Good Insect Management Methods – The Horse

Make your horse comfortable while humming

Tail swing. Stamp foot. Skin twitches and head throws. No, these are not new dance moves. These are avoidance behaviors that your horse exhibits when trying to get rid of pesky flies and other annoying insects that swell to annoying levels with the advent of warmer weather.

However, insects are not only annoying to your horse – their bites can cause welts and rashes, make them hypersensitive to insect bites, and even transmit diseases such as eastern and western equine encephalomyelitis, equine infectious anemia, vesicular stomatitis, and West Nile virus.

Insects can also affect your horse’s weight and hoof condition. “When you have a horse in the turnout, especially if it’s thin and you’re trying to put weight on it, you don’t want it to burn up calories from constantly pacing and beating,” says Krishona Martinson, PhD, Equine Extension specialist and co-author of a recent University of Minnesota (UMN) study of flies control methods. “When you’re trying to rehabilitate a damaged hoof, the last thing you want is your horse to stomp all the time.

“You need to consider each horse’s needs when strategically planning their care,” she adds. “In such cases, you might want to buy all of the fly gear – fly reeds, masks with ears, leggings, leg straps, and fly spray – to keep bugs at bay.”

Download this free report to learn more about smart insect control strategies.