It's gonna be hot today. I'm fine with that. Sunscreen running into my eyes stings, but so does a rush of frigid air. Yes, indeed, it has come to the unfortunate conclusion where I've accepted eye pain as a fact of outdoor life. (Save for the fleeting bits of spring and autumn, of course).
I hold a bottle of cold water to my neck and wrists to cool off, think of all the toxins I'm sweating out, and hose off my horse. Love my Facebook feed, by the way! I have it carefully curated such that there is no stupidity, only dear friends and useful reminders from horsey things I've subscribed to. One such example: after hosing off your horse on a hot day, scrape off the water. Water not scraped actually heats up rather than cools.
I'm struggling to figure out my final opinion on fly sheets. Is it protective armor for my best friend.........or a safe haven under which flies can crawl and bite without repercussion? The flies recently decided it was the latter, so one distressed horse later, we've retired the fly sheet for the year and are back to relying on POISON. I have a bottle of pour-on insecticide that instructs me to "apply to the horse's poll, keeping product out of the animal's eyes".
In what world does that work out well??
Not mine, I suspect. Probably a world in which vet calls only happen during regular business hours and horses stand reliably stock still for all delicate procedures. I'm thinking that world doesn't even have flies, anyway.
So I went off a recommendation from the new barn owner and prayed that this time, this new fly spray will work.
What's been your experience?
I know nothing about fly spray, but sunscreen doesn't have to sting. Just use a mineral-based product. If you're made of money, Shiseido's are the best; otherwise, Neutrogena has a line of mineral sunscreens that are also good (the label is black rather than blue): http://www.neutrogena.com/product/sensitive+skin+sunblock+lotion+spf+60-.do
ReplyDeleteThanks for the tip! I didn't know I could find SPF 60 over the counter.
ReplyDeleteFly Spray: before fly season even starts, get fly predators from Spalding Labs. They work. My fly load is down 95% even though I have a whole mess of cows that live next door. For the few that do survive, I use tri-teck 14. It works and lasts a few days after applying.
ReplyDeleteOf course, fly predators! I like the idea of using that rather than spray. Kill 'em dead before they even survive long enough to think of pestering us.
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