We found Magic Mud last year during rodeo season. I saw a TikTok about it and decided to try it. The name Magic is no joke. This stuff is MAGIC! I can’t believe how well it works. We started with a small container to just give it a try, bumped up a size when that one was gone and now have moved up to the 22lb bucket.

We knew it was working, because you could tell he was feeling better, especially through the back. But the real eye opening was when Hanna twisted her ankle one night at a rodeo. She could barely walk. I messaged the folks over at Heavenly Horse Health and asked if it was safe to use on people. She told me that it was originally developed FOR people, but then they realized how well it worked on horses too. We put the mud on Hanna’s ankle and the next morning she was fine.

I stepped in a hole walking off the porch one night. Twisted my ankle really badly. Mudded it up and I was 98% by the morning.

My husband worked his calves a little too hard during a workout. Mudded them up and he was 100% the next day.

What’s crazy is when you put the mud on it instantly cools the body part it’s on. The cool lasts a really long time. When I put it on my ankle I actually got chilled from it. It’s almost like icing your body when you put it on, which helps alleviate swelling and inflammation.

KS HS rodeo is tough for reined cow horse. You do both your weekend runs in the same night. It’s a lot to do two runs almost back to back (since there are a ton of kids doing RCH in KS). We mudded up Nora when she was done with her runs and could tell she felt better.

It’s easy to put on, just spread it on with your hands. We keep gloves in the trailer so she doesn’t get her hands covered in it. You can see how easy it is to do in this quick TikTok video.

Once you put the Magic Mud on, let it dry a bit and then you can turn them out with it on. Let it keep doing its work while they are out in the pasture or in their stall. When you need to ride again you either rinse them off or it will also curry then brush off.

If you’re struggling to find something that works for your horse, I highly recommend trying Magic Mud. You can use our coupon code Fiddler10 to save 10%.

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Hanna left the barrels in the arena. We had bets going how far into Oklahoma we’d find the barrels. Surprisingly, they were all standing, still on the pattern when we went out to check everyone after the storm.

It was hot and soupy in the indoor! The humidity was through the roof. Goose and I worked on some things we work on in our home arena, but it was so fun having a fence! I could actually not steer her at all and let her be in total control of herself. We worked on managing destination addiction (the gate) for a bit, and she finally was using the full arena with no problem.

We also worked on riding with other horses (also a destination addiction issue… the other horse). It’s such a simple exercise. You give your horse complete freedom (loose rein, no steering) and let them go where they want to go. If they choose to go to another horse, that’s fine, just pick up a trot as you approach the other horse, don’t steer, let them control themselves. Goose trotted to the other end of the arena, away from Fiddler, I let her come back down to a walk. She walked for a while and headed back to Fiddler. Pick up a trot as we get to him. It didn’t take long for her to figure out Fiddler was not the resting spot.

At one point Hanna asked me to video a runthrough and headed toward us on Fiddler. Goose started to walk away.

Goose and I headed outside to give them the arena to work it, and although it was hot outside, it was much cooler than in the arena.

We worked on the “destination addiction while on the trail” exercise, which can be found in the Warwick Schiller subscription. She was able to go all over the place. She found some good resting spots and was rewarded for those. I was very surprised by how brave she was and how far away from the trailer and Fiddler she was wanting to go.

I’m pretty excited because I think she really does want to be a trail horse. She wants to be out and about seeing the world, and not stuck in the arena. This is perfect, because it’s what I want to do as well!

I’m really excited about the progress we are making. She experienced traffic and was unbothered. She was willing and brave about going so far away from Fiddler and the arena. She was forward and ready to go new places without me asking.

Things are looking up!

I don’t think we’d be anywhere close to where we are at without the amazing wisdom of Warwick Schiller and his principles of training. It doesn’t seem to matter what kind of situation we get in to, there is a principle that will help me handle it.

Instead of learning specific actions to take (which may or may not be what we need in any given situation) we’ve got principles and that makes all the difference.

You can see all the principles of training in Warwick’s new book. The Principles of Training.

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A big storm came through this evening. Everything had finally dried out but now we’re under water again. Hopefully it dries out soon!

