What should I check if my horse’s eyes look irritated after fly bites?

Read time: 3 minutes

Overview

If your horse’s eyes look irritated after fly bites, the first things to check are whether there’s swelling around the eye, any discharge, a lot of rubbing, or whether the eye itself looks cloudy or more sensitive to light. Fly bites can cause local irritation, but eye-looking symptoms can also come from dust, pollen, a scratch, or something stuck in the eye, so it’s worth checking carefully rather than assuming it’s only the bites.

Things To Check

1. Check whether the irritation started after turnout, grooming, exercise, or being near flies, as this can help you link it to an exposure.

2. Look closely for swelling on the eyelids, around the corner of the eye, or along the face, and note whether it’s mild or spreading.

3. Check for discharge, watery eyes, crusting, or sticky material that may suggest the eye is more than just mildly irritated.

4. See whether your horse is rubbing the face, blinking more than usual, keeping the eye partly closed, or seeming sensitive to bright light.

5. Look for any visible bite marks, broken skin, scabs, or heat around the eye and surrounding skin.

6. Check whether one eye is affected or both, as one-sided irritation can sometimes point to a local problem near that eye.

7. Notice whether the eye itself looks clear or whether it appears cloudy, dull, or unusually red.

Common Causes

The most common cause is simple fly irritation around the eyelids or face, especially in warm weather or when flies are active near the eyes.

Minor skin inflammation from fly bites can also make the area puffy, sore-looking, or uncomfortable without the eye itself being damaged.

Dust, pollen, sweat, or grooming debris can add to the irritation and make the eyes look worse than they are.

Less commonly, the eye may have a scratch, a small foreign body, or another eye problem happening at the same time as the fly bites.

What To Do

Start by moving your horse away from obvious fly pressure if you can, and keep the area around the eye as clean and dry as possible.

Check the eye in good light and compare both sides so you can judge whether the problem is improving or getting worse.

If there’s only mild irritation, monitor it closely over the next few hours and make a note of any changes in swelling, discharge, rubbing, or how open the eye looks.

Keep bedding, dust, and grooming products away from the eye area, and avoid anything that could rub or sting the skin.

If your horse is outdoors a lot in fly season, try to reduce exposure where possible and keep an eye on any repeat pattern after turnout or exercise.

Products That May Help

For horses that struggle with fly season, a routine-focused summer care collection may be useful alongside good stable and turnout management.

Horse Fly Sprays & Summer Care

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