Verified buyer
The itch on his mane has settled
He rubs his mane raw every year from about October. Three weeks in and the crest has hair on it again. I am not saying it fixed the itch, he still has it, but he is leaving it alone.
BBec K.Scone, NSW
Save up to $124.90 and free delivery on orders over $75 · 60 day money back guarantee
4.8 out of 5 · 15 reviews
Tallowwood Summer Spray, with seven essential oils
Your horse leaves a scent trail behind him, and that trail is what the flies, the march flies and the midgies follow. The spray lays itself over the top of it.
- Seven essential oils · no permethrin, no other pyrethroids, no DEET
- Goes on the mane, the withers, the poll and the tail dock, where the rubbing starts
- 7 ml a horse of a morning, and the bottle lasts four to six weeks
- Safe on foals from six weeks and on older horses
- 60 day money back guarantee · free delivery on orders over $75
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In stock · mixed in small batches
Free delivery on orders over $75. We dispatch within 2 business days, then 3-4 business days with Australia Post, tracking included. Pay by card or PayPal. All prices are in Australian dollars (AUD) and include GST.
How a fly finds your horse
The fly does not see your horse. It smells its way there.
Your horse leaves a scent trail behind him. Carbon dioxide from his breathing, lactic acid and moisture off his skin. It drifts on the wind, and a fly that picks it up follows it until it gets there.
That is why the first ones are on him before you have the gate shut, and why the same horse in the same paddock gets hit while the one next to him is left alone.
The seven oils work a step earlier than that. They lay a scent layer of their own around the horse, and the trail underneath is harder to read.
This is how the product is meant to work, not a promise of a particular result. Horses are different, and how much stays in the coat differs from horse to horse.
What is in it
Seven oils. The whole list.
You can read the ingredients out to your kid. Every line of it.
Citronella
The one most people know, and the one the bottle is built around.
Litsea cubeba
A lemon scented oil from the fruit of a small Asian tree.
Clove
Warm and heavy, and it carries a long way in the coat.
Thyme
Sharp and herbal, the note you smell first when you open the bottle.
Peppermint
Cool on the skin and the reason it smells clean rather than medicinal.
Tea tree
An Australian oil, from a tree that grows on this coast.
Lavender
Rounds the rest off so the whole thing is not just sharp.
That is the whole list. No permethrin. No pyrethroids. No DEET. No added fragrance.
The two shelves
Two different ways of solving the same thing
The usual fly spray
Permethrin · pyrethroids
- Kills or knocks down the insect that lands
- Most of the shelf in Australia is built this way
- The complaint you read most often is that it stings the skin
Summer spray with essential oils
Seven oils, no permethrin
- Works on the scent trail before the insect gets there
- Safe on foals from six weeks and on older horses
- Wash it off and it is gone, there is nothing left in the coat
Both of them sit on the same shelf at the produce store, and both have riders who swear by them. The difference is where they do their work.
How to use it
Four steps, once in the morning
- Shake it
The oils settle to the bottom between goes. Turn the bottle over a few times.
- Test it first
First time out, do a patch the size of your palm on the neck and give it half an hour.
- Spray a dry coat
Mane, withers, poll, chest, belly and down the legs, and along the tail dock. Around the head you spray it into a cloth and wipe it on.
- Turn him out
Once in the morning is enough on an ordinary day. After rain or a sweaty ride you go again.
Never spray towards the eyes. If your horse has a wound, broken skin or a skin condition, ask your vet first.
Count it yourself
The season is six months long. One bottle is not.
The main fly season runs from November through April, and in the north it barely lets up at all. March flies are about from early spring, the midgies come through in waves at dawn and dusk, and buffalo fly sits on the belly and the shoulders right through the wet.
A morning takes 7 ml, about a teaspoon and a half. A 200 ml bottle gives you 28 mornings, so one bottle is four to six weeks for one horse, depending how much you ride and how much comes off in the rain.
That works out at $1.78 a morning on one bottle, and $1.37 a morning if you take three.
The reason most riders take more than one is simple enough: nobody wants to be reordering in the middle of February, which is when it is at its worst.
What riders say
Fifteen reviews, published as written
4.815 reviews · 100% would recommend it
5★12
4★3
3★0
2★0
1★0
Verified buyer
March flies were shocking this year
We back onto scrub and the march flies were shocking. He used to spend the morning stamping and swinging his head. He stands there now.
TTegan M.Camden, NSW
Verified buyer
Buffalo fly on the belly
Buffalo fly gets him on the belly and the inside of the legs every wet season. This is the first year the skin there has stayed clean.
