You might have heard of a new to the market fly spray that uses a different mechanism to keep your horse fly free without the nasty chemicals. Ecovet uses food grade fatty acids in a silicone base to repel flying insects. It seems a little unlikely to work in the real world, but the science and the FAQ are here and after seeing a few reviews on blogs I follow, I thought I would try it myself.
I bought the 8 oz size and totally appreciated not having to buy a full sized bottle to give something new a try. Yeah Ecovet! We have had some humid high eighties weather, so I thought this past week would be a great time for a trial. Other bloggers have mentioned the smell, so I was a bit prepared but there was no getting around the fact that the spray does have an odd smell that kind of clings to the back of the throat. Not disgusting, just a bit weird. That said, if you stand upwind and/or hold your breath it is not that bad. Within a minute or two I couldn't really smell it on the horse and it did make their coats gleam nicely.
But on to the important stuff. Does it work? The answer is a resounding yes. With a light coat mostly focused on ankles, belly, and back, pretty much no flies at all for two days. By the third morning all three of my horses needed a re-coat but that didn't seem unreasonable. Only one horse didn't care for the smell but she just lightly coughed twice and turned up her lip, so nothing huge. So far, I am totally impressed. I am using very little to get a fly free effect for two solid days, so I think it will be the same cost or a little lower as conventional fly spray and all without the nasty chemicals. A little bit of stank when applying seems like a small price to pay.
No comments:
Post a Comment