Misfit Minute – DIY Fly socks for horses and donkeys

Summer’s here and those biting flies are bad. Biting flies hurt, itch, and can cause infection or even worse yet…. werbles in your livestock. You can spend a lot of money on fly traps, fly strips, fly sprays, treatments, chemicals, special fly socks and masks… or you just deal with it. However, we hate it when biting flies irritate us and so does your horse and donkey. Here is a tip for making DIY fly socks that will keep them from being bitten all over their legs and it doesn’t even have to touch your wallet.

It only takes a minute to protect your horse or donkey from biting flies…

I went out to the barn to feed and I had noticed that my donkey was bleeding down his leg from a fly bite. It was small so I cleaned it up with some soapy water and put some antibiotic cream on it. When I came back later to feed again, all of his fur was worn off at the bite site and it was still bleeding. It was really bothering him, he was scratching it, and it now appeared to start to swell… Those damn flies…

I checked out fly socks on the internet and some local Agricultural stores… wow, those babies aren’t cheap.

I had questions… “Will they fit my smaller horse?”. “Will they fit my Standard Donkey?”, I KNOW they won’t fit my miniature donkey… but also “Will they keep them on their legs?”.

So….. I was talking to my farrier friend about the sores on his legs and she had made the comment of putting socks on my donkeys. I KNEW that I had socks in a drawer somewhere. Once in a while they become lonely and I can’t find their mate. I wear them until my toes break through and instead of darning them, I throw them away (or make rags). Here is a little trick to re-purpose those lonely mate-less and holy socks so YOUR horse and donkey can stay happy too without fly bites.

First….Cut the toe off your sock – Knee high crew socks work best.

Second… Slide the sock over the horse or donkey’s hoof and up their leg.

Third… Let them do their magic at protecting your animal or add some fly spray with citronella or DEET.

Just like our socks do after a long day at the office or chasing the kids around, these socks will start working their way down over the course of the day but they do a great job of managing to keep the flies off (especially when spraying with fly spray with citronella or DEET). You can keep them on for days… and days…. So don’t go out and pay a lot of money to put expensive horse socks on all of your animals – especially if they don’t fit. Re-purpose your own, pick up a few at a yard sale or Community Thrift Store, mix and match colors, go with some crazy designs, or just make a statement by giving your animal some stylish DIY fly protection. It will make them AND your wallet VERY happy.

Check out some other DIY Misfit Minute ideas… sneak-on-over and visit my post… “How do donkeys benefit society?” or learn more about Semi-Rural Homesteading…

~Enjoy it simple.

Susan 😊

Don’t forget to pin it: