Well, mine is 'the new smell" and so far I have no problem with it. It does choke you if the wind catches you just right but it’s not the odor that chokes you, it’s like it is a super strong throat trigger type thing. Can’t really explain it. We have had a lot of afternoon rain so the jury is still out on how well it will keep the no see ums off them. I can say that is has a STRONG knockdown element, any flies that are directly sprayed fall immediately and don’t move again.
Try neem oil. It’s super cheap and you can add a tablespoon to a spray bottle. It is the best fly spray I have ever used, I haven’t seen a single tick, and it has worked wonders on all of the little bites. A bit of the oil straight or mixed with some dollar store lotion is the best thing I have ever seen on all of the bites and inflammation.
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Got the new scent and it’s WAY better! As OP notes, still weird if you walk into it, but the smell is a non-issue- sort of reminds me of baby powder. And it works best of any sprays I’ve tried. I think I’m settled on it, until something new comes out. I revisited Outsmart, Equiderma (neem oil based), and Endure. I like Ecovet best.
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I just bought a bottle today… this fly season has been wicked for my horses. The farrier uses Ecovet and it did seem to offer some relief, albeit temporarily.
Updating with my observations after 5 days of use:
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The stuff does work; I notice considerably less flies on my horses and considerably less swishing after I spray them.
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It’s noxious! It burns my eyes and throat. I’ve been trying to apply it outside, but when I have to apply it in the barn, I hold my breath and run… which makes me feel bad for the horses who are stuck breathing it in.
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Interesting side benefit: I keep a trash bag in my locker to throw away used 4x4s, used gloves, etc. For some reason, ants got into it (I’m wondering if it was the moisture since there was no food in there). Ants were all over my tack locker. One spritz of Ecovet and they were GONE. Any ants in the vicinity were desiccated and none have come back. Nice… but a little scary how well it worked to kill them…
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I am suspecting it doesn’t work to prevent ticks as well as traditional pyrethrin fly sprays-- since I’ve started using Ecovet, I’ve been pulling multiple deer ticks off my girls daily, whereas before they were picking up ticks rarely.
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My girls are starting to develop flaky skin from it on their forearms, gaskins, and chests (I only spray their lower bodies, and lightly, per the instructions).
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Spraying the lower bodies of two horses and a donkey 1x to 2x daily for the past 5 days, I’ve only gone through about 1/4 of the bottle. So the small bottle does last.
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Ok, I’ll share my observations so far. As discussed in my first post, I have 2 APHA horses here in the muggy, deep south, that no matter what I have done for YEARS, from the first of April to late September, both are a bloody scab from the tips of their ears to their tails. I have tried everything with little to no lasting success… UNTIL NOW!
I came across an herbal site “For love of the horse”. These folks are awesome! They are very attentive and not only respond to your questions, they will seek you out via email to ask questions and check on the horses from time to time.
I am using the “skin allergy” blend and while they have a little missing hair, there are no open wounds to date. I just began the Ecovet fly spray but it, too, seems to be an asset as well. I was using the Equiderma fly spray. I believe the Skin Allergy Blend has been the best so far–even without fly spray.
I highly recommend talking to these folks. They have all sorts of blends for various concerns. If you have a horse suffering from Sweet Itch, this is the best my guys have ever looked at this time of the year. I have no idea if it would be a testing problem for show horses but it’s well worth using and giving the horses the summer off from showing–heck, my guys were in no shape to show in the mess they were in every summer anyway. CHECK THEM OUT!! Your horses will hopefully thank you 
I’m hesitant to try this product because several of the reviews I’ve read said that this stuff gave their horses chemical burns. Anyone know anything about that?
Ecovet is a proprietary blend of fatty acids and silicone and fragrance that is meant to disrupt insects finding the horse. From other posts here it also seems to kill insects on contact. But then so will soapy water or vibegar.
It isn’t clear from the website what in this formula could give a horse a chemical burn.
Yes, I’ve read the ingredients and unless horses have a skin sensitivity to the fatty acids, which is certainly possible, I’m not sure what could cause that reaction either. Unless they have a sensitivity to the 1% of the product that is “fragrance,” the composition of which is unspecified.
I take all anonymous online reviews with a grain of salt.
I’d be curious to know if it was truly “chemical burns” experienced by these people or just an intolerant reaction. Many horses have skin reactions to fly sprays. Heck, it almost takes an act of god to find a fly spray that all three of my girls tolerate. :lol:
The label states to only apply it to the horse’s lower body. That’s not typical for fly sprays and some folks just want to use it in the same manner as they would anything else. For example, at a recent show, my instructor, trying to be helpful, grabbed the bottle from me and started to drench my horse in it, even going as far as rubbing it into her neck before I could grab the bottle back. My super sensible girl did break out with some welts and minor skin irritation on her neck after that. Yet when I’ve used it as directed, that hasn’t been a problem. The only issue I’ve had so far is some minor skin flaking and the fact it makes my donkey cough like crazy- that’s more concerning to me than the flakey skin.
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I started using Ecovet last year and I must say that it works great, though the smell is not good.
My two sweet itch suffers don’t pay any attention to it at all but my stallion HATES it. He starts sneezing immediately and is now getting unruly when trying to spray him, so no more for him!! It does take your breath, even when being careful with it.
It makes my gelding cough a little bit too - I think that is why they say only apply to lower body. it definitely aggravates the airways of just about every living thing within 20 ft.
That being said, I still spray my gelding’s topline with it because we have some serious bombers flying around… no issues or welts… and 2 days later, it still amazingly is at work.
Ive been using it for 2 years and like the protection it provides. Good stuff!
I’ve never had chemical burns with Ecovet. If you want chemical burns and hives/welts use Bronco Gold. That crap flat out scalded the legs on my donkey leaving open oozing sores. My mare broke out in hives!!! Horrible product with, as my daughter showed me afterwards, a long online history of problems.
Lol, oh yeh it does. I sprayed my guy with it and though he didn’t cough, he stuck his head up as high as he could doing a flehmen response and snorting. Poor guy, I did apologize to him but the stuff does seem to work.
