Garlic works for some, but not all. As some horses do not like the taste and smell. Always consult your vet before adding something like that to your horse's feed. Garlic thins out the blood naturally, and it has the potential to make some horses anemic. Apple cider Vinegar is supposed to also work if you add it to the horse's drinking water, but it is acetic acid and may upset the horse's stomach. I have tried both and they work, in moderation, too much garlic made my TB anemic and too much vinegar could have caused colic or an ulcer according to the vet. If you want to get rid of flies, try topicals like roll on repellent or avon skin so soft, they work all day adn do not pose any helath risk to your horse. Good Luck.My horse keeps getting his fly mask off. Any suggestions? Does feeding your horse garlic really work to keep
some horses just keep finding ways to get fly masks off but if you think about it they would be pretty darn annoying to you wouldnt they? i would try to get them off too. if your horse doesnt like spraying you could always spray lots of fly spray on a rag and apply to your horses face. you could try the garlic but i dont think it is really that effective that it will make a huge difference. you should really try to get the horse used to spraying around it, little by little everyday, making sure hes never tied up or in an enclosed area so neither of you get hurt.
try peppermint
Garlic seems to work but since few horses enjoy eating it, its not the prevention method i would prefer... have you tried just soaking your hands in fly spray and wiping it over your horses face? Many horses that won't tolerate the spraying motion around their face don't mind being rubbed down by the same liquid....
Garlic works great and is the main ingred for my home brewed stable and horse spray.
If your horse wont eat garlic, go to the spice section of you grocery store and buy a bottle of garlic oil extract and mix with 2 gallons water and a half bottle of dish soap ( I like alot of soap mixes and sticks better to the stalls.)
Spray the horse and the stalls and flies go by by.. Spraying works the same as feeding it. When they eat the garlic they sweat the oil out.
heard that garlic keeps them vampire bats from biting the horse
do you put his halter over the fly mask....my horse was the same way and it helped!!
good luck
Have you checked the mask to be sure it fits correctly and is not irritating your horse in some way, such as pinching under his jaw? That's the first thing I'd look at, in your situation. A mask that pinches or rubs is going to make your horse uncomfortable, and he'll be that much more likely to rub the mask off.
I have heard of people feeding garlic as a fly repellent, and there are some who swear by it. I have also heard of adding apple cider vinegar to a horse's feed to do the same thing- as long as the vinegar is fed in small amounts, it will not cause colic or digestive problems. When I have to do things like ride out in the woods in the summer, I will use Deep Woods OFF on my horse's head and ears. This is the only product I have EVER seen that will consistently repel almost every kind of insect, from flies to ticks to mosquitoes. It even repels the big, ugly, nasty horseflies which we call the B-52 bombers. The OFF works by making the horse's skin taste bad, and by giving the animal a strange smell that the bugs don't like. As long as it isn't used in excessive amounts ( a very little goes a long way with this product) it will do no harm, and the horse will get some real relief. You can buy OFF in most grocery and drug stores, and there is a roll on version available for use around the horse's eyes and in sensitive areas. Wipes are also available- I find that they are handy for treating the ears, belly ( especially near the hind legs) and the top of the croup behind the saddle. Good luck, I hope this helps.
some horses are just able to remove there masks easier than others, sometimes it might accidently come off with rubbing or scratching or if they have a buddy to help them as my daughters ponies do to each other( but they are playing and pull at the masks) the velcro lets go which is what you want so they dont get hooked or stuck on something....check to see that your fly mask is fitting properly not too loose or too tight!!! just keep putting it back on as long as your around to notice it and able to go back out to remask him.... id rather keep putting them back on than have there eyes get infected from the flies!!!! as far as garlic dont know i heard it works for fleas on dogs too but id rather by the stuff that i know is out there on the market and works!!! i got a new gelding 2 mos ago and he literally quivered like he was gonna jump out of his skin when i sprayed him with fly spray the day i brought him home, obviously he had never had fly spray put on him but with alot of reassurance from me and holding him or having someone else hold him while i sprayed him he is know totally careless when i spray him he knows without it hes lunch for the flies, and i can spray him without holding him or having him take off!!! try a good oil based fly spray i use final fly-t by dionne and have for years.... and i swear by the stuff!!! i own a saddle and tack store and have access to every brand out there( i have tried them all...) and i still swear by the final fly-t, just work with him every horse can be sprayed it just takes time and patience to let them know its ok and they will accept it!!! and always start with the legs down at the hoof and work your way up, they seem to be less freaked i think, when you start at the hooves and work your way around!! try checking out the horse sense fly masks they use 2 velcro straps under the chin and seem to help them stay on better, they run big though the horse size is pretty big so depending on the size of your horses head you could use the arab/yearling size (which is average horse size in other brands) or the horse size but like i said that one runs pretty big..... good luck!!!
