horsesforlife

      With the pinch of the economy, everyone is looking to cut back. Everything about horses is expensive.  Grain and hay have to be in ready supply. Leads, Halters, and tack are another expense. Don’t forget fly spray. To top it off, half the time the fly spray doesn’t work. So make your own with a little help from a commercial brand. 

Ingredients

Commercial fly spray

Vinegar Water

Dish soap

Citronella based horse shampoo or citronella oil

Water

Downy liquid(optional) 

    I eyeball the ingredients so the exact measurements are unknown.  To make at least 8 quarts of this homemade brew, you will need 1 quart of commercial fly spray—I use Duraguard, two gallons of vinegar, at most a half bottle of dish soap, and a half bottle of citronella fly shampoo (I get this through www.jeffersequine.com), less than ½  cup of downy liquid fabric softener per quart.  To make a quart, add 1/8 of the flyspray, 2 squirts of dish soap and citronella shampoo, and around ½ cup of downy.  Fill ½ the remaining space with vinegar, and then finish with water.   I use this on two horses, twice a day, in a very muddy, bug infested area near both a stream and woods.  I used 8 quarts of fly spray in a month.  When I added up the cost, of all the above, it came to $30.00 for the month or 3.83 a quart.   

Disclaimer:  This homemade brew worked for me.  It may not work for you.  Also, my horses did not have any adverse reactions to this mix.  This may not be true for you.  Use it at your own risk.