While I don’t mind covering my horse’s flesh in chemicals to keep them from spending hours on end stomping and shaking and being irritated, I do like a good natural alternative when possible.
My go to since my days in WI, circa 2010, has been Belly Balm. I love that stuff. Aloe based and greasy as all get out, it was perfect to rub on ears, noses, chins and legs. It stayed through rain and sweat like nothing I’ve seen before and smelled amazing. If you like citronella. I stumbled on it when Pete reacted to the bugs in WI with massive welts all over his stomach and it not only kept the bugs off, but healed those welts and sores over night. I loved that stuff. Can I repeat that again?
So you can imagine my immense disappointment when I went to the local tack shop to pick up a new jar to find the shelf void of Belly Balm. The owner told me that Professional Choice bought the mom and pop company that made it and discontinued the product. Thank you Professional Choice. I hate you now.
I wandered the shop hoping to find an equivalent. She is into natural products so I figured she’d have something. I’ve tried the non chemical sprays but they don’t touch the SC bugs at all. Might as well spray water on the horses.
Tack shop lady pointed me to Clac which she ordered to try in its place. It’s an all natural cream meant to rub on in place of sprays and the jar is a bit silly stating that it is helpful to avoid the spooky spray noise. Sorry company but I’m not sponging fly deterrent all over my horse. I don’t have 10 hours. Still, if it could be used on sensitive areas that I don’t want to spray it, it was worth a shot.
I’ve used it in place of my beloved Belly Balm and it seems to work about the same at keeping the flies off. I actually really like the sponge application as it keeps my hands from getting gross and it also spreads a lot nicer, covering more surface area with less product.
All three horses got it rubbed around ears, under eyes, along the chin and I put a stripe down the center of their back from wither to tail and barely made a dent in the jar. It should last a good long while.
It smells great, is easy to apply and kept the bugs away just as well as my old faithful. I applied it Sunday late afternoon and it then decided to pour in the evening. By Monday night, through two rains and a long sweaty day outside, I could still see and smell it around their ears and along their back where I put it on the heaviest.
I’m not completely appeased from the loss of my trusty green goo, but early results are promising. For now I’m happy to have any alternative available and the horses are happy to not be bothered with flies where I can’t safely spray harmful chemicals. The Big Orange Butthead still needs a leg protection solution though since I don’t really want to rub this all over his legs. The other two are in Shoo Fly Leggings which I’m a big fan of, but he wears bell boots up front and eh…I’m not sure I like the idea of using both together. I’ll figure something out soon as the bugs are back in town and he ditches shoes too easily without the added stomping.
The Roaming Rider 
Innnnteresting! I’ve minimal knowledge of anything beyond fly sprays so this is really cool to learn about. Thanks for sharing!
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I’ve used it twice now and I like it. Not as much as my green goo but the horses are noticeably more comfortable when I put it in versus not so I’ll keep using this jar and then see what else it out there
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I’ve been looking for something exactly like this for Spicy’s eyes. He can get a bit of a runny eye when it gets warm out (maybe it allergies or something?) and the bugs really bother him for it.
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The Belly Balm was amazing for everything. This stuff so far seems nearly on par though the cream doesn’t hold up as long as the aloe based goo did. Since I’ve started using it they aren’t head shaking in the pasture like the were before. My local shop sold it for around $30 I believe.
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oooh interesting, i’ve never heard of some of this stuff!! charlie won’t wear a fly mask tho so perhaps this is worth looking into haha
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It’s been good so far though I do still miss my green goo. Easy and quick to apply and keeps the flies from sensitive areas
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Is yours the same Belly Balm Stateline Tack has online? I saw it yesterday when I was ordering fly spray and was intrigued by the great reviews!
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Yup!! Apparently once the supplies run out they aren’t making it anymore. At least per my tack shop lady. Maybe she is wrong? I hope so. That stuff is AMAZING!
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Oh crazy! Wonder if it’s worth ordering one to keep on hand when I place my next order…
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Oh that stuff looks cool! I have something quite similar, that I love!! It’s so great for the ears and other areas you don’t want to spray. I love the all natural aspect too.
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What’s the brand you use? I’m always looking for alternatives.
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The stuff I use is from EcoLicious equestrian. I’ve been really happy with it!
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ugh why do companies buy a product only to stop making it – especially if they don’t make an equivalent product?!?! so frustrating, but glad the CLAC seems to be a good substitute!
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I don’t understand it at all but it seems to happen a lot
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Dying to know; are you still using this? Does it work? My big, doofy MFT has a huge welt on his belly that the flies just go crazy for, and I’ve NEVER had to deal with this before in my life. So looking for SOMETHING to help him out.
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The CLAC seems to be working well enough. I apply it every 2-3 days around ears, eyes, under the jaw, down the front of each leg and a stripe down the back on all 3 horses and still have 2/3rds of the jar left. A little goes a long way. I notice an immediate relief for them from the flies. It does dry and kinda cake on which looks messy but it still has its scent even when dry. I’d recommend trying it though I still think the Belly Balm was better and lasted longer so if you can grab a run of that I’d say use it instead
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