Filed under: June 2012
Jake and the boys mowing pasture
June 28, 2012
The next week we are expected to have some very hot muggy days. The horses spend daytime in the barn and are turned out on pasture at night. This management for them keeps the biting flies at a minimum. The flies leave them alone at night.
We do have to work during the day , so we use fly nets and homemade fly spray. I got the recipe for the fly spray from the “Front Porch” forum on the Rural Heritage website WWW.Ruralheritage.com It was from an old post a few years ago. That recipe works well and is cheaper than what is sold over the counter.
I curry my horses first. I next apply the fly spray by wiping it on with a soft cloth. It can be thinned and sprayed, but I prefer to wipe it on. Once the fly spray has been wiped on, I harness up. The fly nets go on top of the harness. My nets are nylon. They were purchased from Meader’s Supply. The dangly nylon fringe helps immensely to keep the flies away.
The recipe for the fly spray is as follows, for a 60 ounce batch;
24 ounces of water
24 ounces original Pinesol
6 ounces of original Dawn dishwashing liquid
6 ounces of original Listerene mouthwash
We try to work mornings and evenings, leaving the horses in the barn on the hottest part of the day. This is not always possible, but we try. If we work 3 or 4 hours in the cool of morning, then another 3 or 4 hours later in the cool evening, we still get a full days work in and avoid some of the fly pressure.
When we are making hay or logging, it’s just tough on all of us, as you can’t always wait for evening. The fly spray and fly nets do help a lot. An old-timer that I once worked with, would feed his horses a cap full of apple cider vinegar twice a day beginning in late March. He swore by this remedy, but I have never tried it.
I try to keep my horses comfortable while they work. I remember milking cows in the summertime. Those biting flies would come in with the cows. It always seemed as if, just when your hands were full, one would bite you right in the middle of the back. This lends to a colorful vocabulary…since my horses can’t swear… we will take on summer with fly spray and fly nets 😮
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