Am I missing something here? Fly boot help + recs welcome!

[NoHopeNoScope]

Am I missing something? I bought my horse the Shoofly Leggins (size large-biggest available). I watched multiple videos. They fit his back legs perfectly and just how the video describes, but the fronts? They are difficult to close around the fetlock and just seem kind of tight and awkward. Not that loose fitting feel like the back ones. Is this normal?

Here you can see that the back ones lay straight and the front ones bend awkwardly up by the knee. There’s definitely tension along the boot. They don’t fit relaxed on his front legs.

Around his fetlock are tight, and do not close easily like the back legs did.

Here is a side view of the front. You can see how they are not laying relaxed. Hopefully you can see the outline of his leg here.

I tried to take a picture of the inside, so you can see that it is making quite a bit of contact with the fetlock. I’m scared they’re going to rub.

Lastly, you can see my finger is blanching white under the bottom of the boot, so it is definitely a little snug in some places. Not consistent all the way around.

Are these just not a good option for him? Is it fine? Am I missing something? Am I just a paranoid horse owner? (don’t answer that)

He’s 28. He’s a big warmblood boy as you can see. This will be his first spring/summer living outside 24/7. He is not happy about the flies. He tried to push past the gate and go inside without me yesterday. It is currently 70’s-80’s here already. Not sure if I should do a fly sheet or what. The yellow bottle fly spay isn’t doing anything. I had to body clip him (hence the heart on his butt). We had a few days of 90s already, and he was a yak. He’s covered in lumps and bumps from insect bites. Poor guy.

Any recs/insight/help welcome!! He would appreciate some boots. The flies are heinous already this year. Thank you in advance!

[LilDunFilly]

They do look like an awkward fit on the fronts, you’re not imagining things. Based on the photo of him sans-leggings, the issue might be that his front pastures are longer and lay back more than the front ones. These boots are supposed to be a tube that just kinda goes straight up/slightly back. Im not sure if this can be fixed. Is he uncomfortable walking around in them now? If so, maybe try them a few days and see if they’re rubbing.

Shoo Fly boots are the only brand of fly boots I’ve seen that I’d bother using. The more form fitting ones just kinda melt after awhile so not worth the money imo. There are some off brand versions of Shoo Flys that might work, though I’ve heard mixed reviews on them.

I have not personally had any luck with fly sheets (my mare shredded a nice Rambo one in two days and then had no issues with fly bites for the rest of summer).

I have had good luck with cattle fly repelleant tags though. You just attach one to a halter or braid it into the hair and poof, nice fly free zone. You could also try switching fly spray brands; not every formula works as well for different areas, from year to year. And don’t just spray him, rub it all over so every inch is covered. I got a sheepskin mitt to do that with. It winds up using less spray with more even coverage than just sprtizijg a horse till wet.

[RedHorses]

Get the poor guy a fly sheet! Seriously - if you clipped him and the flies are that bad, he needs some protection.

[kaya842]

Agree that his conformation is likely the issue on the fronts. I’d give it a few days, checking each day to see if the boots are rubbing hair. If they don’t rub but look funny I’d keep using them. You could try some baby powder between leg and boot to help prevent rubs too. I’ll also echo that this style/ brand is the only one I’ve had success with, especially in 24/7 turnout (if he was only out for an hour a day then it would open you up to other types).

If you can, don’t clip his legs. I always leave legs as hairy as possible to give them as much of a buffer between them and bugs as possible (same with ears/ face, again if possible).

I’ve had good luck with the Schneider’s and Rambo fly sheets. Currently I have 2 Rambo’s. I will say that my horse who is most bothered by flies got caught on the neck portion of the Rambo - she was biting at a fly on her chest and the bottom of her jaw got caught on the Velcro strap. She was good about it but it scared the hell out of me, so I won’t do the neck covers anymore. Both the schnieders and the Rambo’s will cause some superficial rubs (shoulders and hips), IME, however the horses don’t mind the rubs and much prefer to not be bitten.

For fly spray, I swear they get immunity to different ones. I rotate through a few such as the Pyrhana, Ecovet, and I think it’s Endure (the black bottle). I’ll also use the spot on treatment sometimes but honestly both of those things only make a minor difference. The sheet is the real winner.

I believe there is a chemical you can apply to the fly sheet fabric washes out over time (you reapply each season I think?) that deters bugs but I’ve never done that.

[NoHopeNoScope]

Thanks all. I’m planning on broadening my fly spray routine. He has a fly sheet with neck cover. The issue is that it has been in the mid-upper 80’s the last few days, so I’m constantly debating fly sheet vs no fly sheet when the sun is out. He doesn’t have a shelter except lots of trees (he comes inside during bad weather), and none of the trees have leaves yet since it’s supposed to be winter still, so there’s not a ton of shade at this time.

He was seen by the vet earlier this week for some swelling on his left front that I thought was a suspensory issue. He was sound and they ultrasounded up and down that leg. All soft tissue was fine. Vet said it is an enlarged blood vessel? Never heard of that before. Came out tonight and his leg was huge and hot and he’s now lame. Almost like a cellulitis picture but is isolated to the back of the leg and doesn’t go past knee or fetlock. I would be shocked if he coincidentally came up with a soft tissue injury on that leg suddenly. But now he’s inside for the night, and I’m sweating it. Gave him Bute, and we’ll see what we have in the morning when I take the wrap off. I suspect something about stomping outside all day and night with flies has something to do with it, but we’ll see. It sure is fat though and hurts.

