Spring and Summer are coming. It’s time for irritating, nasty flies.

You’re all tacked up and ready for the trail, but the flies are literally bugging your horse. She’s switching and throwing her head moving around: generally not paying a bit of attention to you or your upcoming ride.

Fly Spray. You need to stop all of this irritation. If you don’t have any fly spray, someone at the barn will probably have it and loan you some.

But..Peaches isn’t about to stand still while you squirt her with a spray bottle. This might be the time for some rub-on repellent, but not yet the bottle.

Now is not the time to teach her that the bottle and spray won’t hurt her.

During a training session while she is wearing her halter and lead rope, introduce a spray bottle filled with water. (No danger of getting something damaging in her eyes). Just show the bottle, even rub her with the bottle. As she becomes more at ease, start a little spraying.

It sounds easy, and it is.

This works just like any other de-sensitizing exercise. The bottle is visible, it has a hissing sound, and it shoots the liquid. She will have to get used to all three features. She can do that in stages: one element at a time.

Show her the bottle. Maybe even rub her with it. When she tolerates that, start spraying the bottle in the air surrounding her body, barely reaching her. The more sensitive the horse, the further from her body you start. Find the spot where she is comfortable and then slowly approach a step closer than her comfort zone.

She may throw her head up, snort, run backward or sideways. Keep control of the lead rope, and keep moving with her. If she is too bad, retreat to her comfort zone and start the introduction of the bottle again without spray. You probably moved too quickly from bottle to spray. Then add the spray back in at her comfort area. Each time she moves away (hopefully she is not really panicking any more), go with her until she stops, then rub her a little with your hand and the bottle. Re-introduce the spray. Do it again until she doesn’t move away any more.

When she is comfortable with random distance spraying, start seriously spraying her top line from withers to rump. That is where she is the least sensitive. Go through the whole procedure with all of her body and neck. Legs are last. Legs can be a little tricky if she tries to kick, so stay at a 45 degree angle to her shoulder so you are out of the kick zone until you can trust her. Stay with her as she startles and moves away until she stops and relaxes, then you stop and let her rest.

You can probably accomplish this in one training session. With commitment to this method, she’ll be steady and fool-proof after two or three sessions for sure.

Problem solved.