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Saturday, July 14, 2012

Pick Your Poison....No Really, Pick One.....Then Buy It and Apply Liberally

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?