[lenapesadie]

Poor guy.

Bugs are tough and some horses just don’t tolerate them, including one of my own.

[SLW]

Re, the front shoo fly boots: can you try attaching/closing the Velcro halfway across instead of all the way? That could potentially loosen the fit by 1/4”-1/2”.

Another option is if you have a sewing machine (or know someone with one) add a 1” strip of Velcro on one side of the boot. Choose either the hook/loop or receiver fabric and attach to work with the existing piece.

Just some ideas to consider.

[trubandloki]

Is he the type that does not deal with heat well?

I am trying to weigh - fly sheet good, keeps him comfortable from bugs, not stomping his feet which might annoy his old legs and add extra issues with him being a little warmer under the fly sheet.

If he is the type that typically deals with heat OK and has plenty of water, I would go with the fly sheet.

I agree with the above poster about the fly boots. Put them on and see how they do, keeping a close eye for rubs.

[Mouse_amp_Bay]

Agree that shoofly are the best, yours look like they might be too long. Perhaps worth a call to the company to ask for their input?

When bugs are bad, and a horse reacts, everyone is miserable. Any chance he can go out at night, allowing him to enjoy the cooler air and lack of bugs.

[NoHopeNoScope]

Thanks again, everyone! Good idea about sending the pics to shoofly and seeing their suggestion. I’ll try that. Sewing some Velcro on might help as well to make them more “custom.”

Right now he’s inside until I can get the vet to check is leg. Still fat/hot/lame. Ugh. For turnout, he doesn’t do great in the stall (gets diarrhea), so I try and keep him out as much as possible, but that definitely is something to consider. Especially if he’s injuring himself stomping.

[cnd8]

I can’t help you with the fly boots, but check out this video on comparison of fly sprays. I use the Smartpak Out Smart down here in South Georgia where we have TONS of humidity and insects. It works really well. There is a chart in this video showing effectiveness of different brands.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o9QNo1RPIDU

[kaya842]

Another thing that can help with the effects of stomping is putting shoes +pads on. Here our ground gets packed and hard as concrete when dry in the summer. If they are stomping (and sometimes even not) it can make them sore or aggravate underlying/ pre existing arthritis or other chronic soreness. It’s not really a solution to the flies but may help keep his legs happier if you think he’s banging himself up stomping (mine does so she get the shoes and pads).

[NoHopeNoScope]

Update. Vet came out. Essentially it is too difficult to tell if this is an injury to the DDFT high up or cellulitis. Either way, it is not presenting like a classic DDFT injury or cellulitis, so who knows. The vet who imaged him today saw the enlarged blood vessel and edema around that area. It’s possible there was something brewing at that site when he was imaged Tuesday, and it was just too difficult to see. If it’s cellulitis, it’ll progress more in the next 48 hours. If it’s tendon, it’ll stay the same. He’s quite lame on it.

Ideally, he’d be on stall rest. He’s 28. Being in the stall triggers significant GI issues that get very difficult to manage, so complete stall rest really isn’t an option. Up until now, I ride him very lightly a few times a week, but at this point I’m more concerned about his overall ease of management vs being able to ride him again. If he’s happier outside, as long as he isn’t running, then the vet says he’s ok to go out with standing wraps on 24/7 (eek) and as much fly protection as possible to keep him from stomping. If that means he isn’t ever sound to ride again, so be it. But I think he’s happier outside overall than inside, and at 28, I’m not sure the benefits of keeping him in. I don’t know. So much to consider.

[sascha]

[quote=“NoHopeNoScope, post:13, topic:793994”]
24/7 (eek)
[/quote] If you’re good at standing wraps and use nice fat pillows, no need for eek. He’ll be fine.

[fivestrideline]

Stable boots like the BOT quick wrap style can work too - if something goes haywire they’re more likely to just rip the Velcro open vs get tangled up or caught on a bandage. Horses will be horses of course, but the risk is lower.

[sapphiremoon]

Just a couple suggestions from my experience with various brands of fly protection. It seems that some horses with particularly thick legs/fetlocks just can’t wear these types of fly leggings as it is too restrictive. I have had some luck with non-fitted fly boots like the Schneider’s mosquito mesh ones. They can get pushed down a bit after while, but I still find them to be the best alternative to these fly leggings.
As far as fly sheets go, if you are worried about the heat then you need to look for a “stiff” type of fly sheet, not ones that drape over the body. The stiff ones allow for better airflow. I have used both the Schneider’s fly sheet and the Weatherbeeta Comfitec in 90 degree heat and they did not cause excess sweating. Just a few ideas as I have gone through many brands/types of fly protection and that is what I learned works.

[Pico_Banana]

Hopefully your guy has found relief since you posted, but I’ll add a few thoughts.

First, maybe try something like Buggzo for some additional fly relief? I’ve had good luck with it.

Second, definitely different fly sprays. I tried the one from Spaulding fly predators last year and it was AWESOME. More effective than EcoVet, which had been my go to.

Third, I’d contact Equi Crown and see if they can help with a wrap for that swelling. They are SO MUCH BETTER than standing wraps and can be used in turnout. I don’t see this on their website any longer, but they used to advertise custom wraps that went above the knee for cellulitis cases. They are super friendly and helpful on the phone so it’s worth a call.