Cedar oil as fly spray ON the horse?

[Sansena]

Hi folks… had been given a 50/50 mix of cedar oil and Flysect Super 7. I’ve used it on my horse about a week and he’s becoming reactive to it… dancing more as he’s sprayed whereas before he’d just be a minor fidget. I’m not seeing any obvious signs of irritation/ hives, topical reaction etc., but I’m discontinuing it just the same and using it only as a stall-wall spray, and it seems to make the bugs vacate P D Q.

Have I been hurting my horse? The people who gave it to me said they no longer wanted to use it for fear of causing a reaction with their one, super-sensitive mare.

Thanks for any advice…

[Bluey]

I have one horse that we started using the yellow Pyrhana spray on and in a few applications he was not wanting to have any more of it, then even got sick and colicky, he was so allergic to it.
He is now fine with the old silver bottle TryTek or something other.

I would think cedar oil used directly on skin or horse’s coat may be somewhat caustic, depending on the concentration and that seems to be very strong?

[Sansena]

Agreed Bluey. Mine had a BAD reaction to Pyrhana Wipe n’ Spray (yellow bottle, oil based).

This cedar oil mix was given to me as 50/50, but I’ve since diluted it further with Super 7. Horse was still dancing so I’ve d/c’d it completely… went back to Super 7 straight.

I will say that mix now does a great job on stall walls, bedding, etc.

Anyone else?

[jawa]

My farrier would buy the cedar oil and add an ounce or two to a bottle of fly spray. He used it on my horse once, no issue. But I’m not sure of the concentration.

[merrygoround]

OP, I would keep close watch for scaly flaky skin. If it appears a mild soap and thorough rinsing will help. I’d also then go to a “normal” fly spray.

[Ghazzu]

50/50, if it was pure cedar oil, would concern me.

5% or less would be a more reasonable level.

[Beentheredonethat]

I’ve used it, but I buy the straight oil and put maybe a tablespoon in a whole container. I can’t imagine it was actually 50/50. Cedar oil is very expensive, like $16 a pint, and putting it on straight I would imaginecauses issues. It’s very strong.

That said, like every other fly spray, I did not find it worked well. I use it in a spray at home for the dog beds, carpeting, etc. I just cleaned out my cabinets big time, and they always have spiders, moths, etc in them. So, I sprayed all of the wood with cedar. Let’s see if that works. I built a closet and put in cedar shingles on one wall and that worked nicely.

[cayuse]

Ultra Sheild Green has cedar oil in it but it is at 0.05 percent according to the bottle. I just happened to have it on the counter so I took a look out of curiosity.