TheHorse.com, KY
06-27-06
Applying Insect Repellents
by: Marcia King
For many horse owners, applying fly control products to a horse involves nothing
more than spritzing on a little spray before turning out or tacking up. But other
owners don't have it so easy: The horse shies away from the spritzer bottle, won't
tolerate fly products on its face, or breaks out in a rash from the repellents.
Regardless of whether your horse is troublesome or trouble-free when it comes
to fly control, there are basic do's and don'ts that every horse handler should
follow in order to keep a cooperative horse cooperating, to gain the
agreeableness of a difficult horse, and to maintain maximum safety for horse and
handler.
Begin the fly control program when you start seeing flies in the spring, and
continue until the flies are finished for the season. There are a myriad of product
types that one can use--sprays, gels, pre-moistened wipes, liquids, ointments,
roll-ons, powders, pour-on dips, foams, tags, and strips. It's a matter of personal
preference and what you find easiest for your horse.
Powders and dips are not very popular. Powders are messy, can drift into the
eyes and nose, and can be shaken or rolled off. Dips are pretty inconvenient to
use on a regular basis, at least for standard-sized horses and ponies. Unless you
have an equine-sized pool or tub that you can run a horse or a number of horses
through, you'll have to mix the dip in buckets of water and pour it on the horse.
Strips that can be braided into the tail are handy for broodmares or other
pastured horses that aren't going to be sprayed every day, notes Linda
Thompson, DVM, equine ambulatory section, Iowa State University. "Tags
can be braided into the mane, but tend to be fairly heavy for the tail. Usually they
are only used on horses that are out all of the time."
By far the most popular are the sprays and dab-ons. Sprays are fast and easy to
use on the body, legs, and tail, but are a little tricky to use on the face, where the
mist can drift into eyes, ears, or nostrils unless you're very careful and cup your
hand around those areas to block the spray. Dab-on types (the gels, ointments,
pre-moistened wipes, liquids, roll-ons, and foams) take longer to apply, but are
good for using on the head because you can control exactly where they go.
Basic Application
The first step in applying your product of choice is selecting a location in the
paddock or pasture that's safe for horse and handler. "Never apply fly control
products, especially petroleum-based products, in a confined, non-ventilated
area," warns Thompson. "The toxic levels from those can be reached very
quickly. Instead, take the horse into a larger, open area. Make sure the area you
work in is free from obstacles that could scare or hurt the horse if he gets
'goosey' and backs up suddenly."
If the horse is used to fly control products, he might be willing to stand quietly as
you apply the products, either at liberty or held by a loose lead line in-hand or
secured to a fence. If the horse is uncooperative about having fly control
products applied to its body, you'll need to work on desensitizing the animal.
(More on that later.)
Wear plastic gloves in order to keep repellents from getting on your skin. "All fly
products are poison," Thompson states. "If it's poisonous to insects, it's
somewhat poisonous to humans, as well. Some of those products can be
absorbed through the skin or get into small cracks through the skin. You can buy
cheap latex exam gloves in boxes of a hundred fairly inexpensively. Or, you can
use dishwashing gloves from the grocery store." If you're working with a spray,
you might want to wear a mask, especially if you are sensitive to the smell or
have respiratory problems. Be sure you work with your back to the wind so the
spray is carried away, not toward, you.
Apply the insecticide according to directions to the horse's head, face, neck,
body, legs, and tail. "Do not apply the product to the mucocutaneous junctions
(the junction of hair and nonhair) such as the lips, mouth, eyes, nostrils, vulva,
and penis," Thompson says.
Take special care when working on the face. "People tend to not treat the face
because they're worried about the eyes," Thompson says. "But faces are
extremely important, because flies and gnats love faces. Flies like the wettish
areas around the eyes and gnats like to congregate in the ears, which makes the
horses crazy!"
A good way of putting fly control products on the face is with a dishwashing
sponge that comes on a wand. "You can soak or spray the sponge with the fly
control product, then just wipe it on," Thompson says. "It's cheap, easy, and
works great."
Apply the repellent in a half-circle area underneath and around the sides of the
eyes, keeping the insecticide about a finger-width away from the eyes.
Thompson prefers not to treat the area above the eyes because if the horse
sweats, the sweat can carry the repellent into the eyes. Put a light application of
repellent outside and inside the ears. Never, ever pour insecticides into the ear:
Just gently dab the product onto the inside of the ear itself.
Avoid applying repellents to areas that are going to be underneath the saddle,
pad, girth, bridle, or boots. "It's fairly hard on the horse to have the fly control
product applied, then tack put over the top with the horse sweating under there,"
says Thompson. "These items can hold heat and cause an adverse reaction."
She advises riders to tack up the horse first, then apply the insecticide. When
using sprays, protect the saddle with a sheet. Use a dab-on product to get in the
small, exposed areas around the bridle.
Do No Harm
Before applying the insecticide, read label instructions carefully for frequency and
amount of application. "Some labels say 'wet the hair,' which doesn't mean soak
the horse: The external parts of the hair should be wet but the skin should be
dry," says Thompson. "Some products say to apply a 'fine mist,' which is less
than wetting the hair. The biggest thing for either is the skin should not be
soaked."
Overdosing the horse could cause a severe local skin reaction. "The horse can
get itchy hives or oozy bumps," Thompson warns. "They act like they're burning,
which they are." Horses that are sensitive to a repellent will respond similarly.
Should the horse have a reaction, hose the repellent off as soon as possible.
"Usually a reaction is not a medical emergency," says Thompson, "unless the
horse is extremely covered with hives and is having trouble breathing. In that
case, it is a medical emergency, and your veterinarian needs to come out right
away."
