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LadyM wrote: "I do not want to use a chemical fly spray on my horse. Do you know of a natural type of horse spray that is effective?"
I have tried two natural fly sprays as I have an older horse who breaks out in black bumps when I use a Permethrin based fly spray on him. The natural products I have tried are Vinegar and Water and the other was a commercial product called Marigold Spray (made from Marigold flowers I assume). Neither were as effective as I would have liked. The Marigold Spray was probably more effective and you did not have to put up with that vinegar smell. Marigolds are the type of flower you are supposed to plant around your plants as a barrier for rabbits, however the rabbits out here in West Texas don't care if it's Marigold flowers or toxic waste,...it won't keep them from eating about anything they want.
An additional product which I have used, on that older horse who will not tolerate permethrins, is called M-T-G. This stands for Mane-Tail-Groom which is a sulfur based liquid intended for things like fungus control to fly bites. It actually works pretty well as a fly repellant. Although you have to put up with the smell. I wrote an article about using MTG earlier. You can find it here. I think an overall fly control strategy must also consider good manure management, use of fly traps and possibly fly predators. Previous article on natural fly sprays.
Josh wrote: "First of all thanks for a great site! I'm gun training my horse right now and he is doing really good. I noticed you started with a larger caliber than I'm using. Am I messing up by starting with the 22 round? Day one he continues eating when I fire within a few feet. I plan to work him up to my 1894 30-30 for white tail."
Josh, thanks for writing and your comments. I started with a larger caliber, .45 Long Colt, because blanks for that caliber are available. This negates the need to be concerned with where a projectile is landing. I think you can use live rounds in practically any caliber as long as you are safe with the impact zone of the projectile. When I was a Conservation Law Enforcement Officer, I fired live .357 magnum rounds, while on horseback, into a cardboard target in front of a mesquite berm with a safe area in back of that.
There is a danger called "sympathetic response". This is where one hand involuntarily closes or tightens on something, such as a gun grip and trigger, when the other hand (the off hand) also closes or tightens on something like the reins. I would think that if you can rope,…meaning throw a loop with one hand and control the rope coil and reins with the other hand, then you probably can be safe enough to shoot multiple shots off horseback.
Just remember the universal gun safety rules,.....1 – Guns are always loaded until you physically determine they are not, 2 – Finger stays off the trigger until you are sure of your target and intend to shoot, 3 – Do not point a gun at anything you are not willing to destroy, 4 – Be sure of your target and anything that may be close to your gun to target line – this includes what may be in back of your target. I am sure you are aware that the noise generated by a center fire rifle caliber, like a .30-30, is going to be substantially louder and cause more concern to your horse. Good luck and safe journey Josh.
The fly predators are not predators at all. They are little wasp that lay eggs in the fly larva and kill the larva before they hatch out. I started using them for the first time early this spring and get a new shipment every four weeks. So far we have not had much of a fly problem. I think I can notice an increase in flies toward the end of the four weeks and a decrease in flies about a week after we put the wasp out. I am considering moving the shipments up to every three weeks. Not too scientific, just reporting what I see.
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