Actually, the grazing season is the most beautiful time of the year: lush green grass, warm sunbeams, and relaxed grazing. But with the rising temperatures, uninvited guests also return. Horseflies, mosquitoes, and flies can not only be annoying for our horses but also cause real stress and skin irritations.
In this article, you will learn how you can support your horse and why insect defense can start from the inside.
The usual suspects: Who disturbs the peace in the pasture?
Every horse owner knows them, but every pest requires a different strategy:
- Horseflies: These aggressive hunters react to movement and heat. Their bite is painful and often leads to thick welts.
- Black flies: Particularly active at dusk. They prefer to settle on the belly seam or in the ears and are often the trigger for the dreaded sweet itch (summer eczema).
- Stable flies & flies: They buzz around the eyes and nostrils, which can lead to inflammation and restlessness.
What you can do: Strategies for a relaxed grazing time
To reduce the insect burden, a mix of different measures usually helps:
- Hygiene in the paddock: Insects love droppings. Regularly picking up manure massively reduces the breeding grounds for flies.
- The right timing: On particularly hot days or at dusk (prime time for mosquitoes), it can make sense to shift grazing times to the cooler night hours.
- Physical protection: Fly masks and sweet itch blankets are the classic "bodyguards" from the outside.
- Support from the inside: Did you know that skin exhalations can influence how attractive a horse is to insects? Here, we rely on the power of nature.
The secret weapon in the stable: Our Mineral Lick Block Anti-Insect
A clever and stress-free addition to insect defense is support via the metabolism.
Our Mineral Lick Block Anti-Insect kills two birds with one stone:
- All-round supply: It provides essential minerals and trace elements that your horse urgently needs, especially during the sweating season.
- Natural barrier: Thanks to the contained essential oils from garlic, the horse's body odor changes in a way that is barely noticeable to us – but acts as a deterrent for insects.
The advantage: Your horse decides for itself how much to consume. As soon as it uses the block, the active ingredients are absorbed through the metabolism and released back through the skin. This ensures a continuous basic defense, completely without spray-bottle panic or harsh chemicals.
Conclusion: An insect-free horse is a relaxed horse. With a combination of good pasture management and targeted support from our mineral lick block, you can enjoy the season to the fullest.