NNardia D.Toowoomba, QLD
Verified buyer
Goes quicker than I expected
It works, and I will buy it again, but 200 ml does not last me five weeks. I have a big warmblood and I do his legs properly, so I am through a bottle in about a month. Order two.
KKirsty B.Bendigo, VIC
Verified buyer
No burning, and that was the point
The last one I used left him with flaky skin down the shoulders and he flinched when I got near him with it. This one he stands for.
SShannon P.Gippsland, VIC
Verified buyer
The mare will actually stand for it
She has always been funny about the hissing. It is a softer spray and she keeps her head down now, which on its own was worth it.
MMel T.Hunter Valley, NSW
Verified buyer
Midgies at dusk
The midgies here come through at dusk and go for the poll and the tail. Doing him before I turn out of a morning has made a real difference by evening.
AAnna R.Perth Hills, WA
Verified buyer
Strong smell for the first hour
Fair warning, it is a strong smell when it goes on. Clove and thyme, you can pick it. It settles after an hour and I have got used to it, but the first morning I did wonder.
SSteph L.Ballarat, VIC
Verified buyer
Two horses off the one bottle
I do both of mine, the pony gets about half what the gelding does. A bottle every three weeks or so across the two of them and I am happy with that.
JJodie W.Wagga Wagga, NSW
Verified buyer
Safe on the foal
I emailed and asked before I used it near the foal and they came back the same day, from six weeks. I did a patch test first anyway. No reaction and no flies on her face.
KKatie H.Sunshine Coast, QLD
Verified buyer
It does not go sticky
The old one went tacky by lunchtime and the dust stuck to him. This one dries and that is the end of it.
BBree S.Armidale, NSW
Verified buyer
Better on the midgies than the march flies
Honest answer: it is very good on the small stuff and only alright on march flies. On a bad day the big ones still have a go at him. Everything else it handles.
LLouise F.Darling Downs, QLD
Verified buyer
Under the fly rug
I still rug him, that has not changed. But the bits the rug does not cover are not raw any more, and that is the whole reason I bought it.
SSam V.Yarra Valley, VIC
Verified buyer
Wash off is easy
It comes off in a wash, which sounds like a complaint and is not. I know what is on him and I know when it is gone.
HHayley C.Margaret River, WA
Verified buyer
Through the wet season
Through the wet up here nothing lasts, and I do him again after the afternoon storm. Two goes a day in February, one the rest of the time. Three bottles got me through.
DDanni O.Rockhampton, QLD
No risk
60 day money back guarantee
Use it for sixty days. If your horse is not clearly less bothered, email us and you get your money back in full. We pay the return postage, and the bottle can be open and half used.
That sits on top of your rights under the Australian Consumer Law, it does not replace them.
Common questions
Everything worth knowing before you order
What is actually in the bottle?
Seven essential oils in a water base: citronella, litsea cubeba, clove, thyme, peppermint, tea tree and lavender. No permethrin, no other pyrethroids, no DEET and no added fragrance. The full list is printed on the label.
How often do I use it?
Once in the morning on an ordinary day. After rain or a sweaty ride you go again. In the middle of the wet season a lot of riders do a second go in the afternoon.
How far does a bottle go?
A morning takes about 7 ml for one horse, so a 200 ml bottle gives you 28 mornings, four to six weeks for one horse. A big horse whose legs you do properly will go through it quicker.
Can I use it on a foal, an old horse or a pregnant mare?
Foals from six weeks and older horses are fine. If the mare is in foal, ask your vet first. Whatever the horse, do a patch the size of your palm and give it half an hour before you do the rest.
Will it help with Queensland itch?
It is not a treatment for Queensland itch and we do not sell it as one. What it does is sit on the places the midgies go for, the mane, the withers, the poll and the tail dock, so there is less landing on him in the first place. If the skin is already broken or weeping, see your vet before you put anything on it.
What does it work on?
Flies, march flies, midgies, mozzies and stable fly. It is not a tick product and we do not sell it as one.
How long does delivery take?
Standard delivery is $9.95, and free on orders over $75. We dispatch within 2 business days and your parcel arrives in 3-4 business days after dispatch. Express delivery is $14.95 and takes 1-2 business days. For regional and remote postcodes, please allow an additional 2-5 business days. You get a tracking number by email as soon as the parcel leaves us.
Does the order renew on its own?
No. There is no subscription. You order once, and that is the end of it.
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