Behavior and Training

FLIES

By:

corbengra

Date:

2012-Jun-05 at 11:44AM

Does anyone have some ideas to help me out while riding my mare? She's super sensitive to flies and is VERY distracted by them while I'm riding. Even though I've fly sprayed her, even if they fly near her (the big loud horse flies/deer flies) she'll throw her head and shake it. I don't want this to turn dangerous for me. Does anyone have and tricks of the trade for me? What should I do when she reacts this way? I want to get this under control before she starts reacting very badly

star 2012-Jun-05 at 02:11PM

Hi corbengra,
After I have throughly groomed Star this is what I do.
I have found that I just was not getting the coverage that was needed for my mare with using the spray as a spray so I decided to use a body brush.
What I do is spray the repellent on the brush and immediately brush her head and body. I do this several times making sure I cover her whole body.
I then use a rool-on repellent for around her eyes and forehead.
Since I have been doing this the bugs do not bug Star.
I find not only do I get better coverage I also do not use as much spray.
Hope this helps.

renjaho - Hamburg, Germany 2012-Jun-05 at 04:23PM

Hi!
.
This is a very good idea, Star!
Maybe it might also help to ride at another time the day. I found out that there are times where flies are more or less "aggressive" against horses. Just try it out!
.
Have a nice day!
Jasmin

corbengra 2012-Jun-05 at 07:35PM

I will have to see if I can buy a roll on around here (we have no horsey stores lol) I usually spray it on my hands and rub it on her face. This may seem like a silly question but does anyone know what the radius is around the horse for the repellant? (i know it would depend on brand also). She gets aggravated even if they are just flying near her and not even landing on her...maybe there's one brand that's better than another?

emlaw 2012-Jun-06 at 03:33AM

Hi
I had a friend with a sensitive arab gelding who used to toss his head badly when the flies bothered him, she used to ride with a fly veil which worked well. They are relatively cheap to buy and fit onto the bridle. They have netting that comes over the horses eyes (it's very fine mesh so they can still see through it). However, a word of warning - only use veils that have been specifically designed for use while riding. There are others available for turnout only with a headcollar and these are not suitable for riding as they may obscure the horses vision and cause them to spook.
You could also try feeding garlic powder - it is supposed to make horses unappealing to flies and can be bought specifically for that purpose at feedstores.

corbengra 2012-Jun-06 at 10:46AM

Thanks emlaw! I will definitely look into the garlic powder thing! :)

ruthy - Gold Coast, Australia 2012-Jun-07 at 01:11AM

There is also a thing called Shoo Tag which you tie into the horse's mane - I have heard these are very effective, although I have not used it myself. Non-toxic, chemical free and lasts 4 months, see
http://www.shootag.com.au/