The Horse-Fly thing

[KateWooten]

Does anyone else know this about the horse-flies ? I wonder if you have them over there..... biggish say 3/4 to an inch long flies that like to attack the poor mares' boobs and suck blood. YUK. They're easy to catch, actually, and I've been picking them off Rosie, and Summer, and Tiny. Whenever the mare starts dancing and kicking at their sides, we stop what we're doing, run a hand under their kicking bag leg and right over the boobs, fly and all. Pick the fly off.... squash his head ... crunch .... and then ....

Has anyone else done anything really bizarre with the dying horse-fly and found it really works amazingly for building up trust ?

I have to say, Rosie is a completely changed horse since I first heard about this and got quick enough to catch the flies. And now it's working for Tiny too....

Tell me I'm not the only one .....

[CanadianRider]

Never experienced them around horses actually maybe it's just the area I'm in I don't really see too many of them around.

But I can't count the number of hours I spent in the lake mostly underwater while on vacation as a kid trying to avoid them especially when we spent the day at the aptly named "Horse Fly Beach". The bites really hurt.

Sounds like you've got it figured out though. :)

[KarinUS]

Yes! It was one of the first: help me mom moments I had with Minose.
She still likes it when I squash the horseflies (what's with them anyway? They don't even try to escape) but our breakthrough moment was with a bot fly.
Minnie was still pretty new and wild (PMU filly) and one day out of the blue she nearly ran into me in the aisle.
I figured it was just an accident and so I worked on teh other side of teh aisle just to have her scoot right next to me again. That's when I saw a bot fly was following her and scaring her. She was trying to pass her botfly off on me.
So I forgot about her not being used to handling and just swung a feed pan at the fly knocking it out of the air. Then I stomped it into the ground and Minose seemed truly grateful.
It was a weird thing because it really felt like she came to me to help her with her tormentor.

[KateWooten]

YEs ! But have you tried actually feeding them to the horse ? :eek: It's insane how they will eat them, crunch them right up ... and after a little while of doing this it's like you never have to ask twice for the horse to do something ... try it, it's quite amazing.

[Shadowlark]

Ok somebody has to say it..

Kate dear.. what have you been smoking?

[KarinUS]

YEs ! But have you tried actually feeding them to the horse ? :eek: It's insane how they will eat them, crunch them right up ... and after a little while of doing this it's like you never have to ask twice for the horse to do something ... try it, it's quite amazing.
What? No. I missed that part in your first post. Eew. :p

[KateWooten]

Darn it, I was counting on you two to back me up !!! I swear, this old feller, cowboy type of horse trainer who worked with Rosie and me for an hour ages and ages ago - he told me. He caught one of these flies on Rosie that was annoying her, squshed it, and held it up for her .. and she ate it. Then after that she was just a baby doll for him. So I've been trying it .. could be just coincidence ? But these mares are way easier to work with this year than last !

[KarinUS]

Alright. For you I will try it. I'll let you know later... :rolleyes:

[Skyhuntress]

Ok somebody has to say it..

Kate dear.. what have you been smoking?

:D

I wasn't going to say anything, but no, kate, no. I do not pick off horse flies off anyones boobs :p Nor do I feed the offending flies to the horse after :p

[teabiscuit]

yup, they know if i absolutely wallop a horse fly on them, i'm walloping the fly, not them. even if its a big fly which is eating the teats or the boys bits, i can scrunch the fly against them with no ill feeling on their part :o

they stand as still as stone while i hunt the fly down, and look at me as if to say "thank god you got it". they know exactly what i'm doing, bless them!

if i'm riding along and they get one, they just stop and swish their tail, and i have to get off and deal with the bug, which is a trifle annoying when it interupts your ride constantly but you can't let the bugs eat the horse uninterrupted, can you?

but i found a great way to stop those big buggers eating the tender bits is to mix lavender oil and tea tree oil in vasaline and plaster the tender bits in it

works a treat.

i have never tried feeding a bug to the horse though, i may give that one a miss *shudder*

[KateWooten]

Try it ... you'll be suprised.

