Pesky Flies, Shame He's Blonde

There's a new addition to the horse sanctuary that borders our property. Jazzy dog and I watched him having his breakfast this morning. What a lovely specimen he is. I'm not a horse person but I believe he is a flaxen chestnut.

Maybe his colouring is not doing him any favours? Horseflies seemed to be driving him mad. Rather than concentrating on his lovely fresh hay, he kept stamping his feet, swishing his tail and shaking his head. His withers and flanks were twitching and his eyes flinching. Poor thing.

I've read of a woman in Germany who painted white stripes on her dark horse. The paint was a ruse to prevent horseflies from biting. She came up with the trick after reading that zebras never get bitten. Scientists have found that black and white stripes are unappetising to horseflies. They hate how stripes reflect light and prefer 'flat' or light coats.

I would imagine that horseflies have proliferated like most other insects have in the lovely weather we have been having.