Take your pick from a range of fly repellent products tested by HHO
Despite the recent changeable weather, flies are still making life a misery for our equine friends. We tested a number ofgel and spray fly repellent products to find which products have the staying power to really protect your horse. Here are our results.
Horsense
Flyguard – 750ml spray
A pleasant smell, this spray definitely repelled the flies for short period. Didn’t have much staying power though and left the coat greasy.
Cost at around £10.
For more information contact Horsense Ltd (tel: 01253 667433)
Barrier Animal Healthcare
Enhanced Fly Repellent – 500ml trigger spray
As with most of Barrier’s products it had a lovely smell and was easy to use. The spray is fairly quiet so good for sensitive horses and didn’t leave marks on the coat after being applied. I noticed my horse was less bothered by flies while out hacking after using used this product.
Cost at around £7.50.
Enhanced Fly Repellent – Gel – 500ml
Lovely smell and ideal for use on highly sensitive animals that hate sprays. It also left next to no residue on the coat. The test pony showed no obvious signs of being bothered by flies beyond an occasional shake of her head when turned out in the field.
Cost at around £8.
>For more information click here to visit Barrier Animal Healthcare’s website www.barrier-biotech.com
NAF
Fly Gel
Tried this on areas which were being rubbed, such as the top of my horse’s tail, with good results although hair did turn from black to brown – a combination of the gel and the sun I expect. I found the size of the tub a little difficult to hold and apply at the same time. I dropped the tub on one occasion and the bottom split quite badly, forcing me to transfer the contents to a different pot.
Cost at around £7.
For more information click here to visit NAF’s website www.naf-uk.com
Lincoln
Fly Repellent – 240ml Spray
The clear plastic top, which is designed to protect the sprayer, was easily broken and the label was loose which made it difficult to hold the bottle and spray using one hand. It has a very fine spray, which seemed to leave as much in the atmosphere as on my horse’s coat. Although it doesn’t leave a nasty residue it wasn’t particularly effective and my horse came in from the field with a number of fly bites.
Cost at around £4.50 (inc VAT).
Fly Stuff – 400g cream
This product pleasantly surprised me. It’s easy to apply and smells quite pleasant because it contains lemon grass oil. Thomas came in with no fly bites but the disadvantage of this product is the cream stains are difficult to remove from white patches, and need to be washed off.
Cost at around £5.50 (inc VAT).
Hydrophane
Insect Repellent – 500ml tin
Smells very chemical and feels like nail polish remover
Cost at around £5.
For more information click here to visit Battle Hayward and Bowers’ website www.battles.co.uk
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