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She got a nice rinse after we were done. It was already super hot and muggy.

Tonight, Hanna went to her second barrel race this week. She and Fiddler had a good run, of course she always sees things to improve. They ended up out of the money in the 3D. Michelle Darling was at the race. It’s always fun to me to see pro racers at our local jackpots. We finished the night with a stunning sunset, and beat the rain home.

Her race earlier this week she had a nice run. It was a fast night. She ended up 5th in 4D and in the money (enough to cover tonight’s race. )

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Today we were working on an exercise based on the principle number 4: “choose where you work choose where you rest.” This helps overcome destination addiction aka buddy/barn/gate sourness etc. While working on this exercise she picked up a lope.

My brain was in slow motion. I could hear myself think OMG we are loping.
I could feel the change in cadence from the trot to the lope.

I did not panic and grab both reins. In fact I was present, and in my body. I realized we were coming to a spot we’ve been working on slowing off seat (the choose where you rest part) and I sat deep and let my energy drop and she came back down to a trot and then a walk. Like we’d been doing it forever. <3

A very good day.

From her behavior in the arena today it would appear she much prefers to be out and about in the world than stuck in the ring. Which is awesome since my big goal is to be doing trail rides. <3

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In looking for the resting place she parked herself at the trailer like she was ready to be tied and quit. I shouldn’t have let her stop there but she did it repeatedly and it was too funny I had to grab a pic really quick.

She did finally find a new spot by the road and we stopped there.

She did great in her boots again today. We had a little longer ride and they didn’t rub or anything even though she traipsed through deep mud and water. I’m really happy with the Cavallo boots.

We will continue this exercise tomorrow and/or until she’s comfortable and ready to go down the road.

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I was a bit nervous to do two new things at once but she handled it like a champ. She did great with her boots. We worked out in the drive, since the arena is way too wet to ride in, and work on a little destination addition out and about. This is good preparation for us doing trail rides around home, which she sometimes has some difficulty with.

Warwick Schiller just put a new video on the subscription about how to work with a horse having destination addiction, or you might call it buddy sourness, while you’re out and about and on the trail. I follow the suggestions in this video and it worked perfectly by the end she had walked away from her friends all the way up to the road. She stopped and I let her eat a little grass and that’s where we quit. It was a great ride and a really good beginning to us trail riding at home.

Her new Cavallo boots got muddy but a quick rinse and they were back good as new. I was a little concerned about the glitter not holding up but there was no problem with them at all. If you’re thinking about getting your barefoot horse boots I highly recommend Cavallo boots. Save 20% when you click here

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It’s fly season. When we first got into horses I think this was our biggest surprise… flies. They just come out of nowhere with a vengeance. The first season of flies hit and we were overwhelmed. We got out the “sizing chart” and measured Runaway and got him the cheapest fly sheet I could find. ha ha ha.

It was too small and was shredded in a day.

We’ve definitely learned a lot in the last 5 years.

We have tried multiple fly sheets over the years, but the last couple years we’ve landed on our absolute favorite.

I don’t know what it is about Runaway, but the flies SWARM his belly. We had been getting fly sheets with the regular two criss cross straps under the belly, but I felt so awful for him I went searching to see if there was a better option for him. Of course there was. The fly sheet with a belly band.

We’ve settled in on the Weatherbeeta ComFiTec Ripshield Plus with Belly band. It also comes with a detachable neck piece.

Here’s a few reasons I love this Weatherbeeta Fly Sheet with a Belly Band.

This Ripshield Plus material is awesome. It’s ventilated, air moves through it. It feels so light I don’t feel bad leaving fly sheets on in hot weather. But the best thing about this material is it is made of tiny little squares, so if your horse happens to tear it or make a hole in it, it doesn’t spread!! It just stays a tiny little hole, compartmentalized by these little squares.

We are going on our second and third season with some of these fly sheets and they are holding up great. They are not cheap, so it’s nice they are holding up.

The belly band is a gift. Instead of straps you have a whole piece of cloth that comes under their belly so it’s covered and the flies can’t get to it. It works really really well. I can see immediate relief for poor Runaway once we get it put on.

