Luckily my previous barn really didn't have *that* many flies (maybe it's all the garlic being grown down there?) and it was going into winter anyway.
This spring though, moving to the new barn, I realized that there were some nasty flies up here! I was out riding one morning and kept feeling these little pinpricks on my back, which I realized were flies biting me! Those dicks.
They really started to bother TC, with him getting irritated at them while we were riding and constantly wanting to rub his face on his wraps, which would twist around and get gross. He's never been one that cared about flies all that much, but I think they were biting him.
Soooo it became time to do something about the flies. At expo I bought him a mask and had talked to a barn mate about potential allergies. She said she had surprising luck with the cheap Bronco fly spray, and that even though it smelled like chemicals, it didn't seem to bother her very sensitive horse.
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| Watching the feed cart |
I used that on Monday at my lesson, but it didn't seem to help very much with the flies, they were still landing on him. Tuesday I saw that one of my barnmates had FlySect outside her stall. Since he hadn't had an allergic reaction to the Bronco, it was in the back of my mind that maybe in the fall it was like, a change of hay or something that caused the bumps. So I put that on him.
NOPE.
Definitely the fly spray. I came out to ride him on Wednesday to find him pawing incessantly at the ground and feeling itchy. The hives hadn't appeared yet so I rode him and we had kind of a shit ride. That's not unusual after a lesson so I just left it and started looking up toys for him (because pawing = boredom?). Then Wednesday night I came out to check on him and sure enough, bumps everywhere. They're hot and sensitive and he was standing really weird.
I washed him with anti-microbial shampoo, which I'm not sure was the right call but it was quite literally the only shampoo I had that wasn't whitening shampoo. My BO was there but didn't have any hydroxyzine or anything, so I just left him.
Thursday morning I rode him bareback around the ranch and he seemed like he was in good spirits, but he was still both itchy and painful. It seems like the more sensitive skin near his belly/flank is really painful, and the rest of him is just itchy. He kept turning around to itch at himself and one time just bit his shoulder and held his skin in his mouth. I curried him all over and put him away.
At this point I just feel terrible for him. The hives are really hot and clearly uncomfortable. He has some under where his saddle would go, though those ones don't seem as bad, so I have to wait to ride him.
I'm also just totally pissed off at myself for fly spraying him again. No more fly spray for him!
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| Trying to bite my foot |
In the immediate future, I washed TC on Wednesday when I noticed it and last night gave him some benadryl to see if it will go down. As of this morning, a lot of the bumps on his body are gone but there's a ton of edema on his belly on the left side mostly. He doesn't seem as uncomfortable after getting benadryl last night. He'll get it again tonight and through the weekend hopefully.
As long as he's not irritated, I'm going to try riding him lightly tomorrow morning. I mean, we have a show in a week, but he's going so well that I feel like if my first ride is when we trot down centerline, we'll still be fine, if not a bit explosive.
In the long term future, what the hell! The barn keeps flies out pretty well so most of the irritation is when riding, or I'd get him a fly sheet or something. I don't know how to keep the flies off of him while riding without fly spraying him... if I do try more fly spray, I'm going to just spray a tiny bit on one part of him and wait to see what happens. It could be just one ingredient that isn't in all fly sprays.
Any advice is appreciated, have any of you dealt with a fly spray allergy??
Poor TC :( I haven't had to deal with an allergy, thankfully, but maybe try a feed-through fly control? As well as head to toe fly sheet w/ belly guard, mask, boots, etc.
ReplyDeleteIf all else fails move back down here and to my barn - it's still cool and foggy here :p
Hmmm maybe a feed through would help, I'll definitely look into that, thanks! His barn is pretty fly-free, it's mostly walking out in the fields where he gets bothered by them.
DeleteI did see a job pop open on the peninsula in my industry and your barn would be on my list, but unfortunately my industry can't keep up with tech and it didn't pay nearly enough. Maybe when I'm ready to be a director!
I would try a more natural fly spray. I use the wipe version of a fly spray from whole horse equine: https://www.wholehorseequine.com/
ReplyDeleteIt's a bit pricey, but it might work for him. Erin (the owner) is super responsive and helpful too.
I'll definitely look into that, thanks! I'm hoping to be able to start narrowing down what it is in the fly spray that is bothering him. Maybe when we don't have a show coming up...
DeleteI'm not much help with the fly spray allergy, but they do make special fly sheets for riding to cover the neck and flank area, IDK if that might help?
ReplyDeleteI never thought of that! He's definitely not a fan of wearing clothes but if I'm on him I can prevent him from taking it off. I'll look into it, thanks!
DeleteIt wouldn't totally solve your problem (because I imagine you can't show in it) but maybe in conjunction with finding a fly spray he's not allergic to? :) Just a thought! I think Rambo makes one, probably a few other brands too.
DeleteHave you tried eco-vet? I really like it, works great for my sensitive pony, and not the usual formulation of chemicals like permethrin/pyrethrum.
ReplyDeleteExplanation and info here:https://eco-vet.com/
I haven't heard of it but I'll definitely give it a try. Thanks!
DeleteIt smells really horrific but try the eco-vet spray, it doesn't have permethrin or any pyrethrins in it. I would never recommend it because of the smell but this is one case where it might actually be a good thing.
ReplyDeleteHaha yes I can live with the smell if it doesn't give him hives! Will definitely be trying that, thanks!
DeleteI was going to suggest this stuff as well!
DeleteCamphorated oil, and other natural oils are great as fly deterrents. Try one of the homemade fly spray concoctions you can find on the web. I rub a drop of camphorated oil once a week inside my horses uber sensitive ears and its very effective.
ReplyDeleteI second the riding fly sheet and eco vet suggestions. Also try lemon eucalyptus human bug spray (it works according to CR) and has no chemicals so might be okay. We feed Animed BugLyte. It’s cheap. I don’t know if it works that well but no side effect and they eat it just fine. Good luck.
ReplyDeleteI've used the lemon eucalyptus human bug spray on me. :) A++ at keeping bugs away, A+ smell if you don't mind lemon and eucalyptus.
DeleteGet a bonnet, and ride forward 🤷 That's what I've always done when the flies are impossible. My horses aren't allergic to fly spray, but I sure am! Gives me neverending sneezing fits. Ugh.
ReplyDeleteThere are garlic supplements for horses for as an alternate
ReplyDeleteMy horse also breaks out in hives or a road rash type thing when I use certain sprays, specifically pyrhana spray (yellow bottle). After much trial and error the blue bottle pyrhana seems to work best. It is water based, who knows why it doesn't cause the hives but there must be something in it being water based. I've also recently started using a garlic supplement which I've seen to work amazingly well on other horses.
ReplyDeletePoor TC!! I used to have a mare who would get unexplained hives in the summer and 10cc of liquid childrens benadryl cleared it right up!
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