I have a little dilemma. My BO would like every horse to be on DE this summer b/c apparently the flies are worse this year. She is asking that everyone buy this for their horses. Am I responsible for purchasing this for my own horses or is this something the barn owner needs to provide? Is this a situation in which I can say that I do not want to be part of this? I’m not convinced that DE will solve this fly solution magically and I really do not want to feed this to my own horses as well as having yet another expense to their feed bill.
What is DE?
however – if your barn is implementing a feed through fly control product it is absolutely essential that every horse be on it for it to work. And it is wonderful! I use Solitude and factor it into my board costs, but if your BO does not, that is fine too. I have done it as a summer surcharge as well – you might ask your BO about that, if she can order the big bucket and then charge you all a monthly fee that is equal to your usage as it is cheaper in the big bucket.
It is not optional here.
Diatomaceous Earth, I am assuming. Instead of mandating that all the horses get some woo woo crap… how about fecal testing, appropriate worming, and fly predators? What does your vet (any vet?) think about the BO’s plan?
DE - Diatomaceous Earth
I haven’t asked the vet yet. My personal preference would be fly predators rather than a feed through. In the case of fly predators, am I responsible for purchasing them as well for the areas that my horse’s are in?
That’s not how fly predators work. You put them all on the manure pile, you don’t put some in each area/stall. I would say it would be the BO’s cost but if she has a jump in overhead she might pass that along accordingly by raising/adding a surcharge to board. There is no set way that BOs handle new/additional overhead costs via whether they pass along the cost to boarders or not. It depends.
Frankly, the fact that the BO is going to make everyone feed their horse DE would make me leave. I mean, it’s one thing for her to let owners feed that if they want to, but to mandate that everyone do something that’s so far afield from accepted veterinary practice would give me the willies. A feed through fly product like Solitude is a little different. DE is not only not proven to work but who knows if it’s safe/if your horse will tolerate it. Next you’ll all have to pay to have feng shui on your horse’s stall of something.
Personally I would refuse. It would be one thing if she was asking for everyone to be part of a management program based on scientifically proven/vet recommended animal husbandry practices, but DE is voodoo. There is no scientific basis for using it. Unfortunately, that your BO would ask this does not speak well for his/her horse management knowledge.
ETA, I think that chipping in on the cost of fly predators is an excellent alternative that you could offer/suggest.
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OK, I take it all back, I would not be thrilled about feeding my horses that stuff or rubbing essential oils on them. I would probably try to find a barn there the BO is interested in things like science. There are plenty of fry control products out there that actually work, no use throwing money away and possibly hurting your horse with this garbage.
FYI I have tried fly predators three years in a row, and they did absolutely nothing for me. Has your BO tried them? I understand they do work for some set ups. I suspect that since we have cows less than half a mile away, and also a commercial composting facility also less than half a mile away, that is why they didn’t work for me. Otherwise, I have no idea!
I do not have an opinion about the DE – if there is any real evidence that it works I understand trying to find SOME remedy that will make the situation better. But if there is no evidence, then I agree it would make me question what else the BO believes in.
I have seen fly predators work magic at 2 places but both were very ‘closed herds’ (i.e. no other horses/cows nearby) with very controlled manure practices (i.e. manure in just 1 place and picked very regularly from fields). But BOY did those fly predators make a huge difference! It was kind of amazing to me.
We use fly predators with good success. We are not fly free but the numbers stay reasonable. They are neither very expensive nor difficult to implement - I believe they are the best first line against flies.
This year the flies are off to a wild start. They were absent until about a week ago and they burst out in volumes. Our first shipment of predators are due this week and we’re looking forward to them.
That said, if fly predators aren’t working, the flies are probably coming from other habitat and sources. If your neighbors have animals you’re pretty much stuck with a share of their flies.
