[Dawn]

I do still have that fly sheet. I would think it would fit him.

It has a belly band and neck cover.

It's strange how the flies will bite one horse and not the other standing right beside him. It wouldn't hurt to try an antihistamine. And it might really help him out.

[Blondehorse]

Poor little guy!!! I feel so bad for him! Rotten flies!
Is there any chance that the fly spray is part of the problem? A couple of our horses seem to be extra sensitive to fly spray, and if we use it too much, their hair starts to fall out, and their skin flakes really bad.
Just a thought... I hope you can figure something out for him so he starts feeling better soon!!

[canadianlover]

Grace has had a flysheet on all summer and the only bites she has is on her neck- all the other horses stomachs are raw and bloody. Also all the horses (except for Grace) on the farm are on Garlic but I dont think it does all that much for the big flies..

[CowGirlUp1833]

I would call a vet.... perhaps he is allergic to the insects and possibly even the spray. A horse normally won't get that tore up from the flys - even when they are bad. Poor Azar

Can he get a cool bath with something soothing tonight?

[Heavenly Jumper]

Originally Posted by CowGirlUp1833

Can he get a cool bath with something soothing tonight?

Most definitely...

The ONLY thing that's different this year is the fly spray. I am really wondering if that's part of the problem. The thing is, it's the same chemical as the one I was using before?

(I also just bought Dawn's flysheet!!)

[luvs2ride79]

The other "inactive ingredients" can also really cause problems. I put Skin So Soft in my fly spray one year and my poor mare went through BAD itchies and her skin started flaking.

I would bathe him 2 or 3 times to get all the spray off and leave him without any for a few days. Treat the red skin like wounds. Then spray him with whatever you used last year after his skin begins to heal up. See if that makes any difference.

I would at least call your vet and talk to him about this problem. Some antihistamines would really help him recover and your vet may not require a vet call for you to try it. My vet will often leave medication at his office for me to pick up for minor problems like this.

[CowGirlUp1833]

I agree it could be the inactive ingrediants.... The fly sheet will definitely help... poor boy. Do you have access to another brand? I've seen a lot of horses react goofy to fly sprays....sometimes even spays they've been okay with before.... its an odd thing how allergies work!

[jamie72182]

One of my horses is a super biting bug magnet. She can have up to 20 deerflys on her at one time and just stand there while they bite her. It's horrible.

She doesn't keep a fly sheet on, or should I say, her pasture mates rip them off her. I've tried the fly collars (what a joke) and feed through control. I've found that a vinegar diluted fly spray works wonders!!! I also still feed her BugCheck with her grain. Might be a waste, but if it helps deter at least one fly, I'm happy. I haven't tried adding Garlic Powder to the fly spray as AllAroundRider suggested, but it couldn't hurt!

Good luck!

[Dawn]

What brand of fly spray are you using?

[sirius-dressage]

The Rambo BugBuster works really well (sheet). If you don't have those nasty green flies I would say, yes, cover him up. The green flies get under the sheet though and make the problem worse...but if you don't have them in your area the normal black flies don't get in.

If he's horribly miserable, you may as well just cover the poor boy up, fly boots, mask, and sheet if nothing else is helping him...and keep him in during the day if you can. Put a couple of fans in his stall to keep the bugs away. You can put SWAT all over his legs and just keep washing away the buildup if he doesn't rub most of it off. That's how I keep my guy from stomping his shoes off.

Lucky's rubbed his tail competely off too...it's just getting worse...