Relaxing with the Boys

This past weekend was HOT.  Lex and I were supposed to show on Sunday, but the show was canceled by the committee due to the high temperature and the heat index.  Disappointing, yes, but definitely necessary.  I didn’t ride all weekend, but made sure the horses had fans, clean stalls, and fly sheets if necessary.  They stayed inside on Saturday when the heat was the worst, but I put them outside Sunday evening and they were excited to run around.  On Monday evening, I wanted to ride, but figured it might still be too hot.  We’re not supposed to hose the horses down unless we are going to a show for right now, due to not wanting to run the well dry.  I always feel bad riding and making the horses sweaty and then not being able to help them cool off with a liniment bath. 

                Last night, since it was still warm, I decided to just put Lex and Comet outside and just hang out with them in the pasture.  I grabbed my sunglasses, Gatorade, and a few horsey magazines and just relaxed with them for a little while.  The flies were kind of bad, so we didn’t stay outside very long, but it was nice to spend some time with the horses and watch them.  Sitting outside with them is peaceful and it was nice to take about fifteen minutes and just enjoy my horses instead of pushing them to work hard.  This was the perfect reminder to take it easy and enjoy simply spending time with my boys in lieu of always having an agenda. 

                I thought I would share the recipe I use for fly spray for my horses.  It doesn’t last a super long time, but I like to use this on a day-to-day basis.  Commercial fly spray is very expensive and I go through it very quickly.  I only purchase Bronco fly spray for use at horse shows, when we really can’t have any distractions.  I also use SWAT on Lex’s face during shows, under his eyes and around his ears.  Otherwise, the horses have a fly mask on so we don’t have to worry about flies!  Let me know if this recipe works well for you, and share whatever you use for your horses!

Homemade Fly Spray:

1 cup water

1 cup Skin So Soft bath oil

2 cups white vinegar

1 tablespoon eucalyptus oil (optional)

                Mix everything together in a spray bottle and spray away!  I don’t use the eucalyptus oil because it’s expensive and again, I go through it quickly.  It adds a nice scent, but the fly spray will work just as well without it!