Actually Summer won't eat them - she's the only one though.
Hmmmmmmmm .........

[Daffy Dilly]

I can see a NR experiment coming on as members seek to prove (or disprove so they don't have to do it again!) Kates theory :p

I'm not sure I've ever even seen a horsefly, or a botfly, although I know the latter exist around us due to the eggs.

[Grace O'Malley]

Thank God we don't have those horrible biting flies in California!!! :p

I met some in Alaska, and didn't like them one little bit.

[julia gulia]

No No No Kate....you don't feed the fly to the horse...if you really want that one of a kind, special relationship with Rosie...then you catch the fly, show it to her and then let her see you eat the fly yourself......Now That is the ultimate display of a partnership:D
(don't try this at home kids)

[KarinUS]

There you go!

[KateWooten]

Well, hun, you run YOUR experiment, and I'll run mine. How do you like them apples, HUH ? :p

[julia gulia]

Don't tempt me Kate...you know I'd do it:p I'm daft I am.

Seriously though....don't you think that if they know you have caught the fly..then it would mean a lot more to them if you ate the fly???? I'm onto something here..I can feel it...hmmmmm move over parelli and your silly carrot stick...make way for Julia and her fly stick:D
I shall have fly videos...fly books...fly waistcoats....fly t shirts.....and it won't be a fly by night operation either:p

[julia gulia]

There you go!

oooooo Karin....I love your new avatar:D

[teabiscuit]

flying in the face of doubt, i don't think i could eat a fly,*pause for thought* no i don't think i ever could

[julia gulia]

You know you would if Finn asked you too:D

[teabiscuit]

You know you would if Finn asked you too:D

no, not even for the Finster funster :o

mind you i have swollowed them by accident, but i couldn't chew a whole one :D

[Mehitabel]

don't you ever swallow them when you are riding and chating? i must have eaten hundreds of them while trotting or cantering along and talking at the same time.

(i'm going to give it a go next time i squish one...)

oops, crossposted! no, i coudln't eat one deliberately either.

[KateWooten]

Yeah - deliberate fly-eating ... and they're BIG too ! Not the little midge/gnat type of thing we like to chew on while galloping wide-eyed and grinning ... more teh inch-long, big head that squishes yellow goop and pony blood everywhere type of thing. No, I couldn't eat one I'm impressed if anyone can ! I'll stick to feeding them to the horse.

[Adk_Katie]

Isn't there a song about this??

"she swallowed the spider to catch the fly, I don't know why she swallowed the fly..."

Well maybe now we do!:D

[Ms Kitty]

Well, we have them in Finland too.. Masses of horse flies during the day, masses of mosquitos during the night.. Poor horseys.. :( I have tried picking them up off the horses, but that just lead into the horses barging into me to get the flies off.. :o Not really going to play "sit on my lap" with a half a tonne horse.. :o

But no, never occured to me to feed them to the horses, let alone swallow one myself.. :p

I have swallowed plenty little ones whilst riding, and they didn't seem to mellow me down at all. :p

Size does matter? ;)

Nina x

[Nik-n-Kia]

kia goes mental when one of these is on him.

We call them clegs u0p here so I'm hoping that I'm talking about the same thing!!!

Mind you I go crazy when they bite me never mind him!!! I have a whip with a little hand on it and when I'm out the hack if he gets noe on him I love to splat them wioth the hand and watch all the blood spurt out. :cool: ;)

Kia loves me for it!!!

Arnt us horsey peeps funny?????

Nikki xxxx

[Laura+Phantom]

Julia you make me laugh! :D

I might be tempted to try this (kate's version that is!). I once got a bot fly off Phantom and smacked it death with my whip on the ground in front of him. He seemed very pleased!

Are horseflies those pathetically slow moving fat black ones? Saph had one on her earlier...