Protecting your horse from flies and insects

Protecting your horse from flies and insects

As the weather warms up in the UK, it unfortunately means that all the flies and insects are beginning to appear and start to prove very irritating to both us and our four-legged friends. For some horses, the flies can be more of an annoyance, and can affect behaviour to include head shaking and lack of concentration when exercising.

If your horse appears bothered by insects, then there are some management methods you can adopt to hopefully relieve him of the irritation and make the warmer months as enjoyable as they should be!

Tips for protecting your horse from insects:

• Keep the horse’s environment clean. This is a fairly obvious one, but it is important to keep all stables, shelters and barns as clean and dry as possible to reduce on the number of flies accumulating. It’s been reported that manure from one horse each day can be a breeding ground for up to 10,000 flies per day!
• Ensure your feed bins are tightly sealed so the feed you buy only feeds your horse, and not flies too!
• As insects can’t fly in wind, it can be helpful to set up fans in barns where possible to deter flies from landing.
• Flies are often found around water, so if possible, don’t turn your horse out near to any bodies of water, such as ponds or streams. Standing water is especially attractive to flies, so make sure drains are working properly and water troughs and buckets are cleaned regularly.   
• Protect your horse from flies by using lightweight, breathable fly rugs and masks. Masks are useful in shielding your horse’s eyes, ears and nostrils, whilst full fly rugs are designed to protect the horse from biting insects.
• Avoid turning your horse out during dawn and dusk when the insects are most active and most likely to irritate your horse.
• Use an oral supplement such as Feedmark’s Fly Formula to help deter biting insects from the inside out.

How can Fly Formula help?

Fly Formula has been developed by Nutritionists to provide your horse with a natural supplement to help deter flies from the inside out.

The main active ingredient is Garlic, which has been used to deter flies for many years. Garlic is rich in organic sulphur compounds which, when digested, are secreted through pores in the horse’s skin emitting a foul taste to the flies when they land on the horse to bite.

Other beneficial herbs including Fenugreek, Chamomile, Peppermint, Spearmint, Rosemary Lemon peel and Nettle have been added to the formulation as they have all shown to be helpful in deterring flies or aiding skin health. Yea-Sacc has also been included as it is a proven probiotic which supports the absorption of nutrients, to ensure the horse receives maximum benefits from the supplement’s ingredients.