More on Coping With Biting Insects

In the comments segment of the Journal of Ravenseyrie blog, Annemiek inquired: "Lynne, I was wondering, do they ever go into the water? Would this help to ease the itches? Or maybe, after they go into the water and roled in the sand they would have a mud coat to protect them?"

I'm surprised that I forgot to include rolling in yesterday's listing of options the horses use to find relief from the biting insects, so I'm glad you brought up these questions, Annemiek.

I have observed the horses stepping into the water to take a drink (and even spend time gazing off into the waves as you see Doll doing!) but I haven't witnessed them going in deeper to get their bodies wet and cool themselves off in the lake.
They may do it, and I've just not been around when it occurs.

On the other hand, our beach at the water's edge is totally covered with stones and rocks--which are incredibly slippery. We humans wear rubber soled swimming shoes when we want to play in the water...perhaps Kevin should design some for horses, similar to the hoof boots folks use instead of metal shoes?

The North Channel (which is what the portion of Lake Huron is called where our beach is) is very shallow by the shore and you have to go quite a ways out (35-50ft) before it drops off and gets deeper than mid-thigh level. This coupled with the slippery footing may be discouraging the horses from going out for a good soaking.

They do roll in the mud down there, though, as you can see here by Zeus' clinging clay coloring. This lake shore clay is incredibly adhesive, and is very difficult to brush off if they have rolled in the wettest areas.
When you walk through it, the clay mud clings to your boots in layers, and just keeps building up until you feel as if you have forty extra pounds on each boot! Better get if off before it dries, too, or you've really got a job removing it later. I typically just walk through the water until it all rinses off.

A good pair of rubber boots are a must here at Ravenseyrie, if you want to be able to walk wherever you please. This time of the year rubber boots can get pretty hot...
but if you are down by the lake, you just take them off and cool your feet in the pristine lake while sitting on a big rock observing horses and taking lots of photos. It's a bit too cold for swimming just yet.

Back up on the bluff, just outside the kitchen window the herd has made a favorite dirt rolling spot.


And they roll a lot.
In thinking about the discomfort these flies and mosquitoes cause us, I remembered something I'd read in a book several years ago titled, MUTANT MESSAGE DOWN UNDER by Marlo Morgan. This is a true life account of an American woman who went on "walkabout" with a group of Australian Aboriginals and had a pretty horrific experience with true hoards of flies. When she asked the leader of the group how they could possible stand having flies crawling all over them he replied:

"There are no freaks, misfits, or accidents. There are only things that humans do not understand. You believe the bush flies to be bad, to be hell, and so for you they are, but it is only because you are minus the necessary understanding and wisdom. In truth, they are necessary and beneficial creatures. They crawl down our ears and clean out the wax and sand that we get from sleeping each night. Do you see we have perfect hearing? Yes, they climb up our nose and clean it out too." He pointed to my nose and said, "You have very small holes, not a big koala nose as we have. It is going to get much hotter in the days to come and you will suffer if you do not have a clean nose. In extreme heat you must not open your mouth to the air. Of all people who need a clean nose, it is you. The flies crawl and cling to our body and take off everything that is eliminated." He held out his arm as he said, "See how soft and smooth our skin is, and look at yours. We have never known a person who changed colors merely by walking. You came to us one color, then became bright red, now you are drying and falling away. You are becoming smaller and smaller each day. We have never known anyone who left their skin on the sand as a snake does. You need the flies to clean your skin, and someday we will come to the place where the flies have laid the larva and again we will be provided with a meal." He took a deep sigh as he looked at me intently and said, "Humans cannot exist if everything that is unpleasant is eliminated instead of understood. When the flies come, we surrender. Perhaps you are ready to do the same."

I'm not sure I would be able to surrender to the flies of the Australian Outback in the way Margo Morgan did...though perhaps if I had no choice, just as she had no choice, I would yield my body and learn to appreciate the good that the flies can do. I surely have learned that every element of this mysterious world has its right to be here and that to not be constantly fighting against such things makes for a happier state of mind.

The herd has shown me that one can find numerous ways pass through the buggy times and when the more pleasant sensations can be had, they don't rush through them, but they savor every blessed moment, even more so after having come through the unpleasant times.Tomorrow, or the next day, depending on how much extra time there is, I intend to share a story from this past Sunday at the beach and relay just how sure-footed these horses and mules are while negotiating their way over those rocks.

Thank you for your question Annemiek. I really appreciate your interest!

Coping With Biting Insects

Ravenseyrie is a rugged wilderness, filled with heart-swelling beauty and a sense of magic. It is also a place of extremes. We experience harsh winters, idyllic early springs, dry, hot summers and heavenly autumns.

Late spring, however (especially if it has been a rainy season) can be one of the most difficult times of the year--this due to the ravenous, gnatty black flies and mosquitos. At times there are thick curtains of them, hovering in wait for warm-blooded creatures to pass nearby.

