Topic

I honestly hate flies. They annoy as well as hurt. The horses’ skin inflames and oozes pus from the immune-mediated reactions. My band of horses was driven once through a fence by obsessed deer flies. They were far down the road when we redirected them back to the stalls with high-velocity fans – the only real fly protection system. By the way, it was not our fault they were outside at that time, rather a poor decision by the help. Ugh!

Here are some images of fly masks and sheath protectors.

I have found, though, that taking the horses off of inflammatory food (grains, byproducts) and adding high-quality protein at a rate of 0.5 to 1.0 grams per pound of bodyweight helps alleviate the inflammatory reaction to fly bites. However, it is not an overnight response but a year or more of building back the immune system. See the nutrition section for more information.