There are some super nasty horseflies that get way up inside the geldings sheath/thighs.
They suck huge amounts of blood and leave the whole area bloody.
Swat runs off quickly. Fly spray doesn’t do diddly for those monstor bloodsuckers.
Any ideas? i’m ready to paper-mache my geldings sheath area as a barrier… thanks.
Same problem here. I’m slathering the Swat.
I need to get the Horsepal biting fly traps out. I guess I should have done it sooner, but seems like I say that every year. The traps do help some.
The horses just hang out at the barn under their fans, and venture out when they think the coast is clear.
Paper-mache? That could work, if you could get it to stick.
My late gelding would be all bitten up “down there”. Only thing that worked was a thick layer Desitin slathered around the outside of his sheath and inside his thighs. He wasn’t cut until about 8yo, so there was uh - a lot of real estate there. Worked nicely since I guess they couldn’t bite through.
Vaseline helps. Lasts awhile too.
Farnum roll on fly repellent, applied frequently and liberally, has always worked for me.
gee, and I thought my gelding was the only one! I’m finding that already this year, the Swat is not doing much for him. I’ll try the suggestions. Thankfully, they are not horseflies, just the regular biting flies. He has a white anklet and I can see blood drops on it - yuck!
https://www.valleyvet.com/ct_detail.html?pgguid=30e071c5-7b6a-11d5-a192-00b0d0204ae5
War Paint is much stickier than SWAT.
Wiped-on WIPE has always worked well for me for the worst bugs (marshy, coastal area).
Clac Deo gel is working well for me this season in that area. It does cause a little bit of skin peeling however.
My gelding is so allergic to the gnats that fly up and latch on. So my old stand bys make him swell up so I have had to be pretty conservative and observe what works or doesn’t.
I did get him a Vetalog shot for the first time and it’s better.
Desitin with a few drops of tea tree oil or lavender. My sis in law makes Desitin w/tea tree oil pretty strong, but I can’t on my horses. Do not put inside of sheath.
He was so swollen a couple of weeks ago I slathered chlorahexidine ointment mixed with Benadryl lotion and that really helped around the opening and all over the bites. His swelling went down a lot.
Vet said I can used the chlorahexidine ointment inside his sheath and that helps too. So I have started mixing Desitin and the chlorahexidine together slathered al over. It’s working pretty well.
I do put Warpaint in front of his sheath and inside the ears. Inside the ears it works for a week or so.
Really sensitive to fly sprays so I stick with Endure. Others break him out in hives. I do spritz a little Deep Woods Off, the green bottle, lightly under his tummy and and sheath. It repels the gnats.
My mare is somewhat sensitive and the Desitin mix works great for her on her udder, tummy and a little on her chest. She appreciates my efforts and everything above works much better on her.
I used Vaseline mixed with Desitin and a few drops of tea tree oil last year, and just bought the supplies yesterday to start using again. I found that it slathered on better than plain old Swat.
I wouldn’t put it up in the sheath with the tea tree oil, though. I also sometimes use Baby Oil gel on the sensitive belly area. That helps as well, and I would think you could safely use that around the sheath.
I think it is Dr. Kellon who recommends Vicks Vaporub for the culicoides (the little bitting gnats). I find a thin layer also keeps the larger biting flies from that area as well. They seem to love when I apply it – I am guessing the cooling factor takes away the itching.
I use TriCare triple antibiotic ointment on my gelding. Helps heal up the little sores and repels gnats. Lasts longer, too, much better than Swat.
FYI, the flies aren’t gnats, they are a horsefly of some type. When you pick them off they are the size of your fingernail, and go “crunch”.
I tried glopping on large amts of vasoline this morning. But within a few hours those flies were stuck up in his thigh/sheath area.
When i pick them off i hear a crunching sound. disgusting!
Is desitin thicker than vasoline?
I ordered the war paint paste.
If that fails, I am going to mix vasoline and gorilla glue, and see if that makes a immutable barrier :no:
Diaper rash cream - desitin is the name brand but the generic version at Walmart works just as well and is half the price.
Sorry to hijack but…
Does anyone have any suggestions for the gnat/bug/whatevertheyare problem in that area that would come in the form of a spray? I have a new gelding that I am still trying to figure out who is a classic chestnut thoroughbred when it comes to his skin. Right now he is so bitten up in that area I can’t touch it to put anything on it without potentially losing a limb. I do have some hydrocortisone spray that I have been using per vets reccomendation from last month when it was all over his chest and stomach… Just want to know if there is anything else, other than fly spray or the hydrocortisone.
Desitin is more of a thick cream that coats and sticks well. The combination of the desitin/vaseline will stay on better than just vaseline (it’s also more expensive, but you could use it alone, too - It would soothe the area plus give it a barrier against the bugs). And I know what bugs you’re talking about - the gnats also bother my gelding, but he gets huge bites from some kind of horse fly or biting fly… yuck!
I bought some War Paint today, based on this thread. I have a donkey who is getting his ankles bit off.
[QUOTE=grey_mare;8154938]
FYI, the flies aren’t gnats, they are a horsefly of some type. When you pick them off they are the size of your fingernail, and go “crunch”.
I tried glopping on large amts of vasoline this morning. But within a few hours those flies were stuck up in his thigh/sheath area.
When i pick them off i hear a crunching sound. disgusting!
Is desitin thicker than vasoline?
I ordered the war paint paste.
If that fails, I am going to mix vasoline and gorilla glue, and see if that makes a immutable barrier :no:[/QUOTE]
Ugggg, I know exactly what you’re talking about, as I’ve squished so many of these flies with my own fingers. YUCK! Flyspray seems to work OK if it is applied every day (judged by absence of blood and bites), but I can’t do too much because his skin will react. I regularly use desitin over antibiotic ointment on wounds, and surround the wounds with Swat. The desitin lasts much longer thank the swat and it seems to repel insects. It’s also very soothing. Desitin mixes well with gel-type substances so I’d try desitin plus Swat on your gelding’s sheath. I’ll also mix it with preparation-H, which is also soothing.
My friend sent me this - http://www.jefferspet.com/products/belly-balm-16oz not as sticky as swat but worked well in the shealth area.
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