health

Question
my horse blue has a little cut on his chest what can it be from , my friend thought it could be flies what do you think?
mackenzie

Answer
I think it could be a number of things... flies, poorly fitted tack, a kick or bite from another horse, sharp protrusions etc... Considering that I can not actually see this cut, there is no way I can definitively say what caused the injury. You can try to figure it out yourself by taking a good look around his paddock, determine exactly how high from the ground this cut is and see if there are any fence rails or wire that are the same height.

Slowly examine every edge your horse can come in contact with to look for hair or even blood. Correct the problem if you locate it immediately.

Flies CAN cause a horse to injure itself by irritating a tender place constantly until the horse finally breaks the skin trying to be rid of the annoyance. Some horses bite at the flies or rub against trees or fences to relieve the itching, crawling sensations. You can imagine how easily a horse could cut itself if it should rub against a splinter or nail.

You need to treat the injury, no matter how minor it may be with some sort of medicated insect repellant such as Swat (brand name) and continue to keep your eyes open when you groom your horse in case other rubbed spots or injuries appear. Flies are relentless pests to horses so protect your horse with frequent mistings of fly spray and daily manure removal.

People often say that, "along with horses, come flies" but the flies won't be nearly so attracted to clean paddocks and dry bedding. Do your best to provide both to your horse.