Horse Fly Rugs & Fly Sheets

The warmer weather goes hand in hand with flies and other flying pests that have a natural attraction for our horses. Unfortunately, this is also the time of year when horse fly rugs and fly sheets become a requirment for many horse owners. Despite being so small, flies have highly sensitive sensory structures. They can detect decaying matter, organic substances, and odours they identify as potential food sources, breeding grounds, and shelter. Unfortunately for our beloved horses, flies are highly attracted by their manure, sweat, and body secretions, including tears, saliva, and mucus.

Horse fly rugs are designed to keep flies away while allowing your equestrian companion to stay cool even in hot summer. They are extremely breathable, and most models offer UV protection. Fly rugs provide excellent overnight protection in the stable and are great for turnout, lunging, and transport. On top of that, some options offer incredible fly protection while exercising or hacking.

Besides being really annoying for horses, flies, midges and mosquitoes can cause a number of health problems, such as itchiness, infections, eczema, loss of concentration, stress, eye irritation, agitation, parasites, and sweet itch in allergic horses. To make it worse, horses, in their despair, can injure themselves when kicking or stomping to shake off flies. The good news is that fly sheets and fly rugs help provide a layer of defense against flys and insect coming in to contact with the skin. The rug or sheet material creates a solid, tangible barrier between flies and your horse, and are a practical solution, especially in humid areas where the combination of moisture and warmth sets a perfect stage for fly breeding. Other preventive measures include keeping the stalls super clean, laying fly traps around the stables and also using products such as fly deterent stable sprays. 

Flies will often land on horses’ backs, hindquarters, and legs; as well as faces, especially in their delicate noses and eye surroundings near the tear ducts, looking for secretions and causing irritation and torment for horses and ponies. It’s important to remember that biting flies and mosquitos can also be disease vectors and are a cause for many equestrian pandemics around the world. Fly rugs effectively shield horses from these potentially dangerous pests, keeping them away from their bodies, reducing irritation and stress, and help prevent the diseases caused by bites. Some fly rugs for horses even stretch up beyond the ears to help protect their ears and the upper part of their head. Is there anything more annoying than a fly buzzing in your ear? Imagine how irritating this can be for horses’ ultra-sensitive ears. Thankfully, some fly rugs feature full ear protection to keep flies away from your horses’ ears, bringing additional peace. Take a look at our Fly Masks range, which is the best way to protect the face, eyes, ears and nose areas.

Fly Rugs for Horses from Top Brands

At Discount Equestrian, we are horse enthusiasts and understand the impact of flies on horses; that’s why we chose only the best fly rugs for horses for our extensive fly rugs and fly sheets for horses range. Let’s take a look at some of our best-selling and popular fly rugs for horses in our fantastic collection from brands such as Gallop, Premier Equine, Rhinegold, Weatherbeeta:

Gallop Classic Fly Combo Rug - This cost effective fixed neck combo fly rug is a popular option which features 200 denier mesh fabric and cross surcingles, as well as UV protection fabric. It does not feature a full belly panel wrap, but at under £30.00 it is one to consider if your horse does not require the highest level of protection.

Premier Equine Sweet Itch Buster Fly Rug with Belly Flap - One of higher quality rugs on the market from Premier Equine, this sweet itch rug features 1000 denier material and comes with a built in belly guard panel and an oversized tail flap. The integrated neck cover has the additional hood as well as fleece lined ear holes. The quick release chest panel clips and the other buckles and hardware are made from stainless steel. A pricier option but a quality one nonetheless.

Bucas® Buzz Off Rain Zebra Rug – “This versatile waterproof fly rug provides the benefits of a zebra fly rug, found by scientists to deter flies, with the added element of a breathable, waterproof upper. This fly rug for horses is useful for those unpredictable British showers since it ensures your horse is always dry when you turn up to ride. Besides, it features an innovative sun-reflective material that helps prevent overheating. This amazing fly rug also offers protection across the body and neck of the horse, including an elasticated belly pad with steel clips to ensure the rug is both protective and secure. You can also find a horse fly sheet version.”

