Savvy Equestrian - Horse Product Reviews
Bug Off GarlicPosted August 10, 2006 |
  
|
|
I wasn't sure what to expect with this product, although I was very hopeful that it would make a difference. We all suffer with flies here and any improvement would be appreciated. The first thing I noticed was that the barn smelled a bit like an Italian restaurant. Not bad for my family as we love Italian. The form of the supplement we tested is a fine powder. The recommended "dose" is one scoop twice a day, which is a sizable amount. Some of the powder ends up on the bottom of the feed tubs and in the water buckets. You have to keep them clean or it gets foul right away. Because the product has such a strong odor I started by just sprinkling it on the food to get the horses used to it. All of our horses do eat it and some love it, not leaving a grain in the bottom of the bucket. After about 30 days I started to notice a difference in the amount of time our horses where staying out to pasture. At this time of the year, they usually will stay out a couple of hours until about 11:00 am. Now we usually have to bring them in for dinner. Before they wanted to come in because they were getting bitten by flies and were miserable out there. I hadn't used a feed supplement for flies before this test. I've used plenty of other products that claim to repel flies and not many work. I have to say our horses and barn seem more comfortable since we've been using Bug Off Garlic. Pros Noticeable reduction of flies landing and biting. Even thin-skinned chestnut Thoroughbreds seem to be more comfortable outside. The number of flies in the barn is less. With the horses our longer, we feed less hay and the stalls are cleaner. The price is reasonable for oursize operation. Bonus: The money we save on hay and shavings makes up for the cost. Cons If you don't like the smell of garlic, this may be a problem. Some horses don't take to it readily. You need to keep feed and water buckets cleaned daily. It doesn't totally rid the area of flies, but makes a considerable difference. Note for Manufacturer We accidentally discovered that if the powder is moistened with a sweet feed or something similar, it clumps and isn't as messy in the feed and water buckets. We traveled with it to a show and made daily rations up in baggies with the sweet feed. I'm not sure if this is something the manufacturer could address in processing. Extra Help From Fly Traps We also used fly traps in the trees around the farm for the first time this year. They collected a huge amount of flies in an area that we frequently sit. You do have to put them in the right spot [trial and error] and not necessarily nearest the barn, but a little ways out. Conclusion This product seems to work and I will buy it next season to help keep the horses comfortable. Garlic is also reputed to have a positive effect on the horses over all health. I'll have to use it longer to notice any improvements there. Price $85 for 10lbs Rating 4: I have to have this product! Related Links: [ Summer Skin Problems ] [ Garlic Supplement Article ] [ Springtime Inc. ] | |
Printable Version
2 Comments | |
|---|---|
|
You must login to post comments. Not a yet member? Click to register. | |
Post A Comment | |
|---|---|
|
You must login to post comments. Not a yet member? Click to register. | |
|
|
Bug Off Garlic