Why are my horse's ears covered in fly bites? | arlo.® Atlas

Read time: 3 minutes

Overview

Fly bites on a horse's ears are usually a sign that flies are active and your horse's skin is reacting to them. It can look messy and uncomfortable, but the cause is often straightforward, such as repeated fly contact, a sensitive reaction, or rubbing after irritation starts.

If the ears are very sore, swollen, crusted or your horse is head shaking more than usual, it's worth taking a closer look. You can often spot clues at home that help narrow down whether this is mainly a fly-season issue or something that needs vet advice.

Things To Check

1. Check when the ear bites seem to appear, such as after turnout, near dusk, or after time in a windy or still field.

2. Look closely for redness, heat, swelling, scabs, broken skin or any discharge around the ears and head.

3. Notice whether your horse is rubbing the ears, shaking the head, or stamping more than usual.

4. Check whether flies are gathering around the face, ears, eyes or mane during turnout or in the stable.

5. See whether the horse is also showing signs of general skin sensitivity, such as scratching, rubbing the mane or tail, or reacting to touch.

6. Look at turnout and stable conditions, including muck, standing water, sweet feed, long grass, or other fly-attracting areas nearby.

7. Check whether any new tack, grooming routine or headwear could be irritating the ear area.

Common Causes

The most common reason is simple fly irritation, especially in warm weather when flies are active around the ears and face. Some horses are much more reactive than others, so the skin can look bite-marked or scabby quite quickly.

Another common cause is rubbing. Once a horse feels irritated, they may rub their head on fences, stable doors or bedding, which can make the ears look worse than the original fly bites.

Some horses also have a stronger hypersensitivity to insect bites, so even a few bites can trigger a bigger skin reaction than you'd expect.

Less commonly, the issue may be linked to skin infection, mites or another skin problem that has been made more obvious by fly season.

What To Do

Start by keeping a simple note of when the problem appears and whether it is getting better or worse. Photos taken over a few days can be useful for spotting change.

Gently check the ears and surrounding skin each day, and keep the area as clean and dry as practical. Try to reduce fly pressure by managing turnout timing, avoiding known fly hotspots where possible, and keeping the horse's environment as tidy as you can.

If your horse tolerates it, sensible fly-season protection around the face and ears may help support day-to-day comfort. Also watch for rubbing, because that can turn small bites into larger sores very quickly.

If the skin becomes open, increasingly sore or obviously infected-looking, stop home care and get veterinary advice.

Products That May Help

Fly-season management items can be useful as part of your normal routine when a horse's ears are being bothered by flies and summer irritation.

Horse Fly Sprays & Summer Care

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