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You can mix up homemade fly repellent in an extra spray bottle, to use to spray or wipe down your horse with, to ward off the horse flies. Equisearch.com had two recipes on its website. Dr. Mary Brennan makes a fly repellent with half a teaspoon of oil of myrrh; 2 cups of water; half a cup of apple cider vinegar; and a fourth of a teaspoon of citronella oil.
The staff of "Dressage Today" magazine created a homemade fly repellent with 2 cups of apple cider vinegar; 2 cups prepared tea that has gone cold (sage or chamomile is recommended); 20 drops of eucalyptus oil; 20 drops of citronella oil; 10 drops of lavender oil; 10 drops of tea tree oil; 10 drops of cedar oil; and 20 drops of an emulsifier (an example is polysurbate 20).
You can also try adding a tablespoon of apple cider vinegar to your horse's daily feed. This can make him smell slightly like the vinegar, which makes the horse flies less likely to bite him. -
To lessen the number of horse flies being bred on your property, get rid of as much standing water as possible. Dump and clean rain barrels periodically over the spring, summer, and early fall, to kill off the larvae. Dump other containers that have been collecting water. Create drainage in low-lying spots, or fill them.
Also, move your horses to an open pasture, or cut down stands of trees. These are places where horse flies like to hang out.
