dawn/vinegar/water fly spray is ITCHY

[Teresa Van Hove <vanhove@ucar.edu>]

Well I made this up (equal parts of everything) and tried it on my 4 yr
old this weekend.  Sprayed it on, seemed to be repeling the flies.
saddled her (only my 4th time on her back) went about 10 minutes and she
was so itchy she could hardly stand it.  Nice thing was I found out that
she did not blow up with a little discomfort.  Just reached back behind
the stirrup with her nose and a look in her eyes like "I cant get to
where it itches to scratch!")  I hosed her off plus the saddle pad and
could hardly believe the suds coming off even the pad!  No wonder she
was itchy. 

So I would recommend using even more care than with commercial fly
sprays in terms of not getting this stuff under equipment.  I looked on
the web and found this recipe in a couple spots and they said to apply
it just as is and no warnings about not using under tack.  I think I
will try diluting with more vinegar and water so its 1/2/2 ratios or
maybe even more water and vinegar and still plan on confining its use to
her legs, and watching to make sure that her legs dont get irritated
from the soap. 

Teresa