Try Garlic Granules @ wendalsusa.com 800-321-0235 Like said from another post it works on some. I think this works great!!! Leaving on the halter is dangerous!!! Try another fly mask, mine are not able to rub theirs off.
My horse is funny. She can and often does pull off her fly mask, but when the bugs are at their worst she'll leave it on all day. I think that it does prove she is smart enough to decide when she needs it, and when she doesn't!
Having said that, I can tell you what works for me. Make sure it fits well. Make sure the velcro is snugged properly - not too tight so it pinches when they flex their neck but not so loose it flops. Perhaps try another brand. Is your fly mask made with really light material, and does it tent nicely away from their eyes, or is there any chance that it rubs your horse's eyelashes? I have a good Cashel mask now that never touches my horse's eyelashes, but I also have some cheaper ones that are so soft that my horse's eyelashes poke through, which has to be irritating.
Also, does your fly mask cover your horse's ears? What about her nose? I find that the blackflies irritate my horse's ears alot, and if she wears a mask with open ears she's always shaking her head at the blackflies and shakes the mask off on accident. Likewise if your horse is wearing a short mask and has nose flies. Perhaps a full mask with ears would stop your horse from shaking and it would stay on longer! Perhaps not.
Lastly, if your horse will not keep her fly mask on, then you'll just have to make do with fly spray. I apply horse fly spray to my horse's body and legs, but I use human ';Off'; on their face. I spray it directly onto the palm of my hand, and then rub my hand on my horse's muzzle, under his chin and on his ears. I think ';Off'; works better than horse spray, and I'm not so worried about contacting it with my skin on a daily basis.
I have never tried garlic, and after reading an article about it causing anemia I would not do so.
Good luck. Often we know what's best for our horses, but they don't always agree!
Garlic will work but you have to give them a lot of it so it's practically oozing out of them.( when they sweat you can smell it) Most don't like it and it puts them off their feed.
My horse will never stand still to be sprayed although he's not actually scared, I untie him and he walks round me while I squirt him !
Try smearing a little Vaseline around his eyes, that helps too.
You can also buy a roll -on fly repellent ( it's a people one though ) and rub that round him.
if its a paddock horse at a agistment place and with other horses, your horse will lose alot of fly veils lolz, trust me haha.
yeh im pretty sure garlic does HELP keep flies away, because the garlic has a strong smell to it, and if you eat garlic alot, like example italians, you can smell the garlic from there skin, same with everyone and everything, but dont give a horse alot of garlic, just about a tea spoon or a table spoon, im sure it will work =] =]
Well, for one, get rid of the fly mask. Most people don't realize that the horse's eyes will try to focus on the mask and since the mask is so close, it will unnecessarily strain the eyes. If done long enough, it can cause permanent eye damage. Try this -- put the mask or some other screen over your face and try to wear it for just an hour. As a human, you can override your natural instinct to focus on the mesh, but you won't do it 100% of the time. If you absolutely have to hang something over your horse's face, get the tassles that hang from the browband area.
As far as garlic, I remember some fellow Marines swearing by it when they went to the field. I never ate cloves of garlic, but ate alot of spice food and put garlic powder in my field rations. It seemed to work well. I don't know how well a horse will accept garlic flavor. When I was in North Carolina, many of the ';old timers'; there swore by putting vinegar in the horse's food or water. It works, but I have also heard that the vinegar can cause kidney problems -- but I have not confirmed that with a vet. If you can get your horse to eat garlic, go for it!
Try leaving his headcollar on over the fly mask.
Other ways to repel flies:
*Garlic powder - added to feed.
*Fly rug - a normal rug with fabric or flexible plastic mesh.
*Fly fringe - attaches to headcollar works like a forelock.
*Fly wipes - like the spray but the wipes are soaked in fly repellant, normally you wipe them on the face.
Those are all I can think of right now, good luck!
Your horse may be feeling like his fly mask is more annoying than the flies!
yes garlic will help keep flies off your horse because of the smell of the garlic in there manure keeps away the flies but some horses will not eat the garlic so that wont work.
Some horses just do not like the fly mask and will find a way to get it off no matter what. I do not like using garlis; as someone mentioned in an earlier post it can thin out the blood as well as some horses will not eat it and it may or may not be effective. For a horse that does not like being sprayed; take a wash cloth, fold it in fourth so you have a square and spray the fly spray into it and then wipe your horses face down. Eventually when you have the time and what not; you will want to get him used to being sprayed by the fly spray. You will also want to wipe down the outside and inside of their ears, flys can get into their ears too. Do keep in mind that you should never spray anything near thier eyes and nose; so wiping them down with the fly spray there is your only option. I think they make fly wipes; that is just for the horses face. Try looking at stateline or dover tack.
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