At 14:44:48 on 24.06.10, JessAndGrenville123 wrote:
Don't know if this helps but it is a lot cheaper than chemical flyspray, go to your local health shop and get a small bottle of natural pure citronella oil (about £4) put in all in your old flyspray bottle and top up with water, works a treat + no chemicals, if this doesn't work try the same with lavendar oil it works well too and your horse smells gorgeous... Give it a try :) more rememdies and tips on this website...
http://www.equine-world.co.uk/horses_care/fly-repel.htm

At 18:49:23 on 10.07.10, Natasha wrote:
My horse suffers so much, her body is lumpy with flies!

At 22:20:15 on 10.07.10, Em28 wrote:
Natasha I know what you mean! The poor horses were being attacked from all areas today!! Glad Ive seen this thread as hadnt thought too much about repelling them with a herbal supplement, despite always knowing garlic is good to repel flies. The mesh fly masks certainly work for the eyes and are really good, but the spray does wear off easily.

At 17:23:22 on 11.07.10, Angelalain wrote:
Citronella has been banned in fly sprays, it can cause a violent allergic reaction. We always used it when i was a child, but now its not that easy to get (health and safety) If you are going to use it you should do a small patch test first. The latest chemical is Deet, which does work better than most but can also bring your horse out in lumps if he's a bit sensitive (eg our TB!)

At 21:46:01 on 11.07.10, NMH wrote:
I'm glad Deet is ok as I've been using an old human insect repellent that contains it! but I understood it was rather nasty- a few years back there was doubt if it should be used on children. Poor Cloudy's white nose is black with flies often at the moment- & they get inside his face mask, there are so many- imagine how annoying that must be!

At 23:35:29 on 12.07.10, JessAndGrenville123 wrote:
Citronella doesn't bother grenville's skin and he has sensitive skin and i buy it locally in a health store where i get my rescue remedy and lavander oil from. Lavander seems to repel the horse flies and the citronella works on all the others so the mix of the two makes a great fly spray that smells gorgeous (topped up with lots of water obviously) :)

At 09:10:23 on 03.08.10, LadyJennivieve wrote:
We use "home brand" fly spray at our yard, or there is a recipe that we use: 2 cups white vinegar, 1 cup Avon Skin-So-Soft Bath Oil, 1 cup water, and 1 tbsp eucalyptus oil. You can use it on yourself too.