Equilibrium® Field Relief Fly Rug – “Recent studies have revealed that yellow repels flies. This full horse fly sheet is made of a yellow mesh with an orange/black binding. This fly rug matches the Field Relief Fly Masks to protect your horse from the tip of their nose to their tail as it repels harmful UV rays, dirt, and pesky flies!”

Hy Guardian Fly Rug & Fly Mask – “This amazing fly rug offers full protection to your horse, including a detachable face mask. It’s made of reflective polyester silver close-weave mesh for maximum protection against all flying insects and UV rays. The neckpiece fits over the ears to prevent it from slipping down. The rug and the neckpiece feature fully adjustable straps, including chest, belly, and removable leg straps, ensuring a secure fit. The mane, tail, and shoulders are fit with anti-rub lining for additional protection.”

Rhinegold® Fly Rug Includes Detachable Neck – “This Fly Rug is designed to protect your horse from flies and UV rays while keeping it fresh. The horse fly rug is made of lightweight, soft, anti-rub, breathable mesh with cotton towelling along the spine for extra comfort. Includes a practical, detachable neck cover for enhanced fly protection and versatility.”

Sweet Itch Rugs for Horses

Sweet itch rugs are commonly used during the warmer months when fly activity is at its peak. They are an essential tool in managing sweet itch and keeping affected horses comfortable and protected from further irritation. Sweet itch is a skin condition in horses and ponies caused by an allergic reaction to the saliva of biting insects, particularly culicoides midges. Horses suffering from sweet itch may develop intense itching, hair loss, and skin inflammation, particularly along the mane, tail, and withers. Sweet itch rugs usually have a slightly thicker material than fly rugs with a finer weave to offer better protection against the smaller midges, which can often find their way through standard fly rug material. A sweet itch rugs also tend to provide more robust protection over the main areas prone to biting. They often include neck covers and belly panels as well as a snug fit around the top of the tail. 

Waterproof Fly Rugs and Sheets

Flies never stop, even on those summer days with downpours and drizzle that may surprise your horse out of the barn, or you want to take a break and lead your horse to pasture enjoying the breeze. Here is when waterproof fly sheets and rugs come in handy; you don’t have to confine your horse in the stall or worry about water or flies. Waterproof fly rugs can be used daily but are a great solution for unstable and rainy days while offering excellent fly control, reducing irritation, and preventing diseases caused by flies.

Zebra Print Fly Rugs

Adopted by many brands, zebra print fly rugs are a relitively recent addition to the market. Although originally introduced by Bucas, many other brands have adopted the design and introduced their own take on the zebra print design. 

The black and white striped pattern is believed to confuse flies and insects, which can deter them from landing on the horse. This is based on the theory that insects see the contrasting black and white stripes as moving objects, making it difficult for them to identify the horse as a stable landing surface.

Zebra print fly rugs are usually made from the same mesh materials, along with the same belly, neck and tail covers that you will find in normal fly rug designs, it's just the zebra design that differs.

It's important to note that while some research supports the effectiveness of zebra print patterns in deterring flies, results may vary depending on factors such as the type of flies in the area and individual horse behavior, however, if your horse is plagued by flies, a zebra print rug could be worth a try.

Fly rugs protect your horse significantly against flies; however, it’s essential to take additional preventive measures to keep flies at bay. For example, use approved fly repellents or sprays, bathe your horse regularly with specialised products, and empty potential water accumulation sources, such as buckets, empty pots, etc., among others. 

If you need help selecting the perfect fly rug or fly sheet for your horse, feel free to contact us any time. Our expert team here at Discount Equestrian is always willing to help!

Check out other exceptional products from our extensive Horse Rugs collection at Discount Equestrian, such as our outstanding Stable Rugs, and Turnout Rugs ranges. 

We aim to offer the best quality products from top equestrian brands at unbeatable prices. That’s why we created our Price Match Promise program; if you find a product listed at a lower price on the website of any online retail competition, we will strive to match that price for you (Terms and Conditions Apply).