Bit the bullet, bought Equi Spot

[SLW]

Am I the last person to try this stuff??? I’m not into gimmicks but 2 of my 3 equines have horrible fly problems so I’m giving this stuff a try. One mare has bloody legs if I don’t put her wraps or SWAT on her. The donkey gets sores from the flies on her legs and her nose is bloody from fly bites.

At the end of day 1 the donkey’s nose was blood free and so were the legs on my sensitive chestnut mare. I observed much less tail swishing and leg stomping today, a very hot, humid and no wind day.

Will it provide some relief for the entire 2 weeks??

[jawa]

I have not had that much success with it for flies, but it did last the full 2 weeks for tick prevention.

I haven’t used any lately because both of my horses react VERY badly, kicking out, rubbing and rolling during and after application. I never noticed any chemical burns or other signs of irritation, but it was obviously NOT a comfortable experience.

I even tried diluting it with canola oil and using one tube on 2-3 horses. I had a similar reaction, although less violent. The TB was the most sensitive one, but my stoic pony didn’t like it either and he’s the one I was most concerned with in regards to ticks. He gets the GROSS, PUSSY spots anywhere a tick bites.

I hope it works well for you.

ETA : I even tried other brands to see if they would cause the sensitivity…yup.

[SugarCubes]

I just saw this at the feed store and thought about trying it! I did read some not-so-great reviews on COTH about it causing bad reactions though…

One of my horses won’t tolerate fly spray so I’d especially like to try it on him, would you mind updating in a week or two and letting us know how it’s working?

[Equitational]

I’ve used two or three tubes this summer. No reaction on my horse. Appears to help flies but they are still there. Doesn’t help she has a big wound (with stitches) on her chest that keep flies migrating there…been trying to apply fly spray and roll on specifically in that area.

[Nezzy]

i did not like the spot on treatments i bought last year. plus the brand i used told to use it at the base of part of the mane as well, and my horse had a greasy mane from it. Yuk. i perfer fly spray.

[pAin_t_Misbehavin]

I’ve used it. It worked great for the first week, but unfortunately you can only reapply every two weeks. I was worried about using another permethrin-based product the second week. So I tried some of the “natural” fly sprays which didn’t work all that well.

But I’m in the swamps of South Carolina - bug central - so maybe my experience isn’t typical.

[sherian]

Used it 2 years a go when the Canadian dollar was respectable and found it excellent for ticks, mediocre for flys and mosiquitoes. Had 1 out of 8 that acted like it was burning her, no visible damage to her skin. Some people in this area are using a dairy cow pour on as no topicals are available in Canada but personally I am leery of that as cow hide is a lot tougher than horse.

[cswoodlandfairy]

We use it on all our horses and noticed a big difference. We re-apply every two weeks and notice significant less stomping and no ticks at all. We didn’t expect it to completely “remove” the flies but definitely helped the field horses and those more sensitive.

No reactions that I have noticed, though on our show horses we only apply at dock of tail, poll, and legs to be sure that nothing can get irritated where the saddle would go. For the field horses, we apply as directed.

[horsepoor]

I’ve used it in the past but didn’t think it worked all that great – seemed to work well for a few days, then not so much, and by the end of a week, it was like I’d done nothing. And like someone said, you can’t reapply for two weeks so you are stuck. Plus you aren’t supposed to use other similar ingredient fly sprays, so it wasn’t really all that useful for me.

I always do a test spot first as I have had a horse react with swelling and irritation. And most do seem to get really itchy right after applying, so I think it does do something that they don’t like, whether it burns or just tingles or something…but makes me hesitate to use it again.

[Inclined]

We used it at our former barn in northern VA on approx. 30 horses, and it not only helped with flies, but removed lice from a few horses who had been contaminated by a newbie. When we moved to the NC mountains, we tried it on our horses here, and it did help with the unknown bugs one of our new horses arrived with, but it hasn’t helped the flies much. But some of our flies here are the mutant ninja variety.:eek:

[SLW]

I’m only 72 hours along with it and have noticed a tremendous improvement in fly protection. I have left off leg wraps and fly mask to monitor the product. No bloody legs or faces at the end of the day, so far.

It may end of being a product that works well on certain bug types at various points of the season with results varying by region. South of Kansas City in June Id give it 5 Stars, so far.

[pAin_t_Misbehavin]

[QUOTE=SLW;8725777]
I’m only 72 hours along with it and have noticed a tremendous improvement in fly protection. I have left off leg wraps and fly mask to monitor the product. No bloody legs or faces at the end of the day, so far.

It may end of being a product that works well on certain bug types at various points of the season with results varying by region. South of Kansas City in June Id give it 5 Stars, so far.[/QUOTE]

Let us know how it does the second week. I’m curious if it lasts better in your climate than in mine.

[katyb]

I use Freedom 45, which is the same I think. It helps some with flies, eliminates ticks. Each subsequent dose works a bit better, I think.

We still have flies, just less. I did apply to some and not others to test this, and the ones not treated had clouds, rather than a few flies.

I have one who dislikes the application, but I don’t see any problems with her skin.

[Zu_Zu]

Keeping an eye on this thread ~ may have to try this product !

Thanks to SLW for the thread as well as all the posters sharing your experiences.

[mroades]

the flies out here in KC have become intensely horrific after the heat wave!

[cloudy18]

I’ve used that and the Freedom 45. Most noticeable effect is on ticks. Do not apply where saddle would go. My friend’s mare recently had a reaction to it and she couldn’t ride her for a couple weeks. I’ve read more about reactions with the Equi Spot than Freedom 45. So far my mare hasn’t had an issue, but I only used it once or twice, during peak tick season this year.

[Gamma]

I use it every two weeks, all summer. I once accidentally splashed some of it onto me, and it was irritating in a… sticky way. Like a combination of slug slime and maybe vapor rub, a tiny bit tingly? Not painful bad, but itchy annoying. I was kind of glad it happened, because now I know why my guy doesn’t like it–but he can live with it, compared to the horrible reaction he has to ticks!

Does not so much at all for flies here, but like others have said works great for ticks which is the primary reason why I use it.

[SLW]

[QUOTE=katyb;8725804]
I use Freedom 45, which is the same I think. It helps some with flies, eliminates ticks. Each subsequent dose works a bit better, I think.

We still have flies, just less. I did apply to some and not others to test this, and the ones not treated had clouds, rather than a few flies.

I have one who dislikes the application, but I don’t see any problems with her skin.[/QUOTE]

I just compared the ingredients of Freedom 45 to Equi Spot and they are the same. How often do you apply the Freedom 45? I haven’t compared prices.

[Simkie]

Freedom 45 is the same as Equispot–2 weeks.

I should really drag mine out again and get the horses dosed. Bought a bunch last year, but all of mine complain SO MUCH about the application part that I just gave up. Three are just irritating with the stomping and moving around and clearly telling me to piss off, but one I actually have to twitch to get it on her. I think it helps, and I don’t think it HURTS them, but it just feels WEIRD. I envy anyone who has a horse that just stands for it!

[SLW]

This is fascinating to read about various horses reacting to the application. Of my 3, my donkey turned and rubbed the area on her hip where I dosed her- could almost say she rubbed it like it was stinging a little bit. My two horses didn’t do a thing.