We use feed through simplifly and we let all potential boarders know BEFORE they sign our boarding contract and move in that this is our policy. There are no exceptions if you impliment a feed through fly control of any kind having one horse off of it defeats the purpose. It’s cost is on the bill for our boarders and we discuss this with them prior to boarding. All boarders must also supply their own fly spray or this is also charged. I’m surprised these are not in your boarding contract or were not discussed. I would be scared of any boarding facility that does not have a fly management program. We also use fly predators and although they help they are only one small part in over all fly management. You have to properly compost manure to manage flys regardless of what you feed or spray. Many horse farms spread fly eggs by spreading uncomposted manure and do not pick or harrow fields which is a recipe for fly kingdoms.
Thank you everyone for your replies! Has anyone come across any articles online about DE with input from a vet or other professional’s rather than just backyard farmers?
Doesn’t DE work on fleas? Because it is so sharp or dries their bodies out or something? I remember I got a bag when I got chickens and then actually did more research (found out it was basically silica) and never did anything with it. But that was for dusting around the coop.
How is that going to do anything to flies after it is processed through the body…? At most it is a waste of money (are there any nutrients in silica?? why not just feed sand–oh wait…because sand is bad for horses!). Joking aside, I think there could be an inhalation issue. I don’t know about silica cancer in this small use, but by it’s nature I would suspect it has to be an irritant. IDK, someone breath some in and report back. 
You would only want to use FOOD GRADE DE. I know that much for sure.
I suspect there aren’t a lot of articles because supplements aren’t really regulated. Who is going to pay for a study?
Can you get a note from your vet?
I want to learn more about Solitude. Is it safe for pregnant mares? Where do you buy it?
https://www.smartpakequine.com/ps/solitude-igr-2728
This is the best stuff, I have fed Equitrol and Simplifly as well but Solitude is the best feed-through I have found by far. Not sure about pregnant mares, would call Smartpak or the company and inquire before I fed to a pregnant mare but it is supposed to pass through so possibly. I get the GIANT bucket and feed it to everyone, my own and my boarders’ horses. My non-horsey husband actually says this is money well spent as he noticed how much it reduced the fly population. Start now, it’s actually rather late – I usually start March 1 so the flies never get going in spring, then feed until the world freezes over in fall (late November).
We always recommend a few fly traps to control adult flies. Flies are transient and may arrive in a horse trailer or by coming over from the neighbor. Fly Predators should control most of your flies but they won’t get EVERY SINGLE fly.
If you use traps for adult flies remember this rule "sticky traps in the barn, smelly traps away from the barn.
serious question here
If you use the feed thru like Solitude
does that negate or kill off the fly predators?? Since the Solitude kills the flies and will be in the manure pile that you put the Predators on . . .
appreciate any input
our barn uses the predators and we split the cost
we also use traps that we made and provided
and fly spray when the horses are used
Feed thru larvacides or insect growth regulators will not effect the Fly Predators in any way.
The science is that IGR works on the larvae stage (maggot) of the fly. Fly Predators work on the next stage pupae (cocoon) of fly development.
So if the IGR works the fly egg will never make it to the pupae stage that the Fly Predator attacks.
For IGR to be effective you must feed it to everything on the property that makes manure. Dog, cat, goat, cow, chickens, or kids.
If you kill the flies with Solitude before they mature into full grown flies, the fly predators will just be hungrier
solitude is expensive for a boarding barn. Equitrol and simplifly are much more economical. DE is cheap, you can order a 50 lb bag from southern states for less than $25. Sounds like to me the barn owner was trying to go the cheapest route first.
Start comparing prices and then times it by the number of horses in the barn and you will see what I mean. I use Simplifly from Dr foster and Smith because they have the cheapest 50lb shipping by far!
Simplifly works good for me, I have used DE per boarder request and I could never tell it did any thing. Fly predators never worked for me either. I think those work best with a very controlled manure pile situation
The manure pile normally only contributes 10% of fly breeding. Composting temperatures are too hot for a fly to go thru all life stages. Only in the outside couple of inches of the manure pile is breeding possible.
The majority of flies are breeding in fresh manure in pastures, paddocks, and turn outs. Even if you pick your manure daily the “crumbs” are enough for flies to breed.
Ponds, streams, wet area in pastures, and around watering troughs produce a lot biting flies.
Anywhere there is residue of old hay will produce flies.