To avoid risk of a reaction, it's wise to do a skin patch test on a lower limb. Just
apply a little repellent to a small area, and monitor any skin reactions. If nothing
untoward happens within 24 hours, chances are very good that the repellent is
not going to cause a reaction on the rest of the body.
Although fly control products can be toxic to horse or handler if used improperly,
generally they are safe when used as directed. "These products are formulated
to remain on the skin," Thompson says. "The trick gets to be where there are
small cracks, punctures, cuts, or little openings on the skin, things that we
wouldn't notice on the horse (or ourselves); these small breaks offer an easy
avenue for the products to get inside the system. Generally this is not going to be
an issue unless the horse is repeatedly dosed with massive amounts of
repellents."
Resistance Is Futile
While many horses are perfectly accepting of fly control products, other horses
are scared of them, especially the spray types.
"All horses are born neutral to a procedure such as this," explains Sue M.
McDonnell, PhD, Certified Applied Animal Behaviorist and founding head of the
Equine Behavior Program at the University of Pennsylvania School of Veterinary
Medicine, New Bolton Center. "This is not a noxious stimulus. It's just a novel
stimulus. Whether a horse becomes a problem in this regard is completely
dependent on its experience with it."
Handlers can inadvertently convey to the horse that repellents are scary by overrestraining the horse, over-reacting, and yanking the horse if the horse jerks
back, or by tensing up and sending signals that something is amiss. Handlers
also can confirm to the horse that repellents are an unpleasant experience by
getting repellents into the horse's eyes, nostrils, or other sensitive areas.
Desensitizing is the key to overcoming the fears of a horse which has had
negative experiences with fly control products. This usually only takes about two
or three five-minute sessions, McDonnell says. Generally, the horse is afraid of
the sound of the spritzer bottle and/or the smell of the product.
First, apply the product in the middle of a large paddock free from objects where
the horse won't get in trouble if he shies away. Don't work in crossties. "If he
resists," she says, "he tightens the restraints, so the message he gets is this
really is a bad thing!" Holding the horse by the halter or lead shank, begin by
applying the product to just a small area on the shoulder or side, not on more
sensitive areas like the face or legs. If he dances away, that's okay. "Just stay
with him," McDonnell advises. "Don't yell or upgrade the restraint, but safely
move around with him. If you don't crack down on the restraint, they aren't going
to accelerate their resistance, so just ride that out, and they'll find it's not so bad.
Follow immediately with a positive reinforcement. The horse will get the message
that a little resistance isn't going to stop this, and that this isn't that bad, after all."
Start out using ordinary warm water, hold the spritzer a few inches back, and
spritz at half-second bursts in one area until the horse relaxes, then immediately
reward. "Start over again and do this two or three times in the same location,"
McDonnell says. "Some horses just give right in and let you go right to their legs,
their head, their tail. When they accept it in one area go on to the next." This is
an especially good exercise for horses which are bothered by the sound of the
spritzer. Once the horse is reliably accepting of being spritzed by water, you can
introduce the repellent.
For horses which seem resistant to the smell, apply the repellent with a sponge,
and get them used to the smell that way, again starting out in small areas and
rewarding them when they relax.
McDonnell says it's very important to commit to the desensitization technique. "If
you spritz and they jump and you stop spritzing, the horse has learned that if they
jump or resist in a minor way, they can control your behavior."
In some cases, horses might remain overly sensitive to having repellents spritzed
onto their faces. "We had a 10-year-old mare here who would get a little too
spunky about getting sprayed on the head," relates McDonnell. "With her, we
said, okay, get her used to spraying everywhere else, but sponge her ears and
face. Some people prefer to do that anyway because they want to be sure not to
get the repellent in the wrong places.
"You might think because a horse has had a really bad experience with
repellents that it would take months to regain their compliance," McDonnell
continues. "In reality, once you've gotten over that first session, their progress is
often rapid."
Common Mistakes
As simple as it would seem to spritz or sponge on fly repellents, many owners
make mistakes that either make the products less effective or create problems
for the horse.
Applying incorrect amounts
"The biggest mistake is putting too much on," Thompson says. Too much
repellent can cause an adverse skin reaction. On the other hand, some people
put on too little with the result that the horse receives no protection.
Ignoring the tail and face
"A lot of people forget about the tail," says Thompson. "The tail is a wonderful
distribution tool because once you've put it on there, it applies itself for a while by
its swishing action on the horse's back." Some owners worry about getting
repellents into sensitive facial areas. But flies are troublesome about the eyes
and ears, so repellents should be carefully applied to the face.
Getting repellents into the eyes and ears
This truly teaches the horse to be wary of repellents.
Overly restraining the horse
McDonnell says it's okay to let the horse move around a little.
Being too tense
Some people expect the horse to act up, so they become tense, yank on the
horse's halter or lead, and send signals that something bad is happening, says
McDonnell.
Using non-equine products
"There are misconceptions that fly spray for dairy cows is about the same as fly
spray for horses," Thompson says, "but the skin on a dairy cow is a whole lot
thicker than the skin of a horse. Use products that are truly horse products."
Mixing or interchanging repellents
"Don't mix different kinds of fly repellents together," warns Thompson. "Using
them in combination increases the toxic level." When switching to another
repellent, don't apply the second repellent until after the first has worn off or been
hosed off.
You can choose between taking a few minutes to apply fly repellents correctly or
a few minutes to apply them so sloppily that you've created a rebellious horse.
The choice should be a no-brainer.