I love that these fly sheets come with a neck cover. It’s removable, so if you have a horse that’s not too bothered by the flies you can leave it off, or if you have a horse like Runaway… you can leave it on.

I don’t know what it is about him… I’ve read the flies are attracted to darker colors. Because he and my gray mare can be standing at the same hay bale, same field and he is being eaten alive and she is fine. It’s so strange.

This fly sheet doesn’t come in a wide variety of colors, we’ve got blue and red.

I have also read an interesting study that showed flies become confused by zebra patterning. I’ve noticed they are starting to make fly sheets in zebra patterns but I haven’t found one in this material, and I’m not sure I’m willing to risk longevity to experiment with the zebra pattern. If you’ve tried it please let me know how it went.

We finish out the fly coverage with Shoo Fly Leggins. We just love these. We found them 3-4 years ago and didn’t see how they could possibly work. They have a gaping hole at the top. We just knew the flies would just go right in, but they don’t. These fly boots are like magic. Horses are usually getting swarmed by flies around their feet, so for some of horses, like Goose, shoo fly leggins and a fly mask are enough for her to be comfortable. But pretty much everyone here gets fly boots as soon as the season starts. The velcro on the shoo fly leggins is really strong. Sometimes when they are new it’s hard to get them off, but that just means they stay on even in the pasture.

There are some cheaper products that look similar to the shoo fly leggins on the market now. We’ve stuck with shoo fly because they last forever, the ones Runaway has on in the picture above are going through their second or third season now, and I have some loyalty to the brand that saved us in the beginning.

We’ve tried a variety of fly masks as well. Last year I saw an ad on Facebook *eye roll* and ended up getting a large number of fly masks for very cheap but they were complete junk. They were WAY smaller than they said, the eyes were weird and they just didn’t work. We generally stick to the lycra pull over the head face masks. The ones with velcro never seem to stay put. I don’t know how animals without thumbs manage to undo velcro, but they sure do. I just saw this set of cute fly masks on Amazon and I think I’m going to buy them! I just can’t help myself. They are coming out with such cute patterns now.

If you’re still trying to find the best fly sheet to manage the flies for your horses, I can’t recommend the Weatherbeeta fly sheet with belly band highly enough.

And don’t forget the homemade fly spray… the tiny bit of fur Runaway has showing gets sprayed.

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It got me thinking about fly spray and creating a diy horse fly spray that might be a little healthier and economical than the Pyranha fly spray we’ve been using. In the past it has worked really well, but this year it’s not working all that well.

I did some googling and found some essential oils that work well for fly repelling and everyone is talking about apple cider vinegar, and I knew the coconut oil worked… so here’s what I’ve come up with.

Homemade Fly Spray Recipe

1 cup apple cider vinegar

1 cup coconut oil

1/2 tsp lemongrass essential oil

1/4 tsp eucalytpus essential oil

1/2 tsp bitter orange essential oil

2 tbsp dawn dish soap

Add all the ingredients to a spray bottle. I melted the coconut oil in the microwave a little bit so it was liquid, and I could combine it, but it will stay melted once it’s outside. You could also use fractionated coconut oil, which is liquid at room temperature. Fill the bottle with water. Shake and apply.

Make sure you test a small spot on your horse so you know they won’t reacte to the oils.

I probably wouldn’t use this on their face or near their eyes. We have ours on fly masks, but tummies, legs and especially bellies this is great for. Runaway’s belly gets swarmed by flies. I don’t know why he is so attractive to them, but he sure is, poor thing.

I gathered up my test subjects Runaway and Goose. We’ve got rain coming through, big storms north of us so the flies were very active. I sprayed just their legs and bellies to test it out. They were swishing tails, and moving all around at the hay bale, but once I sprayed them they moved off to graze and haven’t just been standing happily grazing.

This is probably going to need to be applied daily, I can’t imagine it lasting much longer than a day. We’ll just make it part of our morning routine. I feel so much better about using this than the harsh insecticides in the spray we’ve been using, especially if it works so well!!

Here’s Runaway and Goose after I put it on them. A storm is coming in, the flies were definitely biting, but not them!

What are you using to beat the flies this year? I’d love to hear!

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