A large number of flying insects emerge with the heat each summer, and they can turn what should be long luxurious days in the ring, field or trails into painful, frustrating or itchy endeavours! While irritation may seem like a minimal concern, excessive flies can cause stress in horses, which can lead to reduced performance and malnutrition. Not only can insects be bothersome, but bug bites can cause a variety of allergic type skin reactions in many horses.

Scientists learned in recent years why zebras have black and white stripes — to avoid biting flies. But a study published on February 20, 2019 in the journal PLOS ONE probes the question further: What is it about stripes that actually disrupts a biting fly’s ability to land on a zebra and suck its blood? Professor Tim Caro of the University of California, Davis, and University of Bristol’s Martin How led a series of new experiments to better understand how stripes manipulate the behaviour of biting flies as they attempt to come in to land on zebras.

Where you keep your horse can influence the risk of tapeworm infections, according to research from Poland. Recommendations for deworming horses have changed over the years to take account of widespread anthelmintic resistance and changing patterns of infection.

At first, you might notice something wrong with your horse’s skin. He may start making unusual noises or being hypersensitive to your touch in the flank area – signs that would normally point to a medical issue such as a dermatological condition.