This summer has been a bit brutal on my horses. Between pulled shoes/ chipped feet, skin funk, flies, and other issues I have a few staples that I like to keep on hand at all times. Some things like fly spray are a no brainer but others are worth trying if you haven’t yet.
First off is Shoofly Leggins. Kristen from Stampy And The Brain recommended these to me and I am glad I gave them a try. At around $50 for a set of four I was able to get a pair for each horses front legs for about $75. What I like best about these boots is that they can be left on 24/7. The only time that they are pulled off is when I am going to ride. Highly recommended. None of my horses have gotten sores or skin funk from wearing them and they stomp at flies considerably less.
Because Annie is the most delicate of flowers I have to be careful what products I use on her coat. Recently she developed a horrible case of scabbies (not official terminology). As in bad enough that I freaked out and called the vet. Prior to that though I had been applying The Herbal Horse Heal Quick salve. My vet immediately asked me what it was when he saw her and I was worried he didn’t like it but in fact he said that I should keep liberally applying it because of how well it softened her scabs. Add in some KineticVet CK shampoo and hopefully the scabbies will be eradicated.
Next up is fly spray. I go back and forth between Deo Lotion and Pyranha. As my favorite retailer Riding Warehouse sells Pyranha that is what I purchased most recently. It smells a bit potent but it doesn’t make the horses oily and seems to do the job. I have yet to find a fly spray that defeats horse flies though so if anyone has suggestions let me know! Last but not least is the Strip Hair Grooming Tool. Admittedly I was really skeptical about this at first. I still don’t think it is the best tool for shedding however it is AWESOME for bathing. Not as rough as a curry and still does a great job scrubbing. My favorite is using it to groom legs though. It is a lot easier to get in the nooks and crannies. On top of that it makes a great sweat scraper. My only complaint is that I wish they sold them alone and not just in sets.
What are some of your summer staples?
What size shoofly leggins do your guys wear?
Sarah with my boys Phoenix (who is average sized for most leg things) wears a medium and Stampede (who is above average, lol) wears large.
Medium for Annie and Luna and Large for Houston. I think most horses could wear the Mediums though 🙂
Thanks!
Sent too early. I assumed my boys would be mediums since they’re medium in most leg things, but they way they listed sizes confused me. The whole 14-15 hand thing… Having 15.2ish appendix with thicker legs and a 16.1 TB, I was just confused. Thanks! I’ll probably go with the mediums and actually measure, but as I’m broke and plan to build them a covered hay feeder, they can settle for fly spray and wait until next summer.
Keratex…all the Keratex. P’s hooves get mushy in the summer from being outside all night plus all the hosing off since #grayhorsessuck.
As for me…I go through like 3 bottles of helmet deodorizer in a summer. Charles Owen helmets don’t have removable liners (never buying one again) and I sweat like a mofo.
The Shoo fly leggings of course, fly masks (I think I finally found P’s magic mask!), Keratex hoof hardener, and a billion bottles of various fly sprays for the boys!
Sun shirts, soless visor, and powerade zero for me!
I swear by Pyrahna in the aerosol can. It’s not as cost effective since you can’t buy in bulk, but I only have to apply once a day and it stays working! Knock on wood, we don’t have many of the big, nasty horse flies, so I can’t attest to what works against them.
My other summer must-have is a nice fly mask. I love my Cashels, they fit Simon’s head perfectly.
I am so jealous of everyone with these shoo fly leggings, they are so much more expensive to bring to Canada 🙁
I like the hands on grooming mit…that thing has been a game changer for me!