I had an old Appy who was very allergic to the no-see-ums, and I used to coat his underline and the dock of his tail with Bag Balm . . . and did use Tea Tree oil on the dock of his tail, too, but it's pretty expensive stuff. The other thing I did with him is feed him Garlic from Springtime, Inc. (www.springtimeinc.com) You can order a catalog from them. I was told by a woman who did carriage rides in Stowe, VT, during the summers (Black Percherons) that she had tried EVERYTHING to combat the flies on her horses to keep them comfortable and fly-free for work, and the ONLY thing she found that worked was the oil-based, old-fashioned, citronella WIPE that we used in the tin can when we were kids. She said it stayed on and fought the flies all day long in the heat and through the horses' sweat.

Have used both of the above. Both usually work. You can also try feeding apple cider vinegar every day. I have also used a Tea Tree oil spray. One tablespoon per spray bottle of water.. Shake WELL each time. It keeps them off plus has healing properties. Another thing you can try is to feed your horse a good probiotic consistantly and make sure you are feeding a grass diet and no sugar type grain suppliments. The more toxins in your horses body the more attractive they are to bugs AND the less tolerant they are of their bites.

You can try, apple cider vinegar and mix a bit of Skin-S- Soft.Spray or wipe on. My old mare was allergic to Skin-So Soft so try a little first. I use apple cidar vinegar to keep off mosquitos for myself. Works great, you just smell 'soooo' good! LB

Use Avon Skin-so-Soft! I hate the smell but will stop gnats. I usually put it in spray bottle - have to keep cleaning it but sure helps. Not too good during horse show as it will attract dust if used too heavy. Good luck!

My mare has developed an allergy to gnat bites. She has welts & is itching like crazy!! Do any of you have a recommendation of a repellant or home remedy to keep them off of her? I bathed her with medicated shampoo, put cortisone cream on the welts. She was a bit more comfortable. She has fly sheet, neck sheet & fly mask. Fly sprays don't seem to stop these pests! Any homemade solutions you know of, please share! Thanks so much!!