My horse was tortured by flies all last Spring/Summer. Spray on repellants and fly sheets and masks were not enough to deter the little jerks.
Are there any repellant shampoos, or wash on repellants, or even regular shampoos that you have found to be unappealing to flies?
There’s a Pyranha shampoo:
It helps, some. Nothing that washes in is going to persist very long, though 
Thank you. I think I need to avail myself of any incremental edge I can get.
This year, I declare war on flies!
Do you board or are you able to do something like fly predators?
They are not perfect but they do a great job of cutting back the amount of flies you have.
Oil based fly spays do a better job then the scented water based stuff.
I board. I’m adding dried garlic to his feed, but I think a pass through like that would be hopeless with shared fields if he’s the only one on it.
I use a citronella shampoo. Frankly I do not know if it works to repel flies, but it is not expensive, gentle for daily baths, and smells good. This is the one I use, $8/gallon! https://teskeys.com/products/first-compantion-citronella-shampoo
Have you tried the cattle ear tags zip-tied to the fly sheet and fly mask?
Otherwise, the only other thing is having a fan available.
I use fly predators and the first year was lots of flies but the past two years, I have close to no flies bothering the horses in turnout.
I find H-traps make a huge difference in reducing fly populations. It works by catching females before they lay eggs so the population gets smaller each year. For my place, after 3 years it went from horses constantly bleeding in the tender skin areas, to barely a biting fly to be seen. They are expensive but worth it. Maybe ask the barn if you can put one up in the pasture.
I believe @Simkie has, in the past, written about how they also tie these into their horses’ manes and tails, also? I’ve been meaning to try it myself…
I have! 
It helps, some. I avoid the tags that have organophosphate ingredients.
I think it’s worth a try -at least to avoid using shampoos that might be attractive to flies. Thank you.
I’ve never heard of this! I like the creative thinking.
I had a vet recommend this eons ago as a way to discourage ticks. He also said to make sure the ear tags are permethrin ones and not the organophosphate ones. I sewed them into fly wraps that went around the legs. Worked for ticks, I can’t remember for flies.
I dont actually know if the citronella shampoos work, but they smell nice and they are cheap. I used the Duravet and the First Companion one. I think I got both at TSC?
I didn’t notice a big difference between them and my usual tea tree oil shampoo. Maybe I didn’t use enough? I threw it in a bucket of water and sponged down my horse then used it directly on legs with a scrubby.
I do use an oil based fly spray, mask, and sheet for turnout. That combination seems to keep my pony happy and from stomping. Maybe I’ll attach one of those cow ear tags to the fly sheet. Haven’t heard of that before!
I think Equiderma Neem Shampoo honestly helped my horse last year with keeping flies at bay. I just noticed that after baths he’d be less tormented for a few days and I used less actual fly spray.
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