Best Fly Spray and Creams 2022

When it comes to keeping those pesky flies away – nothing quite performs like some of our tried and tested, established brand fly sprays. 

As you will no doubt know, during the summer months – it can be the difference between an unhappy horse and a happy one. Simply put, having the right fly spray is an essential product to own. Apply before riding and whilst having time out in the field – fly spray should be applied almost every day in summer, weather permitting. 

Flies are an overall nuisance. They bite and can lead to your horse getting a reaction, potential infection and at the least a large amount of discomfort. Horseflies are some of the worst. What makes it particularly difficult, is just the sheer amount of variety of flying insects in summer that want to irritate your horse. So keeping them protected can certainly be a challenge. 

So what’s your best defence? 

The first step we recommend is ensuring your horse is covered with fly rugs and masks, this can prevent the flies from getting to your horse in the first place. Then applying the fly spray and some sort of repellent gel or lotion can help further to deter the flies. It’s about working out what’s the right option for the ultimate protection and which sprays are most suited to your horse. 

Most fly sprays can be good as prevention, but why have ‘good’ when you can have the best. We have put together a list of the very best fly sprays we know can work well  for a lot of different horses and be an effective fly prevention method.

What makes one fly spray different from another? 

As you can imagine, it mainly comes down to the ingredients. There’s a whole lot of different insecticides, some of which are natural and some aren’t and hence different fly sprays work better than others (this is what impacts the price too). There are a lot of rules when it comes to what can be specifically called a Fly Repellent and also what can be used on horses, so make sure to check the labels on bottles for guidance (there’s probably a reason one bottle is cheaper than another).

1. Equine America Stinger Fly Spray

Equine America is a very well-known brand for producing some of the highest quality sprays and repellents a horse owner can get – with this Stinger spray being their flagship product. Great for use in the field, before a nice hack or even whilst out competing, as it won’t impact that “competition ready-shine”. 

It’s incredibly popular with a lot of the Just Equine staff and customers – and that’s simply because it does what it says on the bottle – it is just a really, really great all-round fly and insect repellent.

It’s undergone a new formulation too that is built for durability. Simply spray your horse in the morning and it will last right through until the end of the day – specifically claimed to last up to “7 hours” (depending on whether it’s raining or if your horse is sweating – where they advise it should be reapplied). 

So if you’re looking for a quick ‘go to’ with no prerequisites in mind? Then our recommendation solution to your horse getting fed up with flies – is this Equine America Stinger Fly Spray.

2. Equine America Fly Repel Spray 750ml

Now as you can probably work out from the list of ingredients. This is what is deemed as a natural fly spray. Take a look at the ingredients in this fly repel spray with the link above – what you will notice is that it is largely a natural concoction of essential oils and extracts. 

It’s made up of tea tree oil, lavender oil, lemongrass oil as well as Citrapel Extract (based primarily from eucalyptus oil). This is a great option for your more sensitive horse as it is so natural (although always test a small area to start with just in case).

It helps keep flies away, as well as to keep the horse calm and comfortable with lavender and other calming ingredients. In all, this is a great option for those who want to stick to a more natural solution and again offers all the long-lasting benefits and qualities you should look for in a good horse fly spray. 

In sum, if you want a great ‘natural’ solution – that ensures you keep your horse safe and away from side effects that can ultimately cause health issues for your horse – you won’t go far wrong here. It can even be used on yourself too! 

3. Equine America Natural Citronella Horse Spray

Another Equine America horse fly spray – and another great option. This spray is another natural option that you can choose – but the advantage here is that it helps to keep the coat and mane naturally shiny – making it the perfect combination of fly repellent AND maintain that healthy summer coat. 

It’s important to note the bottle design too – as it has been purposefully designed to distribute a wide spray spread upon spray – so you can cover your horse a fraction of the time with an even distribution and no wasted solution, so it should last longer. Be careful not to get any around the eye area though (like with all fly sprays). For around the eyes spray some onto a cloth or sponge and gently apply on the forehead, ears and around the nose area.  

Take a look at the ingredients list and you will see one of the key ingredients is citronella with aloe vera included too. What’s great about this is that it acts as a conditioning agent for the horse, plus it’s gentle to sensitive skin – so if your horse is getting irritated by the other solutions, this is a great option to pick. 

Not to mention, it smells great too. A really superb summer scent. 

4. Equine America Sooth Itch Cream

A fly spray is important for summer, but so is a fly cream. This is great for targeting smaller troubled areas, such as areas that have been rubbed so much they have caused bald patches or is great for general sweet itch suffers. It is also great for areas such as whirls, where flies can pick at and cause an open wound.

It soothes the itching and helps with the overall healing processes of areas (including hair regrowth). A great cream to add to your horse summer must-haves, including a fly repellent spray.

It’s super easy to apply too – just add directly to your horses’ skin and because it is completely natural, you know it’s absolutely fine for the horse (although do a patch test to a small area first just to make sure). 

This solution will also repel flies as well as promote healing, with natural ingredients such as citronella.  

Hopefully, the above list of the top 4 fly repellent suggestions has given you a better idea of how you can combat those pesky flies. However, if you do want help picking the right fly spray for you – please do make sure that you reach out to us. If you have any questions at all with regards to any of the fly sprays you see in our top 5 list (above) – the Just Equine customer services team (full of Equine experts and Horse owners) will be more than happy to help you pick or go into more depth about any of them on offer. Just head over to their contact page.