You can imagine that horses living in a semi-wild setting such as ours are a favorite host for the feeding insects (as are we humans). But whereas we can dash in to our well screened dwellings, the horses cannot. No devotee of the horse feels good watching their equine friends be ardently pursued by biting insects.

How can we make things better for them?

In the days when I competed in dressage and kept my horse at a fully equipped show barn, there were many ways one could intervene to help the horse find relief from flies and mosquitos. First the horses were kept locked in their stalls in the shade of the stable, often with electric fans whirring. Highly toxic insecticides were sprayed in the stable and around the grounds as well as on the horses themselves. Then there were a variety of masks, hoods, blankets and leg wraps that the horses were outfitted in to prevent them from being bitten. In a setting such as this, these conventional means were quite necessary, since all the horse's natural defenses had been effectively denied him. By disallowing the horse the freedom to move at will through a varied, natural setting and keeping him separated in an empty paddock or a box stall, clipping the hair out of his ears, shaving off his whiskers, trimming away his fetlock feathers and wrapping his tail to keep it from being damaged during show season we have made the horse utterly disabled.

Such a situation arises from purely human-centered concepts. While we feel better seeing our horses quietly dozing in the shade of a box stall, adorned with the best high-tech insect repelling clothing and chemicals it is not, overall, in the best interest of the horse's physical and mental health to while away the summer days in this manner.

In my not too distant past, after having turned away from the unnatural environment of the show horse world, Kevin and I were able to improve upon the way we kept our horses so that there was not a need for nearly as much insect fighting paraphernalia. We had a small (but insufficient) pasture with a few trees connected to the always open stable via a lane-way. Our horses were turned out 24/7 and had the freedom to choose where they wanted to be depending upon the conditions of the day. Virtually the only time they preferred to be in the stable was when the days were hot and buggy. It was dark in the barn, and usually cooler (but not always) and there were definitely very few biting insects that ventured into this space. On these particularly buggy days, the horses would spend an enormous amount of time in a seemingly drugged state waiting for conditions to change. There was relief, but also a bit of boredom and limited movement. On the days when it was extremely hot and humid with no air moving, the barn was a retreat from the sun and the biting insects, but it was also a stifling, stagnant place and the horses would be listless and sweat-coated even when standing still. We would set the fans out for them on these especially dreadful days, and it helped.

Here at Ravenseyrie, we are fortunate to provide the horses with a great variety of ways that they, themselves, can use to find relief from the weather and the biting insects. Make no mistake, however, there are times when the insects are so relentlessly irritating the horses are often seen running across their lush grassy prairie seeking an escape. Because I am keen to understand what our horses experience, I often join the herd and follow them throughout their day, observing their routines and preferences.

During the times when the horses (and mules) are being annoyed by biting insects (just as I am) they have the following remedies which I would like to share with you pictorially.

Thanks to our ample forested areas, the horses and mules find tremendous relief from the biting insects by following each other, one behind the other, through countless trails they have made through the woods.

In this photo, their well-worn trail is just at the edge of one of the prairie grasslands.

The trail takes them underneath the lower branches of the Cedars and effectively brushes off the clinging flies and mosquitoes.


Another means of finding relief from the flies is to go to a special grove of Cedar trees at the edge of the bluff. When the breeze is coming up off the lake below this spot is better than any shady stable with or without electric fans whirring.

This special place at the bluff's edge is one of the preferred afternoon nap-time locations. The horses and mules will arrange themeslves in small groups and assist each other with idly brushing off flies with each others tails and
often they will....


...engage in mutual grooming.

Another pastime that our horses and mules pursue to help them endure those days when the biting insects are causing discomfort is rubbing on trees.
It continues to amaze me how effectively the trees, branches, small shrubs and rocks serve to satisfy itches in the most inaccessible places.




















I don't have a photo of it (yet), but it is most comical to watch a horse straddle a bush that is just the right height to scratch its belly. The weaving and swaying must give them tremendous relief and pleasure. It surely gives me enjoyment watching them itch themselves this way.

When its not too hot, and there is a terrific breeze off the lake, it seems the horses cannot get enough of hanging out down at the beach.














And look how well little Animado blends in with the rocks while he takes his nap!
Can you see where little Fada is hiding? Hint: she is standing up.

Here we have the dozing domestics...

...and here we have the some of the dozing primitives.























At Ravenseryie there is much, much more pasture than the herd's needs require. In fact, especially in springtime, if it weren't for the ardent pursuit of the biting insects, I'm certain we would have issues with grass intolerance, laminitis, obesity and colic. If not for the insects interrupting the gorging of grass, we would have to intervene to keep the herd from getting sick. We would have to take them off the grass, put them in an empty paddock, let them out to pasture for only brief hours each day, outfit them with fly protection and hire a farrier to tend to their hooves due to their now restricted environment.

Which lifestyle do you think the horses and mules prefer?