Horse care
Fly Free and Smelling Great: Our Natural Product Journey
Aug
We recently met a lovely lady whose ethos aligns perfectly with ours. We spent considerable time learning about her ingredients and why she chooses them for her products. Everything she uses is clean and natural with no nasties in it. Sound familiar? We just had to try them to see if they really worked.
I must confess, I was a bit dubious about using a bar—well, a circle really—having always used liquids or sprays, but I was willing to give it a go.
First up was my disgraceful grey Unicorn. Like many greys, he likes to roll in anything dirty he can find to camouflage himself. It makes sense, as a grey sticks out from the crowd and is easy for predators to spot, but I digress. Back to the shampoo: it was easy to rub on, made a good amount of lather, and it was quite amusing to watch my dirty unicorn turn into a slightly purple unicorn, then a wet unicorn, and finally a pristine white dry unicorn. His rather yellow tail turned a glossy white too. He has a soft gleaming coat anyway from his Oxydane, but there was definitely a silky feel to him, and he smelled just gorgeous, though he was a bit perturbed when I was sniffing him!
Now, my big boy is just a fly magnet. I have tried everything to help him, but he rips off fly rugs, and I haven’t found a single spray that I dare use that doesn’t have ingredients I completely and utterly disapprove of. Remember, their hair follicles are individual, and they absorb whatever we spray on them. So please check your sprays—if you see a skull and crossbones on the label, jettison it immediately. There are other things in bottles that, in my opinion, shouldn’t be there.
I opened my tin, rubbed the great-smelling bar into Mr. Stretch’s skin, and turned him out. From hundreds of flies landing on him, we were down to the odd one that had a go but quickly disappeared once they got a whiff of the ingredients. Not a single horsefly was seen, and normally, if they are around, they make a beeline for Mr. Stretch. As he is on limited turnout due to an injury, I was delighted to see that when he came in, there was not a single fly on him in his box.
As you all know, we are big into what is in things. While I can’t reveal the entirety of the makeup of these bars, as someone would try to copy it, I can tell you some. 😉
In the Awesome Bug Repellent, there are 12 very special ingredients tested in the Caribbean, where it was developed, as well as in Scotland, Wales, and England, ensuring the ingredients handle all our species of flies, mosquitoes, and midges. It includes specially infused catmint. There is no citronella in there—why? Because it only lasts for 19 minutes! To see off the horseflies, among other things, it includes Lemon Eucalyptus.
The shampoos are all plant-based and pH balanced so as not to disrupt the skin microbiology and cause skin disorders, fungal, or bacterial infections. It is not just for our horses either—our dogs can enjoy these fabulous bars too. No longer do you have to fear the rolling in fox poo or that dank doggy smell; the bars work fabulously on our other best friends. Even our water-shy Dalmatians seem to be fans!
And me? I hear you say. Don’t worry, we have you covered too. We have tried them all and are blown away by the efficacy. We are carrying bug repellent for us too, as well as an after-bite balm—so the next time that horsefly gets you, you have an immediate fix. Along with the cuts and scrapes balm, which we are already halfway through as we are good at attracting small issues. When the day is done and you start to feel aches and pains, we use the Muscle Ease balm once we’ve used our gadgets to help us while we sleep.
We hope you will try them, be as impressed as we are, and know that we are supporting a small local business with fabulous ethos and ethics, using many home-grown and produced organic ingredients with great benefits for our horses, dogs, and us!
