Category: Product Review

I wrote last month about needing to solve my fly problem. It’s too late to release fly predators and fly spray is only lasting 24-48 hours. Plus a part of me dies every time I coat my horse in chemicals while doing my best not to breathe it all in.

My first thought was to purchase fly sheets, but the high heat and humidity around here made me hesitate. I don’t need my horses to get heat stroke. Then I stumbled upon the Shoofly Leggings and noticed a local friend was using them. She had nothing but good things to say, so I bit the bullet and ordered two sets.

I found mine at Jeffers for $49 a set which includes four leggings. I ordered a medium for Gem (15h, 950lbs) and a large for Pete (16h, 1200 lbs). The website gives recommendations based on horse size and also provides a size chart with exact measurements for those more motivated than I am.

The blue large was in stock and arrived about 5 days later. The orange mediums were on back order and ended up arriving the day after the other set, so not so bad. I got free shipping by adding in a lovely black dressage pad ($18 which was more than shipping would have been, but shhh…wife math) with cool max lining that I’ve been wanting.

So what are they?

Shoofly Leggings are PVC mesh, loose fitting fly boots. They have Velcro to attach along the entire vertical edge and fleece lining the bottom. They are meant to be open at the top to allow air flow, freedom of movement and prevent rubs. They have no chemicals in them.

Performance and durability?

They ended up fitting perfectly with plenty of room for error too. Our horses are out 24/7 and they wore them for the last two weeks straight with a break for riding only.  During that time they rolled, galloped around like idiots, stood in the pouring rain and played in puddles.

Not a single legging came off or loose the entire time and when we took them off, while they were filthy dirty and the white fleece was brown instead, they didn’t have a single tear or rip. The Velcro was just as sticky coated in mud as it was when brand new.

We will see what shape they are in after the entire season, but they stood up to nearly everything possible in the first few weeks of wear and still looked brand new after a hose down.

As for the horses, they had no rubs whatsoever.

Do they work?

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It appears so even if I did break my horses in the process. From the moment they went on, the stomping ceased entirely. Of course these do nothing for flies on their body or head, but the non stop stomping that was occurring even with fly spray finally let up. I was impressed.

Any cons?

Of course! The biggest and really only thing I don’t like is the fleece on the bottom. White anything is just not a good idea around horses and they quickly became brown. I don’t care what they look like as long as they function, but a color other than white would be better.

In addition, the fleece caked in the mud and rain and became hard and rigid instead of the soft and pliable material you would want around the horse flesh. It came clean with the hose, but who wants to hose them off after every rain storm that blows through? If they changed it to a different material all together, it would be perfect.

I’d recommend them to anyone having to fight the stomping of their horse. They are easy to put on and take off with just one strip of Velcro and have held up in the short term perfectly. Shop around to find them. Jeffers was the lowest price I could find when I was shopping.

Monday night the hubby grabbed the mail, chuckled then handed me this saying “I guess you haven’t paid their mortgage for them yet this month.”

I just shook my head at him.

Inside was a hand written note by the owner. She added enough detail to make it known that she at least put some basic information about me and my horse in her system. It was super sweet and a lovely personal touch in today’s typically impersonal world.

The shop itself is nice and friendly. While they don’t have the largest selection, she tends to stock high quality, affordable items (example: chafeless and fleece girths versus high end leather anatomic ones) which fit in well with my current budget. Just because she doesn’t have it on the floor though, doesn’t mean she can’t get it for you. If you want something not in store, she will happily browse through her catalogs and order it for you. I got both of my show breeches that way. No shipping or custom order fee, just 50% owed at time of order. When my special order breeches did not fit, she took them back!

I love walking into the store and though I do wish she had a larger in store collection for me to get my hands on (one of the main reasons I like in store shopping versus online), the fact that she is so easy to work with and will order you anything you want, really makes her store special. The letter was a nice touch.

I do need a few more items, mostly a pair of black leathers as I am tired of pulling my brown ones off my jump saddle and moving them around all the time, so maybe it is time to stop back in and say hello to her inventory once again.

 

Last winter I purchased a bottle of this on a whim then I quickly learned that it is illegal in endurance and it sat in my trailer unused. After her 100 I knew we wouldn’t be competing for a while, so I rinsed her down with it and then promptly forgot it existed until this weekend when I took advantage of an indoor wash rack to fully bathe the wild mare. 
Nobody paid me or asked me for this review. I personally purchased the product on my own. 

What is it? According to the bottle this is an after rinse full of healthy essential oils to soothe sore muscles, relax tissue and invigorate the skin. 

How do you use it? The bottle is highly concentrated. You can either add 10mL to a bucket of water or add some to a spray bottle and mist the horse down. The bottle has an easy to read volume indicator on the side so pouring the amount is fairly fool proof. I added the recommended amount to a bucket of water and used a sponge to wash it over her entire body.

Results? For starters it is 100% Gem approved which is saying a lot. She isn’t a supper touchy feely mare and puts up with my grooming because she has learned over the years that she has to. With this stuff, however, she practically tries to crawl into the bucket as soon as she smells the stuff. She grabs at the bucket, paws the air and in general acts a fool. I’m not sure if it is the smell alone or a combination of the smell and how it makes her feel, but the mare loves this stuff. 

I can’t say if it soothes her tired muscles or not, but it smells a lot like human lineaments like Bengay and Biofreeze so I’m assuming it has that same surface dilation and cooling effect as those human products. She sure loves it being splashed all over her and that is atypical for Gem and water. I’ll go ahead and assume it feels great. 

The smell is amazing too. It’s very strong and will make the sponge smell for a long time afterward, so don’t use your regular sponge for it especially if you are in endurance as it is illegal to use before a race. 

When I used it last summer, the BO texted me after she had dried and said she needed sunglasses to not get blinded by Gem. My current picture wasn’t in the best light to show it off, but the shine is amazing and lasts a long time. The hair is left silky and smooth too. 

Would I recommend it? Yup!!! Gem loves it and I love the visible results. Be careful that you don’t use it close to an endurance ride as the scent lingers and you might get pulled. I’d for sure use it after a strenuous workout and plan to use it after her show as a reward. Go try some. You won’t regret it.