I am just wondering if anyone has ever used any "natural" methods of de-bugging their horses. What I mean by this is adding vinegar in their water, or feeding raw garlic in the feed or feeding them herbs...

Has anyone done it and has it been succesful?

I put Apple Cider Vineger in my geldings feed as he breaks out in hives mid-summer, last year was the first year I used it and he hardly broke out at all though I still continue to use fly-spray regularly. I had a boarder that fed her horse garlic, I don't know if it worked but it must have been a pain to cut & crush the garlic. She made me individual grain bags with all the supplements/feed added in, easy for me but must have been a huge inconvenience to her.

I swear by the garlic. It's fabulous (for more then just bugs). The best (and easiest) is from Herbs for Horses (OR in bulk from the health food store, just make sure it's dried and granulated) I have never heard of a horse eating FRESH garlic though. I do know you have to feed it for a few months BEFORE bug season for the garlic to work well. (it builds up in the system????) Anyway, I really like the garlic

I use diatomaceous earth, it is a natural wormer and kills all larva in the manure, making bugs less and less numerous each year. I also use citronella spay and fly masks/sheets when they are really bad.

My own horse became anemic after a few months of being fed 4tbs x3 feedings of garlic so I stay away from feeding it. In one study I have on feeding equines garlic- their red blood cell count fell and the red cells developed Heinz bodies, deformations in the cells caused by denatured hemoglobin. All horses became clinically anemic at the highest dose(4 cups) after three months. 8% showed signs of anemia at the lowest does.

Melanie